jatoxico

So I've got water on the driver's side. Been reading what's out there. Seems some folks find something others still can't resolve after years of looking.

I already pulled the seat and carpet, rust treated (wasn't bad) and undercoated this AM so it should not rust even if I never find the leak. I'll start trying to track down the problem after the undercoat dries.

Did find the hood latch cable boot was missing so I replaced it and had a small hole in firewall from an old alarm that I sealed. Cowl area looks clean and good.

I want to lay carpet down and put seat back so I can drive it and track leak over time. Since its possible I won't locate leak quickly I was thinking of putting something down between floor and carpet so carpet stays dry.

Any ideas?

jatoxico

Pretty sure I found my leak. I know others get water so I'll pass along what I found in my case. The PO had the hood release cable replaced and the installer did not install the boot correctly. In fact it was put in backwards and actually had fallen out. Essentially an open hole. When water was poured on hood (hood closed) it ran along the cowl panel, toward the fender, then down between the fender/cowl panel and hood. Once there it collected on the top lip/shelf of the fire wall (sort of above brake booster) then, once enough puddled it spilled right down the fire wall into the open hole.

I found the old boot stuck under the brake booster so I put it back in. Did a water test and a little water still getting in between cable and boot seal. Siliconed it up. Will retest w/ water when it cures.

The seam where the VIN # tag is (above and to the right of the brake booster) was also suspect. I had seen where another poster had a similar problem so I sealed that area up too.

Before all this and since I was not sure if I would find the problem, after I undercoated the floor I installed some thin carpet runner with the nubs (nibs, niblets, nipples...? ) down so if water gets in there is some air space and it can move toward drain plug. The runner is on top of the black mat behind the pedals but under the carpet so carpet should not get wet no matter what. I cut a small slit in the carpet so I can access the drain plug easily and dry things up.

Hopefully I got the leak so won't be necessary but who knows what the future brings.

Sean Passmore

My driver floor leak was a rust hole in my wheel well,driver rear towards the front, the water ran down the driver floor to the front, which left me with 2 inches of water during good rains

318SixPack

The only time I had a water problem like that it stopped when I had the windshield replaced. Must have been the seal.

downs

What year? Pre 97s with the drivers side fuse block are known to leak around the fuese block firewall pass through. Many time snugging up the bolts can stop the leak.

Sean Passmore

2005,but I meant to reply,not start a thread. I was chasing a leak,i had a hole the size of a baseball in my driver's side rear wheel well,it was feeding water in it off my tire and ran down the floor to the front floor, i filled it with spray foam and it came in the cab by the backseat, leak solved lol