FJ62 cabin water leak round II (1 Viewer)

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Feb 16, 2019
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Location
Raleigh, NC
After following some forum advice, I cleaned out the front cowl in an effort to curtail water leaks during heavy rain. Since the remaining front carpet was in such bad shape, I went ahead and pulled it to get a better idea of the leak point of entry. What I found is that it's not entering from the front of the truck, its collecting at the rear drivers side door and leaking to the front.

From these pictures you can see some of the rust repair I've done and still need to do. Most of it is around the rear driver's door, so that leads me to believe that something on that door is failing. I'm missing the rain rail covers and there was a slight break in the seam that I temporarily patched with silicone, but I don't think it's made a difference.

The weatherstripping doesn't seem to have any obvious points of failure either. What I can tell is that the rear driver's door collects the most water(photo with the most POR15) What's the next place to check for this water leak?

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If you pull that dead-foot out make sure you soak the nuts in something to loosen then up. I just broke one off installing some carpet. When it rains are the A pillars wet inside? I had a leaky windshield rubber that was my culprit.
 
Yeah, the remaining nut/bolt on that dead-foot has disintegrated to the point it won't match to a wrench so that'll be some PB blaster and a barrel of monkeys.

I haven't eliminated the possibility of a leaky windshield and that'll be taken care of during paint (hopefully this year) since it's got a crack and will need tending to eventually.

What's odd to me is that I don't see a water trail from the front firewall to the rear cabin. Maybe the windshield leak is sneaky?
 
If your water is in the carpet around your feet I doubt it is coming from the rain gutter or door in the back seat. The roof rail has a pinch weld on the bottom so any water getting through the gutter will just run through this pinch weld.
 
Well, after checking the seal more thoroughly and after several drenched towels, it does look like the windshield seal is failing at the top seam. Could this be the source of the leak?

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Yep......if your windshield is in good shape have it removed, buy a new rubber.....and have it reinstalled with silicone sealer inside & out. Is that the original window & seal?
 
Yep......if your windshield is in good shape have it removed, buy a new rubber.....and have it reinstalled with silicone sealer inside & out. Is that the original window & seal?
That’s good to know it’s the seal at least. The windshield is cracked, so it’ll be a full job. Fingers crossed for no rust in the window channel. I doubt it’s original, it’s missing the chrome trim and the previous owner was a cheap ass, so that’s likely why it’s leaking already.
 
You can also check the cowl body seams. These leak frequently, and can be mistaken for a leaky windshield. Unfortunately, it requires removal of the fender to add more seam sealer, and paint.

Using a hose, start working from the bottom up to see when it starts to leak. You'll get to the cowl seam area before the windshield.

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You can also check the cowl body seams. These leak frequently, and can be mistaken for a leaky windshield. Unfortunately, it requires removal of the fender to add more seam sealer, and paint.

Using a hose, start working from the bottom up to see when it starts to leak. You'll get to the cowl seam area before the windshield.

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The convenient thing about that is that I can get the bodyshop to hit that area when the truck is apart for paint. Are there any welds holding the front fenders on or is it just bolts?
 
Gas mileage is really bad. They don't go very fast/quickly. It's not a super comfortable ride (although that can be tweaked). Parts are getting harder to find and more expensive. OEM parts may not be available. Finding a mechanic that will work on them if you don't want to is getting harder.

Definitely get it checked out by a local mechanic before going further. That will cost you maybe $100.

I'm not sure if "money pit" is the correct term. They can definitely be expensive if things go wrong but they rarely go wrong when properly maintained. Sourcing parts can get a little pricey if your a completionist that just has to have the OEM whatever part.

All that being said they are awesome vehicles that will only appreciate with value.
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You can also check the cowl body seams. These leak frequently, and can be mistaken for a leaky windshield. Unfortunately, it requires removal of the fender to add more seam sealer, and paint.

Using a hose, start working from the bottom up to see when it starts to leak. You'll get to the cowl seam area before the windshield.

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this was the source of my leak on my passenger side. the body sealant on these trucks are 30+ years old at this point and cracking off. definitely worth checking and repairing.

my driver side leak was my windshield and my passenger leak was the cowl. water would roll down the gutters and right into this little hole that would turn into a big puddle :(
 
Body sealant cracking is the prime culprit. There is also a weld seam at the top of the A-pillar roof / drain rail which allows water in. One spot that I found to be a problem was underneath the truck, below the dead foot, there are 'catcher's mitts' in the body panels, these can be rusted and allow water in. Take the vertical plastic panel off the left side of driver's footwell and check inside there for water tracks.
Another thing- you really do not want to use ANY silicone sealant, it has acetic acid which promotes rust. Try to use a polyurethane pliable type, 3M makes one, so does Sikaflex.
 
Well, just got the window and seal replaced and they added a healthy amount of glue sealant. Unfortunately the truck instantly filled with water the same day since it rained hard.

Does that mean it’s for sure the cowl seals failing?
 
Well, just got the window and seal replaced and they added a healthy amount of glue sealant. Unfortunately the truck instantly filled with water the same day since it rained hard.

Does that mean it’s for sure the cowl seals failing?

there's a quick way to test this... remove the plastic side paneling by the door so you can see metal. spray the car from the top to see where the water is coming in from. here's a badly done (my b) video I made when i was trying to find my source:
 
Well, with all the rain we've been having, my truck is filling with water again. I picked up a secondary DD, so I can afford some downtime for the truck so I can solve this issue. That front fender has got to come off and I've got to reseal the body seams. Is there a good thread on this with pictures and needed supplies? I have a Haynes manual for reference, but this seems a bit specialized for that book.
 
doing it is not too bad... just tedious.

it boils down to unbolting anything attached the fender (washer, grille, hood support, etc) and moving any wiring going through it. once you've done that, you should be able to unbolt the fender fairly easily. probably something around 15-20 bolts. then clean the area, prime it, seal it, paint it.

this thread should help:

I used 3M All-Around Autobody Sealant and it worked well!
 
In case someone is dealing with this like me…

For easier access to the the “cobra head” cowl drains just remove the side vents on the fender. From there you can pop the long drain tube off and then do your best roto rooter on the drain or even use a nozzle to spray water up there and clean it out.

I also removed the windshield wiper motor and the “matching” inspection plates in the middle and driver side to get my hands in there and scoop out the muck!
 

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