Hi all -

I have two water leaks in my 1996 xj where water is getting into the passenger floor area (recently replaced), one is coming from what I believe to be the blower motor housing and the other is coming through where the antenna cable comes into the cab. I have read threads and watched videos about replacing the foam seal where the blower motor housing meets the firewall, and from what I understand that involves removing the entire dash. Is there a way to fix this leak without removing the entire dash? Or is it worth it to just remove it and replace the seal that way? I tried putting a lot of silicone sealant at the bottom of the foam seal, but the leak is still there, what should I do?

For the antenna cable leak, I plan on using more silicone sealant all over it, right were the cable runs through the hole in the rubber piece, please let me know if there is a better way of fixing this leak.


You can see the stream of water coming down the back from the bottom of the blower motor housing and down the side from the antenna cable hole.

This is at the bottom of the blower motor housing, under the windshield wiper fluid container.

I tried covering most of this bottom area with black silicone RTV sealant, but the leak didn't go away.

This is behind the passenger kick panel, I sealed around the edge of the rubber plug, but water is still coming in through the hole where the cord is.

Is this the correct replacement seal?

Thanks!

 

That appears to be the correct seal kit. There's one for the blower motor, one for the condenser and heater core lines, and one for the AC drain. In order to replace them, you have to pull out the entire HVAC box, which involves pulling the dash like you're replacing your heater core.

After doing my heater core, I replaced my foam but still got a leak around the blower motor. I ended up fixing it by putting silicone all around that opening. Bottom, sides, and top. I just put some on my finger and kind of ran it in a bead all around between the firewall and the foam.

 

Same thing I had to do with mine.

 

Thanks for the responses, I will order the kit and use silicone in addition. About how long did the whole job take for you all?

 

Replacing the HVAC housing blower motor opening seal requires removing or partially removing the dash and pulling the HVAC housing. Its an extensive job, but not too hard. If you remove the HVAC housing, you should replace the heater core while getting in there.

I don't understand how water is getting to the blower motor seal. That part of my XJ does not get wet when it rains or when I wash it. Is your hood seal failing or missing?

Also, another common location for water to get into the cabin is the fresh air duct going to the HVAC box. The seal around the duct where it enters the fresh air cavity in front of the windshield fails, and then water leaks into the cabin between the duct and opening in the body for it. The best way to fix that is also to pull the HVAC housing, but people have also done it from the fresh air cavity, although its a bit of a kludge to do it from the fresh air cavity. Regardless, I recommend pulling the cover on the fresh air cavity and taking a look inside. You might find its full of debris that is preventing water that enters the cavity from draining at the intended location.

 

I had my Cherokee apart for a couple of weeks to replace my heater core, but I was doing a bunch of other things while I was in there.

Two pieces of advice. First, take out your front seats. It's only 4 bolts, and you'll thank me later. Second, you don't actually have to remove the entire dash. You can put the steering wheel all the way down and rotate the dash out of the way from the passenger side and support it with a strap of some sort.

As mentioned above, it's probably a good idea to replace your heater core while you're in there. It's good to hear those foam seal kits are still available.

 

If your Cherokee has a roof carrier that is bolted there in the front, those are a common leak point.

The seals get old and can shrink ...don't seal as well. Water trickles in, works it's way down the a-pillar. On mine I had the headliner out for a re-do and took care of a bad leak at that time.

 

Took me about 2 days think I worked about 3-4 hours a day. I left seats in as my bolts were rusted and wouldn't break loose. Didn't remove dash all the way.

 

I did mine over multiple days but I would guess about 6 hours total, and that was working slow.
Not sure how much different a -97 is though.
I used an amazon foam kit. Guess I wont know if it leaks till the first big rain in a couple months.