My truck leaks too... (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 5, 2010
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Location
Denver, CO
Dang it... We just got first substantial rain here in Denver and sure engough I found out that I have a leak somewhere - the pic below shows the DS floor area near the door. I found some threads on this but would like to hear from you if there is one specific place I should focus my search on? Looking up high under the dash area in the DS area I don't see anything obviously wet... the wetness starts low on the carpet somewhere... Are there some drains that I should be unplugging or notorious seals that I should check?! Need you to point me in the right direction.

I should add that the truck was parked in the rain for about 1 hr before I got back and when I got in I got this inkling to touch the carpet to make sure... my suspictions were confirmed... :(

This of course has to happen at night, in the rain just hours before I'm heading out of town on a fishing trip... :crybaby:

I figured posting a photo may get me closer to getting the right lead:

DSwetcarpet1.jpg
 
Looks like a classic case of plugged sun roof drains. Search will turn up several useful threads.

The thing I found easiest to use to run down the drains is a piece of extra overhead door cable. Some people use string trimmer line, but the cable is heavier and more certain to easily break through whatever the blockage is.

Absolute worst case is if the clip that holds the drain tube to the sunroof drain fitting might have come off, a very rare circumstance that might require dropping the headliner. Don't sweat that unless the wetness continues, then make sure the little plastic pieces that form the drain at front corners of the sunroof are mangled or broken. All this covered in the relevant threads, but just ask if Roto-Rooting doesn't solve it first..
 
Did you hear any sloshing? If so the rocker drains may be clogged and the rockers filled with water. Clean 'em with a zip-tie in anycase, as it is likely they have some gunk and will be an issue if not cleaned.

:cheers: and welcome to the wet-carpet WTF is the leak club.

Steve
 
Looks like a classic case of plugged sun roof drains. Search will turn up several useful threads.

The thing I found easiest to use to run down the drains is a piece of extra overhead door cable. Some people use string trimmer line, but the cable is heavier and more certain to easily break through whatever the blockage is.

Absolute worst case is if the clip that holds the drain tube to the sunroof drain fitting might have come off, a very rare circumstance that might require dropping the headliner. Don't sweat that unless the wetness continues, then make sure the little plastic pieces that form the drain at front corners of the sunroof are mangled or broken. All this covered in the relevant threads, but just ask if Roto-Rooting doesn't solve it first..

Many thanks Green - as always us rookies tend to sweat the little stuff... thx - this makes me feel better about it. Thx again -
 
x2 on the blocked/clogged drains. Use a clean rag and wipe both DS and PS front corners of roof at moonroof opening. I recommend this as mine were extremely dirty (silt, grime, etc) and couldn't find the small holes, slightly smaller than a drinking straw in diameter. I used heavier gauge soldering wire to clear my drains. I also recommend looking at the drains behind the rocker panels. There are small openings (slits) in the lip of the body underneath. Use wire, trim line, etc and push up in to these slits feverishly. I got about a quart of water out of mine :eek: . Duplicate on other side of rig. These drains at bottom of body were the source of my wet drivers side.

Search will show pictures of these slits if you can't find them based on my description.
 
It could also be the windshield as well.
My pass side carpet would get wet in the exact same spot and it turned out to be the windshield lower corner.
Take a hose and rig it on top of the roof so that water will run down over that side of the windshield and A piller and see if it starts to leak at all.
That is what I did and the leak showed up within a few minutes of letting the hose run.
There is a thread done by Firetruck that will fix the problem if it is the windshield.
 
Thx everyone - yep, that's enough to get me started in troubleshooting.

I've read the FAQ on cleaning the sunroof drains - it said in there that there are 2 rubber plugs in the rocker pannel - I've looked under my running boards and it looks like there are 3 or 4 plugs there... hopefully I'm looking at the right plugs - unfortunately all the images were removed from the post about this very topic by 'tomatoepants'.
 
They are under the rocker.
Also the drains for the rockers are little slits along the pinch weld of the rocker itself which can become clogged
Look under the rig and you will find them
 
It could also be the windshield as well.
My pass side carpet would get wet in the exact same spot and it turned out to be the windshield lower corner.
Take a hose and rig it on top of the roof so that water will run down over that side of the windshield and A piller and see if it starts to leak at all.
That is what I did and the leak showed up within a few minutes of letting the hose run.
There is a thread done by Firetruck that will fix the problem if it is the windshield.
Yup, the leak at the windshield corner can also result in water running down to that area of the truck. Usually you can see moisture/water in the bottom corner of the windshield/seal interface. It just looks wet, but over a day or two, quite a bit of water can leak past there and drip down the firewall/kick panel area. The $5 fix is in my sig, if that is your problem.
 
