Another Leak Question (I searched first) (2 Viewers)

[ebod]

Hi,

We just had an unreal amount of rain (for Southern California, at least), over 9" in 24 hours. The front passenger-side floor and mat were really wet, no standing water but kinda soaked on the front portion. I tried searching and it seems like it could be a sunroof drain leak (other threads mentioned the AC leak, I have that one too, but I know what that one is). However, the problems in those threads included visible leaks higher up in the interior. For me, there's no evidence of any leak except that the floor is wet. Does this sound like a sunroof drain leak? If so, how easy is this as a DIY fix (I'm a skill level 0)? If I'm lazy and take it to a shop, is this something that any good shop could do or is familiarity important enough that I should take it to a dealer (even though my dealer probably sees very few older cruisers) and how much shop time would you expect it to take? Thanks in advance for any replies, information or suggestions!

 

[Bisho]

That’s a lot of rain in a short period. It could be your ac drain just couldn’t keep up from all the water coming in the fresh air intake / cowl vents. I’ve seen this when folks get too aggressive on a deep water crossing and have water come over the hood into the cowl vents. It could also be the windshield leaking down the A-pillar.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

The threads on the sunroof drain leaks also talk through clearing them (weed trimmer line) and it's easy. If it's not those, I'd look next at windshield seal, easy way to test for that - spray something soapy along the windshield edge on the outside, blow compressed air along that edge on the inside. Bubbles are bad.

 

[ebod]

Thank you for the responses. I hope that, as Bisho mentioned, this is really on one-time thing due to the overwhelming rain. Regardless, I'll put cleaning sunroof drains on my to-do list. I keep an eye on it to see if anything happens if we get just a normal amount of rain.

 

[alane24]

The threads on the sunroof drain leaks also talk through clearing them (weed trimmer line) and it's easy. If it's not those, I'd look next at windshield seal, easy way to test for that - spray something soapy along the windshield edge on the outside, blow compressed air along that edge on the inside. Bubbles are bad.

Keep in mind though that there are 4 holes that the outer windshield moulding is riveted to. Those can also leak, and that's a lot harder to identify w/o removing the moulding. I haven't tested for a leak there so your soapy water trick my also reveal bubbles, but I doubt it since you'd have to get air into the A-pillar. Once that's removed you'll have to replace and those are about $240/each plus rivets and a fair bit of work.

 

[alane24]

I woke up to a small amount of water on the driver's side foot rest and noticed some droplets up in the electronics around the driver's side kick panel. Trying to pinpoint what is causing this. I think it's either a bad moulding (i.e. leaking through the rivet holes) or sunroof related.

 

[JakeTheSnakeNH]

In addition to sunroof, windshield, missing rivets, etc…

Also check the firewall area on both driver and passenger sides. The vertical seam just below and behind the hood hinge can separate over time, as well as the area under the brake fluid reservoir and same general area on the passenger side. Check behind the firewall insulation (engine bay side), and you may also see evidence of corrosion from underneath looking up into the fender where it meets the firewall. From inside you really need to pull back the carpet in the front uppermost footwell to see any entry points.