Front floor leaks and sunroof drain question

[ToyotaFan5]

Parsnip,

Thanks for your response. The floor boards are completely outside the car and I did not understand the reference to carpet...

Could you elaborate a bit about...sill plate...carpet...? I did not understand. A pic would help point me in the right direction as I may not catch the component names as I am not a mechanic just a mechanically (and Electronically) inclined person..

 

[greentruck]

The sill plate is the plastic flashing across the bottom of the door opening. It's held by some plastic clips/plugs and should pull up fairly easily. The inside lip of it holds the carpet in place. There's a big fat wire loom in there, so don't go poking randomly underneath with a screwdriver, etc. Your fingers should be able to ull it up.

Personally, I'd fix this from the bottom of the rocker panels. You'll see a seam on them. There are some rectangular openings every so often spaced along that seam. They are what is supposed to let the rocker drain, but get plugged from the dirt and the Mud we all love to hate. Use the end of a big plastic tywrap of thin piece of wood (chopsticks might fit?) to probe upward and open them, as you don't want to use metal here and make the scratches you make with that prone to rust.

Oh, and beware the muddy shower that may result if you're sloshing. Could be nasty!

 

[Parsnip]

Parsnip,

Thanks for your response. The floor boards are completely outside the car and I did not understand the reference to carpet...

Could you elaborate a bit about...sill plate...carpet...? I did not understand. A pic would help point me in the right direction as I may not catch the component names as I am not a mechanic just a mechanically (and Electronically) inclined person..

I'm sorry for adding confusion. You clearly wrote about the outside of the car and I missed it entirely even though I quoted your words saying so.

I screwed up and I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

The rocker plugs have been described well by others. I'll go hide now

 

[Blondie]

Just wanted to give a shout out to the contributors of this thread. Took on a lot of water on the passenger side today, there was standing water on the floor where the wiring harness runs. Popped the rubber drain plug for that and used simple green and some weed whacker string to clear the front drain hoses out, zip tie on the pinch weld drains. I need a new windshield anyways so I'll have that done once the weather clears up. Thanks.

 

[ToyotaFan5]

Personally, I'd fix this from the bottom of the rocker panels. You'll see a seam on them. There are some rectangular openings every so often spaced along that seam. They are what is supposed to let the rocker drain, but get plugged from the dirt and the Mud we all love to hate. Use the end of a big plastic tywrap of thin piece of wood (chopsticks might fit?) to probe upward and open them, as you don't want to use metal here and make the scratches you make with that prone to rust.

Mike,

Thanks for the detail. I understood better. I took the sill plates off last weekend and could see where the carpet meets the edge, however could not see water anywhere. I still hear sloshing. On the center rocker panel (I thing that is what is between the front and back doors) I took the plastic over off and from the hole in the middle I could feel the drain hose going down, but cannot see or reach the bottom. Put a tie-wrap in but did not come up soaked. Where is the water? At the bottom of the panel is the seat belt spring-loaded assy. Not sure I need to take that out to get to the water. Should I just put a tune in there and try to see if I can suck the water?
Mainly I need to understand where the rectangular slits are that need to be cleaned to let the water drain. I wish someone could post some pics...

 

[spartan]

s*** can any other option for clearing. Use large diameter trimmer line, blow it, repeat five times. The rear drains are not really visible but if the trimmer line comes out under the rear quarter panel you hit it.

 

[greentruck]

SNIP
Mainly I need to understand where the rectangular slits are that need to be cleaned to let the water drain. I wish someone could post some pics...

Sounds like you're looking inside the truck. The seam I'm talking about is OUTSIDE the truck.

The rocker panel curves inward underneath the door jamb. Follow it down to the lowest point. Unless someone mashed it flat, there a standing seam along the bottom edge of the rocker panel. That what has the rectangular slits in it that get jammed with mud or dirt, which causes the water draining from the sunroof to back up inside the rocker panel and slosh.

 

[ToyotaFan5]

Sounds like you're looking inside the truck. The seam I'm talking about is OUTSIDE the truck.

The rocker panel curves inward underneath the door jamb. Follow it down to the lowest point. Unless someone mashed it flat, there a standing seam along the bottom edge of the rocker panel. That what has the rectangular slits in it that get jammed with mud or dirt, which causes the water draining from the sunroof to back up inside the rocker panel and slosh.

Mike,

Thanks for your response, I understand your message and have looked. For the life of me I can't find the rectangular slits at the bottom edge of the seam :-(

Could you post a pic? It would help very much! Or I could post couple of pics covering the front to back and you could mark up the places using Photoshop or Paint...Let me know. Thanks!

 

[greentruck]

Mike,

Thanks for your response, I understand your message and have looked. For the life of me I can't find the rectangular slits at the bottom edge of the seam :-(

Could you post a pic? It would help very much! Or I could post couple of pics covering the front to back and you could mark up the places using Photoshop or Paint...Let me know. Thanks!

Sorry, been a busy week and I had to poke around to find these pics, which are by user corsair23 and posted in the "cleaning your sunroof drains FAQ" of all places
Cleaning your sunroof drains FAQ

corsair23 also posted some pics here:
sloshing sound

If your rocker is even a little mangled, that could account for them being hard to find. They are low-profile and work fine, but doesn't take much to squash them closed if you're brutal to your truck. Good luck!

 

[2KCruiser]

I just cleaned all 4 drains today. Already had the headliner out so was pretty simple to do.
Posted more pics of the drain tubes on my build thread.

 

[johnnyp34]

My 94 also had a series of rubber plugs installed along the rocker panel that I removed which allowed the bulk of the water to drain so the normal drains didn't re-clog immediately upon clearing.

After the zip tie I got the idea of using compressed air to blast all of the crap back up into the rocker panel.. hopefully this will push it further away keeping them flowing free for longer.

PS of my 91 had series of plugs along rocker panel as well. Anyone know the reasoning for the plugs in first pace?

 

[bloc]

PS of my 91 had series of plugs along rocker panel as well. Anyone know the reasoning for the plugs in first pace?

I’m not sure but possibly for just this reason.

 

[Dave 2000]

I took the grommets out and left them out, sealed box seams rust from the inside out when they get damp.


regards

Dave

 

[BlackMud]

I just cleaned all 4 drains today. Already had the headliner out so was pretty simple to do.
Posted more pics of the drain tubes on my build thread.

View attachment 1241861

Hey @2KCruiser

Could you please explain how you took the headliner out? I'm working on fixing the sunroof leak on both DS and PS but so far I have used the trimmer line on both front drain holes. Some debris came out when pouring water on both drain holes but i'm curious to know if the drain tubes are still plugged to the holes as they should. After putting everything together back in place I can see water dripping from the rocker pinch welds.

After researching, I see that the sun visors and the A pillar handles have to come out. However, what is the procedure to take the headliner out?