Mine leaked last night too and ended up with water in the same spot. As I was driving to work it was leaking from the 'headliner' seam on the A pillar right near the grab handle and dripping down into that spot on the floor. I don't know if that's a windshield leak or a sunroof drain leak. Anyone know the answer?
 
Mine leaked last night too and ended up with water in the same spot. As I was driving to work it was leaking from the 'headliner' seam on the A pillar right near the grab handle and dripping down into that spot on the floor. I don't know if that's a windshield leak or a sunroof drain leak. Anyone know the answer?

Mine did this as well, looks like a slight gap at the top of the windshield weatherstrip where it meets the body.
That may be the cause.
I suspect that as the rubber seal ages it shrinks and settles lower down the body.
At least thats how mine appears to be.
I'm replacing the seal with OEM and new glass.
 
Mine did this as well, looks like a slight gap at the top of the windshield weatherstrip where it meets the body.
That may be the cause.
I suspect that as the rubber seal ages it shrinks and settles lower down the body.
At least thats how mine appears to be.
I'm replacing the seal with OEM and new glass.

Frequently it is the result of improperly installed replacement glass. The installers usually refuse to use polyurethane adhesive on both sides of the seal as specified in the FSM, or sometimes they say they will or they did, but on inspection, there is no adhesive. If you replace the seal, make sure you follow the FSM, so you don't have leaks later.
 
Frequently it is the result of improperly installed replacement glass. The installers usually refuse to use polyurethane adhesive on both sides of the seal as specified in the FSM, or sometimes they say they will or they did, but on inspection, there is no adhesive. If you replace the seal, make sure you follow the FSM, so you don't have leaks later.
Thanks, I'll make sure to find a good installer.
Now I need to figure out how to repair the little rust bubbles on the drivers outside where the weatherstrip meets the body.
Any advice for that ?
 
Update...

Ok -

I followed the advice above as well as the items in the FAQ on this topic. I used the garage door steel braided line to roto-rooter the drain lines on each side. I also cleaned the drain slots under the body using the wire tie. I then poured water down the left/front drain and watched as the water started dripping off the door trim piece (just above the top center edge in the first photo). So... I guess it's time to dig under the head liner above the driver's head and re-connect the drain up there. I tried seeing if there is a kink in the drain tube behind the kick plate on the DS behind the bundle of wires but I couldn't see that tube in there. (I did find a pretty good 'rats nest' in the wire bundle though, but that's another post...). Any guidance on taking off the head liner and saving the plastic plugs in the process would be appreciated. I saw someone (breathed) using a nice tool for the job but not sure where you get one of these... with my luck chances are I'll be buying new plugs.
 
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What's next...

I peaked under the headliner today on the DS where the leak was coming from. I could see that the tube was in good shape - like new and was firmly attached with a still shiny clip so I knew that's not the problem.

Next, I pulled the car out, shut the sunroof and had my wife pouring water on the sunroof while I sat in the car and watched. It was all good at first but then the flood came...

See the pic below for the suspected location - I say suspected because I'm not 100% sure exactly where it's overflowing. It almost looks like it would only leak there if the trough was over-filled with water... like the water isn't draining fast enough and it starts overflowing the channel that is supposed to contain it. What's the deal?!

I snaked that drain once again just to be sure and I don't feel anything down there... I got water dripping from under the rocker pannels like it should - what should I do next?!

The third pic is some mysterious parts I found in the corner while cleaning the drains... what could those be?!

The leak is in this general area - it's somehow getting under that black plastic section in the pic below:
sunroof1.jpg


The area in green with the arrow is where the water was pouring from:
sunroof2.jpg


These are the mystery parts I found while cleaning up there:
sunroof3.jpg
 
Mystery parts go to a sunroof wind deflector. The big acrylic kind that stick up from the roof. They are what used to hold the deflector down onto the roof by looping under the sheet metal at the front edge of the sunroof opening.

BTW, I recall seeing previous threads where those black trim pieces (the one you are pointing at) get warped and cause leaks.
 
BTW, I recall seeing previous threads where those black trim pieces (the one you are pointing at) get warped and cause leaks.

Ooooohhhhh... good clue - thx. What are those black trim pieces called (part nbr)?!
 
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