FJ62 bad water leak in cabin - continued - wit's end

[CenTXFJ60]

I’d probably take a look. But first I’d do as a previous post suggested and pull your kick panels, and have someone run a hose along the outside while you watch for inside penetration. Start low with the hose and work your way up the side of the cowl. Then work over the top of the cowl. Then progress up the A-Pillars and onto the roof area. Go around the edges of the glass and then work your way down the gutters. Also, pulling the drain plugs will keep water from accumulating in the floorboard. If the leak is in the cowl I’d strip off what you previously did, remove the wiper valence drains and wire wheel any old debris before applying a smooth consistent line of seam sealer on all the joints. Good luck and look forward to seeing your progress. Jimmy

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Any missing or torn grommets on the firewall?

 

[kirvesmies]

View attachment 2542967Here’s the inner door jam, doesn’t seem too beat up at a glance, but it’s definitely wet all the way down the weather stripping.
Would the fix for this be a body shop pulling out the affected areas?

View attachment 2542982

@TheElegantFox ,looking at that beaded water on the door jamb, i'm thinking that's right where the weatherstripping contacts. i don't believe that's compromised. an old body man showed me a trick with strips of paper held between when closing the door, then pulling them out . you should feel some if not considerable resistance when doing so. my issue was a tailgate on a stationwagon. i'll be back shortly, gonna check on my 60 where that weatherstripping lands

 

[kirvesmies]

ran out to the shop n took a look, yes, the weatherstripping contacts the door jamb where you have the water beading so i'm going to say that's not your issue. good luck chasing that leak down.

 

[TheElegantFox]

ran out to the shop n took a look, yes, the weatherstripping contacts the door jamb where you have the water beading so i'm going to say that's not your issue. good luck chasing that leak down.

Thanks for checking, that helps to eliminate that point of failure.

 

[TheElegantFox]

Any missing or torn grommets on the firewall?

I’ll have to check and report back tomorrow, definitely worth a look.

 

[kirvesmies]

Thanks for checking, that helps to eliminate that point of failure.

no problem man

 

[Tennessee80]

My driver and passenger side floorboards have been wet lately after rains.... This is a great thread with some good info here. @TheElegantFox I hope you get yours sorted!

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Yes. I have experienced the same thing with my cruiser. Had some heavy rains here In sunny California a few days ago.

 

[Dallas Cruiser]

You mentioned earlier that you had seen water at the door speaker. Definitely worth pulling the door "card" or panel whatever you want to call it to check if water could be coming in through the door. Most newer vehicles have a waterproof barrier, not sure on the 60 series.

 

[SteveH]

One of the classic steps to check door seal fit is to close the door on a dollar bill, then pull on the bill with your hand and see how easily the bill pulls through the sealing area. You might try this on your driver's door where you suspect the seal might not be contacting the A pillar or post.

 

[TheElegantFox]

You mentioned earlier that you had seen water at the door speaker. Definitely worth pulling the door "card" or panel whatever you want to call it to check if water could be coming in through the door. Most newer vehicles have a waterproof barrier, not sure on the 60 series.

I had pulled it a while back for cleaning the contacts on the window switches and I could tell the backing composite/cardboard was warped from moisture whereas the other cards are fine. I think that may be worth looking into.

Could that mean the window channel seal is compromised?

 

[Tennessee80]

One of the classic steps to check door seal fit is to close the door on a dollar bill, then pull on the bill with your hand and see how easily the bill pulls through the sealing area. You might try this on your driver's door where you suspect the seal might not be contacting the A pillar or post.

Unless we have spent all of our dollars on our cruiser already! In that case, rectangular cut sheet of typing paper? Good idea though. I need to do that to rule out my door seals, but I am almost certain mine is coming from the windshield seals...

 

[86aggie]

I've used the dollar bill/paper method to check the seal on refrigerator door seals as well.

In a perfect world, even if the window belt(I think that is the technical name) seal is leaking, water would run on the outside of the glass(inside the door), and drop down the bottom of the door, running out the weep holes along the bottom edge. With the plasitic threshold and raised lip, along with the solid leading edge of the door bottom(below/behind the door card), water would be challenged to wind up inside the tub. To be sure, remove the door card, along with the kick panel, and run the water test.

As someone suggested above, check to make sure the weep holes are clear while you are in the door.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

The door shouldn't be the source of the leak, even with bad window runs or scrapers. If the vapor barrier is present, and the drain holes in the bottom of the door are there, then water can't get inside.

If the vapor barrier was torn for the speaker install, then it's possible to get in there, but it'd corrode the speaker.

 

[SteveH]

When you replaced the windshield (or had it done) did you follow the FSM caulking procedure? No shop will do this by default, so you'd have to stand there with the FSM and watch them.

We get little rain here, so when it rains, I stick a tube sock in the corner of the windshield (inside/dashboard) to soak up the rain that seeps through the corner of the gasket. Hillbilly, but it works. You then hang the wet tube sock on the passenger assist handle of your FJ62 as a 'towel bar' to dry out. See? perfect! You would need a very big tube sock, however, to soak up the quantity of water you see.....

 

[TheElegantFox]

When you replaced the windshield (or had it done) did you follow the FSM caulking procedure? No shop will do this by default, so you'd have to stand there with the FSM and watch them.

We get little rain here, so when it rains, I stick a tube sock in the corner of the windshield (inside/dashboard) to soak up the rain that seeps through the corner of the gasket. Hillbilly, but it works. You then hang the wet tube sock on the passenger assist handle of your FJ62 as a 'towel bar' to dry out. See? perfect! You would need a very big tube sock, however, to soak up the quantity of water you see.....

I had it done by a Cruiser specialist and I had let them know I had a water leak, so they were really thorough with the windshield install. I'll have to check that corner and see if it's still causing issues though.

 

[Dallas Cruiser]

Typically window channel seals are not designed to be water tight.

 

[micruz60]

Kick panel at driver's footwell, also verify that the welds at the top of the A pillar to roof/ windshield is not a pinhole leak.
HTH

 

[fruitjack]

a couple of months ago we had a major rain storm and i noticed my driver, passenger and even rear floor mats were soaked (i've got an 89 FJ62). welp - it was the cowel, specifically, the drains at the ends. it seemed the PO never, ever cleaned or cleared it. over decades the debris that accumulated at the sides of cowel turned into dirt and clogged the drains.