I Hate Water Leaks (1 Viewer)

[Rifleman]

Well we had a steady rain here for 2 days in a row, during that time my truck was parked in my driveway never moving. The day after the rain stopped i got in my truck and noticed that the drivers side floor mat looked wet, sure enough it was damp, along with the carpet under the mat. The only place i found any pooled water was under the wiring harness that runs in a channel along the door sill plate/carpet to the rear of the truck.

So i started searching for my leak today by having my daughter spray down the sun roof, and drivers side windshield with a garden hose while i was inside watching for the leak. Long story short, after having my daughter spray down the truck 3 times in a row i didn't see one drop of water leaking in, not one!

Now just in case someone suggest my problem might be my sun roof drains, i checked those to make sure they were clear, and they were. Along with the sun roof drain tubes i also checked the drain holes in the rocker boxes, they too were clear.

Next someone might suggest that my leak is coming from my windshield gasket. So i climbed up underneath my dash with flash light and mirror looking for any signs that my windshield gasket had been leaking, nothing, not one wet spot or sign of a leak.

So if i can flood the sun roof, and windshield with the garden hose and get no water leaks. Then that leaves me with a question mark, where in the heck did that water on my carpet come from?

 

[voodu3]

How’s your door weatherstripping where the rain gutter runs down behind the side mirror?

 

[jfz80]

I know you said you looked but.....

Did you look in bottom interior corners of the windshield gasket?

But more importantly: How bout pulling kick panel plastic and looking for droplet tracks? You know on metal behind all them fancy electronics.

 

[Rifleman]

How’s your door weatherstripping where the rain gutter runs down behind the side mirror?

You know i though about that when i saw water running down right past the door stop when the door was open. But sad to say, that after removing the plastic kick panel/sill plate, and respraying the truck with water i could not see any water making it's way in past that weather stripping.

How bout pulling kick panel plastic and looking for droplet tracks? You know on metal behind all them fancy electronics.

When i did my spray testing today i had the plastic kick panel removed, and no water came streaming down the metal, not a drop, or run, nothing.

 

[graham5david]

Have the same problem with mine except for the rear. Lol

 

[BILT4ME]

Any firewall grommets open or missing?

But I guess you weren't driving in the rain, were you?

How about roof rack holes, running down the headliner?

Was the truck nose up or nose down during the rain? Mine leaks one way but not the other.

 

[LINUS]

Any chance you can find say a ‘high spot’ of wet carpet to understand how it’s collecting in the footwell, like for example - if the firewall/behind pedals would indicate windshield, or similar?

Also, while you can trickle a little water in the sunroof drains, can you pour ~1/8” water & it all drains - someone was missing a small foam gasket where pieces meet recently, IIRC the corner black plastic where it meets plastic next to the rails for the roof panel.

So parallel to the raingutters, simple way to say it. That front corner maybe 5” from the FR drains.

 

[chap79]

I recently found that my inner sunroof gasket is leaking on the passenger side of mine. With the sunroof closed and spraying water on it I didn't get anything. When I poured water in the tube, nothing. But when I poured it on the track and it navigated to the tube, voilà! Guess it's time to seal up the sunroof for good.

 

[baldilocks]

I recently found my windshield leaking at both lower corners and I know for sure the windshield installer put sealant between the gasket and the glass three years ago.
The water can be seen running exactly in the corner of the rubber. The hose test may not have been enough. Leave it sit out and next time it rains go check it. Your wet carpet sounds exactly like mine was.

I went down and picked up a tube of permatex windshield sealant at Napa and resealed it and it’s been sitting out the past week in several days if Washington rain and she’s still dry inside.

What I found was that the sealant was applied during windshield installation was no longer bonded to the glass nor the the rubber. Instead, it was more like a thin rubber gasket. Strange...

 

[bhsdriller]

Same thing happened to me.

I sealed around the outside of the windshield. Both sides, glass and paint.
Sealed my sunroof and it's been dry ever since

 

[Rifleman]

How about roof rack holes, running down the headliner?

Was the truck nose up or nose down during the rain?

The head liner was dry as a bone. My driveway has a very slight downwards slope and my truck was facing down during the rain. So to make sure my test for leaks was apples to apples, i parked my truck in the same spot facing down hill.

Also, while you can trickle a little water in the sunroof drains, can you pour ~1/8” water & it all drains

When i did my spray test i parked my pickup truck right next to my cruiser, i had my daughter get in the pickup bed, so she'd be able to flood the top of the sun roof. My though of having her do it this way would be as close to simulating a rain storm as i could get.

Leave it sit out and next time it rains go check it.

The only problem with this idea, i live in Arizona, and we have over 300 days of sunshine a year. So it might be months before we get any measurable rain like this last 2 day storm dropped.

As dumb as this may sound, i went looking through some of my wife's sheet metal baking pans yesterday. I found one that was the right size to fit up under the brake and gas pedal, and another one to sit at the bottom to catch all the water that might be running off the one under the pedals.

This is in no way a permanent fix, but until i find the source of this leak, I'm hoping this rube goldberg fix just might keep my carpet dry. On the plus side, when it rain again if there is no water in that pan, I'll at least know my leak is coming from a different location.

