Rain water leak, pooling in passenger side footwell.

[JCAIRE23]

I have been chasing a rainwater leak in my car for some time now. I cannot find it's source of entry into the car. The water apparently comes in somewhere near the heater core, because the sills and doorpanel carpet are dry, but the back of the footwell carpet directly under the heater core is wet.

It is NOT a heater core leak. This is clear rainwater leaking in somewhere. I have had the carpet out and replaced the jute backing, but cannot find an entry point for the water. It's not coming down the windshield pillar, it has to be coming from somewhere on the firewall, or in through the HVAC plenum.

I have checked the drains for the HVAC plenum, looked for cracks in the firewall, HVAC plenum, and the floor of the car, but can't find anything.

This is really frustrating. It's the only part of my car that leaks, and I'm afraid I'm going to get mildew. I haven't had a mildew problem yet, but it's only a matter of time.


My suspicions are that it is coming in through the fresh air intake in front of the windshield. I'm not sure how to combat that though. The drain for that area is clear, and flows water. This is the only spot I can think of where water would be able to enter that area.

Please help me find a solutiong to this problem.

 

[Ripp 73]

I would say, pull the carpet out enough to get in there and have someone spray the car with water. Don't just spray the car all over though, do it in sections so you can try to eliminate different areas. Start with what you suspect first, soak it, wait five to ten minuets for the water to get in and see what happens. Good Luck. Maybe someone with more C4 knowledge will be able to help more.

 

[JonM]

Jack your car up and look for a crack in the floor pan...That is where my water leak was coming in. The previous owner may have bottomed out the car or hit something in the road. It had me baffled for awhile.

 

[ON 7TH]

my 85 does the same,i even took my bore scope & looked around.cant find the source but im sure theres a seperation in the body seam somewhere in the lower cowl hvac system caused by body flex.btw, ive striped out the rugs & the jute/rubber insulation on both sides.1 of these days inm gona try pouren a qt of seam sealer down the fresh air intake on the pass side & see if that stops it.

 

[motorman]

my 85 does the same,i even took my bore scope & looked around.cant find the source but im sure theres a seperation in the body seam somewhere in the lower cowl hvac system caused by body flex.btw, ive striped out the rugs & the jute/rubber insulation on both sides.1 of these days inm gona try pouren a qt of seam sealer down the fresh air intake on the pass side & see if that stops it.

try using rustproofing flexable wand gun with the rustproofing material. i stopped a cowl water leak in a older pickup by doing that

 

[ON 7TH]

good idea motorman,never thought of that.