Water in major body panel (1 Viewer)

[IXXI]

Hi again,

Couldn't find this anywhere in the archives... Recently I when stopping or accelerating I would hear what sounded like LOTS of water sloshing around somewhere along the driver's side of my '80. Checked the doors; nope all dry inside...

I looked under the doors, at the body part which I guess is the rocker panel and saw some plastic buttons in there... decided to uncork one and GUSH-- out comes all this water!

No telling how long it'd been in there-- and more concerning to me, is how it got in in the first place.

How might water have gotten in there (and its waaaaaaay more than condensation; like a liter or two-- A LOT)? Any harm in keeping those holes open permanently to allow circulation (no worries in Oregon about salt on roads in winter anyway and summer is D-R-Y.)

Soon as I know its dry as a bone in there I'll shoot rust prev. just to kill anything in there, but I'd like to know how to KEEP it dry in there...

 

[IdahoDoug]

This is where the front sunroof drains go - the rocker panels. Look closely on the inboard surfaces of them and you'll see some tiny slit drains plugged up with road dust. Clear them with something non metal (to avoid breaking the paint) such as a toothpick so future water can weep out. This is in the archives.

Welcome.

DougM

 

[cc93cruiser]

the water gets there from the roof gutter railing, that is a good sign that they are working properly, some cruisers get water in the doors and and other areas, that leads into problems!

 

[OZCAL]

Maybe this should be a frequently asked question? It's actually one of the four or five things I knew before IH8MUD.

 

[IXXI]

Thx for the responses. I guess I didn't find anything like it in the archives with the search words I used; now I know and at least this version of the question will be there.

 

[TX_TLC]

Thx for the responses. I guess I didn't find anything like it in the archives with the search words I used; now I know and at least this version of the question will be there.

That is funny...I searched using the words from you title....water body panel...and found the answer...hmmmmmmm

 

[White Shark]

I park by backing into the driveway, so the truck is always sloped downhill. I popped the front plugs out, and leave them out. Living in California means that road salt and corrosion is not a big concern and enough water drains in winter to clear any mud/dirt that might accumulate throughout the summer. It's easier than poking out the small weepholes all the time.

 

[corbs]

Anybody got pictures of the weepholes and/or their location?

 

[Jesse Berdinka]

I am also having trouble with this. My driver's side carpet is soaked, but when I went to pop the two inch sized plugs underneath, there didn't seem to be any water in there. I cleaned the tube at top and at the small slit at the bottom. (It's more like a seperation in the seam. it's very small.)

My question is how is the water soaking my carpet when the rocker doesn't seem to be filled with water like in other people's postings? Is it wicking up somehow? Or, do I have another problem that I can't figure out?

 

[IXXI]

Yes indeed, tons of info on this in the archives now that I know which words I should've used. Didn't know how relatively common a prob it was.

Sorry to those I've irritated; thanks for the other constructive views.

 

[Darwood]

My question is how is the water soaking my carpet when the rocker doesn't seem to be filled with water like in other people's postings? Is it wicking up somehow? Or, do I have another problem that I can't figure out?

Make sure the water isn't coming from the windsheild. These also like to leak in the corners if they weren't replaced properly, or if they are old, or if they feel like it. Mine currently leaks the most on the passengers side which then runs down on the the carpet during heavy rains.

 

[C6H12O6]

Ok, I'm glad I'm not the only new Portland-area Cruiser owner to have this issue. I've only had my truck for a couple weeks and I actually noticed the sloshing noise during the test drive. The dealer I bought it from said the water was in the running board (are they even hollow enough to hold any water?) and that their mechanic drained it from some drain plugs. I had a pretty good feeling, after a late night search of the archives, that it was probably the sunroof drains, but I figured the drains they opened were the rocker drains, and the sloshing was gone, so no biggie.

Anyway, a couple days ago, the morning after another Oregon springtime cloudburst, the sloshing was back. I looked at the sunroof drains, and they were clear of debris and bone dry. WTF? No water to be found, dry sunroof, but a pretty major sloshing noise on braking and acceleration. It went away after a day or so on its own, but I'm concerned. No wet floor, no water damage visible on headliner, all drains look clear... where the heck is all this water I keep hearing?

We've gotta get all of us Portland-area 80 owners together soon. I haven't yet been to a Cascade Cruiser meeting, but the 80 crowd doesn't seem to be very well represented if you look on their website. Father's Day AM plans???

 

[IdahoDoug]

Robert,

T water does not go into the rocker panels from the roof rain gutters, and no Cruiser models I'm aware of have any issues getting water in their doors mysteriously or problems from water.

Steve,

You would not expect to find water up at the sunroof drains. The water flows down tubes inside the A pillar from the fronts of the sunroof and thence to the rocker panels. With clogged slit drains (you have), and the rocker plugs back in place, they'll simply fill up again each time it rains. So, find the slit drains and clear them, or listen to the noise.

As for the wet carpet question, what may be happening is that your slit drains are almost plugged. So in rain the rockers fill up and dump onto the carpet. A couple hours after the rain quits, the rockers have had time to drain through the partly clogged slit drains and you're wondering what happened. Do a search, but I believe some have had an A/C condensation hose in the dash get detached so that may be a possible also.

DougM

 

[C6H12O6]

Thanks, Doug. I understand that I shouldn't see standing water in the drain channel after it has had a chance to drain, but I had an opportunity to check this out after my last post and it looked like the surface of Mars up there. I was concerned, because I had a little puddle in my Husky floormat in the DS.

I was driving in a parking lot tonight and heard water sloshing above my head so I stopped immediately and opened the sunroof. Barely a drop in the drain channel and the dirt there was obviously not recently wet. I then jumped down under the truck and pulled the drain plug... Nothing but a few drops.

When I got going again, I could still hear water, but mostly in the rear DS near the gas tank. Is it possible that some of what I'm hearing is the gas in the tank? I checked the back panels. Nothing. I just sealed up the rear slider plug thingies and there seems to be zero water still coming in there.

I'm gonna go look through the old posts again to learn a little more. I appreciate the help. Oregon isn't the place to have a leaky Cruiser.