 

[nemoblackdog]

I also recently went to the route of permanently sealing things shut. It's good to not have it dribble down on my knees when taking corners. (Before sealing, I did open it all up and made sure it was all dry in there before closing things in for good.)

 

[davidp14]

How did you seal.the sunroof?

 

[nemoblackdog]

I used Sikkaflex polyurethane sealant. Cleaned all the surfaces with alcohol. Masked around the sunroof with tape, then applied the sealant (comes in a tube for use with a caulk gun), tooled it smooth with a gloved finger, and then removed the tape when it was still uncured so I have a nice, neat line.

 

[Rifleman]

Well i have a update, last night and today we have winter storm Ezekil blowing through. It rained steady here for hours, so this was a good test for my catch pans i set up to keep my carpet dry.

When i check my truck at 7:30 AM there was not a drop of water in my catch pan, but the carpet was still wet. After doing some inspection with a flash light i found the source of my leak.

Above the dash in the inside corner of my windshield where the rubber gasket goes from horizontal to vertical is the source of my leak. The water was coming in between the inside of the windshield glass, and rubber gasket.

As i was standing in the rain looking at that gasket i saw what look like a small wet spot.

As i continued to watch that spot, it ever so slowly changed from a wet spot, into a small drop of water, until that drop got large enough to drop off, leaving a wet spot to start the process all over again.

This is not a very big, or fast leak, but I'm sure with steady enough rain those drips will add up.

As for why my testing with my garden hose didn't show this leak. The only thing i can think of, the windshield needed to be soaked with enough water for an extended period of time in order for this leak to start.

Now when the rain stops i need to decide if I'm going to go to the expenses of replacing the windshield and gasket, or just try to use some type of sealant to reseal the outside of the existing gasket.

 

[Rifleman]

I used Sikkaflex polyurethane sealant.

You say you used this product with good results. but i have a question, which type did you use? The reason i ask this question, when i looked this product up they offer 8 different types of Sikkaflex sealant, so which type did you use?

 

[Proven]

To seal my windshield i used 3M 5200, I believe.

3M™ Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 | 3M United States

www.3m.com

I would recommend using marine grade polyurethanes. I picked up a tube at a marina, in the color black. I cut the nozzel to be TINY so that I could flip it under the molding and get a tight bead.

 

[Rifleman]

After doing a little research I found this info on one of the Sikkaflex products, it's called Sikkaflex 15 LM. Pre the info on line, this product offers high movement of whatever it's bonded to without breaking it's parent bond/seal. Being able to flex and move without breaking it's bond/seal with the windshield I'm thinking would be a big plus for a truck used off road. This product also has a service temperature rating of 40 below zero to a high of 167 degrees.

To seal my windshield i used 3M 5200, I believe.

3M™ Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 | 3M United States

www.3m.com

I would recommend using marine grade polyurethanes. I picked up a tube at a marina, in the color black. I cut the nozzel to be TINY so that I could flip it under the molding and get a tight bead.

Thanks for the tip, I'll spend some time researching that product too. The only problem i may have is locating some close by, seeing as i live in the desert.

 

[baldilocks]

Well i have a update, last night and today we have winter storm Ezekil blowing through. It rained steady here for hours, so this was a good test for my catch pans i set up to keep my carpet dry.

When i check my truck at 7:30 AM there was not a drop of water in my catch pan, but the carpet was still wet. After doing some inspection with a flash light i found the source of my leak.

Above the dash in the inside corner of my windshield where the rubber gasket goes from horizontal to vertical is the source of my leak. The water was coming in between the inside of the windshield glass, and rubber gasket.

As i was standing in the rain looking at that gasket i saw what look like a small wet spot.

As i continued to watch that spot, it ever so slowly changed from a wet spot, into a small drop of water, until that drop got large enough to drop off, leaving a wet spot to start the process all over again.

This is not a very big, or fast leak, but I'm sure with steady enough rain those drips will add up.

As for why my testing with my garden hose didn't show this leak. The only thing i can think of, the windshield needed to be soaked with enough water for an extended period of time in order for this leak to start.

Now when the rain stops i need to decide if I'm going to go to the expenses of replacing the windshield and gasket, or just try to use some type of sealant to reseal the outside of the existing gasket.

This is exactly what I explained two days ago. After a good deal of inner debate, I decided to leave my windshield in place and reseal it. Napa has permatex windshield sealant. It’s rather runny and will work it’s way into narrow voids. One tube was more than enough to seal the vertical areas and the bottom horizontal. I saw no need to seal the upper horizontal. My 80 has been sitting outside for well ove a week (it rains in WA) and no leaks. Good luck because old, wet carpet stinks.

 

[Rifleman]

My 80 has been sitting outside for well ove a week (it rains in WA) and no leaks. Good luck because old, wet carpet stinks.

Man o man are you right, wet carpet stinks to high heaven, it's almost as bad as a wet dog. But I've got to say I'm somewhat fortunate that i live in Arizona, and a few days of dry weather will help to dry the carpet out. Even so, I'm still planing on pulling the drivers seat so i can fold the carpet back over itself to help speed the drying. I also plan to allow the windshield gasket at least a week to dry out before i start the process of sealing up the gasket.