Let me preface this post by saying that I am going through every previous post and writing down every location that others have found their leaks so that I can attack this issue with as much knowledge as possible. In the meantime, I’m hoping that the picture I took can perhaps rule some spots out.

It’s been pouring rain the past two days. I got out of the jeep today and noticed that the carpet was wet UNDER the floor mat so I can rule out dripping from anywhere above the mat. Only the horizontal portion of the floor was wet. The inclined carpet where it goes up and under the dash is completely dry.

From the attached picture, you can see that the front of the door side appears to be more wet than the center console side or the seat side. That may be indicative of the leak coming from that area or maybe not. We all know how water can appear in one place but originate somewhere else.




Anyone have any ideas or is hunting and pecking the only way to find the leak? I’d love to be able to rule some spots out if possible.

 

Antenna wire grommet?

It'll leak inside the kick panel and down on top of the fuse box, and you won't ever notice it if you have floor mats and still have the kick panels... until it gets SUPER wet, or you start having electrical gremlins like I did.

 

My fuses are on the driver’s side. 1990. It’s also not on the sides or interior firewall side only the floor.

I’m wondering if it’s the window seal?

 

Yes, it runs down the body in a little stream and goes under the carpet. It's hard to see. Dry it up, lay down under the dash and have a friend dump a bucket on the windshield. If you don't see it, pull the kick panel and look there.

Time to poke your head around and see what you find.

 

My girlfriend just gave me an endoscope tonight! Maybe it will come in handy.

 

You will definitely wan to pull the carpet all the way back and dry that out. I kept having this happen in my 98 and it was a pain. The foam-ish material under the carpet will absorb all that water and and never dry out from above. It sits in contact with the metal and will definitely rust if it sits there long enough. You'll need to remove the kick panel (one nut behind the fuse door). Remove the trim screws holding the plastic trim piece to the door sill. Remove the trim pieces and then you can pull the carpet back. I pulled the padding out and replaced it with some other carpet padding. It was not salvageable.
There is a rubber piece that is under the carpet, under the dash. If water is coming in from under the dash somewhere, it will run under that rubber piece and soak the carpet from below. In my case, I think it was the foam seal from the heater box to the firewall. Others have had problems with the vent in the cowl. I could also imagine water could run in through the antenna opening which would go right to that fuse panel.

 

@agreen @dzywicki
OK here’s where I’m at:
Behind the floor baseboard is completely dry. I don’t think it’s coming from the door.
Behind the kick panel is dry.

I think it’s coming from the blower motor. I’ve attached some images and would very much appreciate any input that anyone has. If you’ve been through this, you know how stressful it is.



Underneath blower motor. Should water be here?

I assume this is the drain hose?

Underneath bracket that holds radiator fluid reservoir. Should water be coming in?

Body underneath floor trim - dry

Kick panel - dry

Top of the rubber is dry

This foam felt dry but when I pushed on the cushioning around the blower motor some water came out

Dry

So I’m curious. The area in the engine bay just below the blower motor - should water be able to get here?

There is a clear plastic bag thing underneath the carpet padding with white fabric inside. Is this normal?

 

Have you looked underneath at the floor pan? If you have any soft spots/rust it could come in from below when driving. If the floors look good from below it’s easily ruled out.
+1 on a leak from the firewall running behind the thick rubber sound deadening under your carpet.
If you can’t positively find the leak from a drip point, it would be wise to pull back the carpet to dry things out and check if it’s coming in lower. XJ floors are looking for any opportunity to vaporize into rust

 

@poni did you see the update I posted just before you commented? I attached some pics.

The floor looks perfectly fine. How do you get the sound deadening rubber off? Looks like there’s one big retainer clip holding it in. Those usually come out and never end up going back in but I suppose I could use anything to hold it in place. But how does the clip come out?

 

Ya I didn’t see your post before mine, I was probably typing when u posted. Your floors look mint - I’m jealous! Your problem is probably higher up. U shouldn’t need to pull the rubber, just feel if it’s wet below it. If so try flooding the the firewall area with a hose, starting at the bottom then check if more comes in, keep repeating moving up higher section by section and checking until you reach the point water comes in. That should help you pinpoint the weak seal point.

 

I figured you missed my comment based on your questions. Is it normal for water to collect below the blower motor in the engine bay or should water not get to that point at all.

 

I know rain in NYC is probably different from other places but that stuff on your carpet is an odd color for rain.

Does it smell or look like whatever coolant is in that thing?

 

It’s definitely rainwater. There’s no question about that.

 

When I replaced my pans and found all the leaks one of mine was also a slight one around the blower motor. I just said heck with it and wiped some sealer around it and about 6 year later still no leaks. also check the seal between the cowl area and the hood.

 

OK the water is coming into the engine bay from the cowl area where the wiper motor is. I think instead of sealing up the blower motor, I’m going to seal up the seam so that water doesn’t make it into the engine bay in the first place.