Water Incursion help

[D'Ecosse]

I have a 1999 Lexus LX470 - it is in pristine condition, turned 150K just this very morning!
One issue I'm having is water incursion:
Woke up about 2 weeks ago to find the Fog Lights on.
The left side mat and carpet were soaked after heavy rain and it appeared water was leaking down to behind that kick-panel fuse/relay panel and had shorted out.
The car at that point was parked in a 'fairly level' spot (nose slightly down if anything), the rain was particularly heavy for the days immediately before
Prior to that incident I had earlier found that the seats and steering wheel had damp feel as well as the mat on left being damp (but not soaked).
At that initial point I had checked the forward drains of the sunroof and pushed a strimmer line down them; then checked by pouring water into them and they drained perfectly down and out to the ground at the appropriate location. So that had been done prior to the seriously wet, light shorting occasion.
After the Light shorting incident I brought into garage and dried out thoroughly with a dehumidifier.
I had to put it back outside, but now it was parked in my sloped driveway, front facing uphill (It's a pretty steep transition)
Now it has been raining fairly consistently (but not deluge) over the last few days - today, there was no condensation on the interior glass, and everything felt quite dry.
So it appeared - but could not be certain - that there was less of an issue while parked on the steep slope, vs flat (or even slightly down at front)
One other perhaps big clue - today - as I said it seemed pretty dry inside, I pulled back the interior shade on the sunroof - the glass was absolutely soaked - a LOT of water being held by surface tension and when touched it 'rained' down. I wiped so much water off with a rag, I had to wring it out to complete the process.
So ....... what can cause that? Is it the seal on the actual glass? Or ....???

 

[Malleus]

Your front corner drain has crap in it. Pull the kickpanel trim out, pull the long black plastic/rubber hose inside the body panel out, stick an air line it in and blow it out.

Whatever you do, don't do what you're going to be told to do, which is stick something, like weedeater line, into the pan drain and wiggle it around to clear the clog. Yes, everyone does it, and yes it'll work, maybe, but it won't solve the problem, it just prolongs it.

All that effort does is move the crap in the darinline around; you want it out. It's in the first inch or two of the top end of the drain, why would you want to push it three feet farther down in the hope it'll clear itself? Think of the drain like your shower drain: if your wife has half a head of hair in the trap, would you try to clear it by pushing it farther in? No, you'd call a plumber and he'd come by with a snake and pull it out: from the top.

And what's worse, unlike your shower drain, the end of the drain tubing is open into the body panel. Pushing the clog farther down just lodges it into the unaccessible body pocket, where it waits to gather more crap and rust out your body.

OK, I'm off my soapbox.

HTH

 

[D'Ecosse]

Thank you @Malleus - I did already try the strimmer line thing but upon checking it after, water flowed freely out the underside when poured into the drain.
I do get what you're saying about pushing clogs further in, but at least in this case it does appear to be clog free.
It's been raining fairly consistently for last 24 hours:
This morning, (it's fair now) this is how it looks - no condensation of any kind on the inside of the main car windows; again the sunshield screen is wet (not as bad as it was day before but still wet)
I understand how condensation works - water vapour inside car condensing on cold surface. OK, but why ONLY on that sun shield and NONE on the Windows? Especially since the sunroof glass panel also has that physical barrier of the the shade panel which would block (although not seal) water vapour from the car interior going onto the glass. Does that not suggest the water vapour has to be getting past the seal?
One more question - are there drains at rear corners too? Must remove the panel to access those I imagine?

Interior Glass - zero condensation (windshield is same)

Sunroof Glass (after wiping half to illustrate all on inside)

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Trimmer line is a great, and easy solution, that most everyone has on hand. If you check for flow after, should be fine. Not everyone has compressed air on hand and I'd be more concerned about blowing air in there if it was clogged and popping the junctions apart inside the panels/pillars.

 

[Malleus]

Water vapor is the result of a wet floor; it doesn't necessarily indicate the source. It's entirely possible to have a leaking sunroof and windshield. It's also possible, but unlikely, that your door seals are leaking. If the rain is heavy enough, leaking door seals will cause water to pool on the floor, but not on the steering wheel and seat; those are clear indications of a blocked sunroof pan drain.

Yes, there are drains the rear corners, too. If you lie down under the rear of the truck and look up behind the wheels, you'll see the rear drains hanging down there.

You do not have to remove anything to clean the drains, but you should open the sunroof before you do it. Blowing compresed air into the lower ends will clear them. I use a damp parper towel stuck in the corner when I do it alone. This prevents the clog from spraying all over the place. If I have a helper, I have them hold the paper towel close to, but not on, the drain. It catches all the crud.

 

[Malleus]

Trimmer line is a great, and easy solution, that most everyone has on hand. If you check for flow after, should be fine. Not everyone has compressed air on hand and I'd be more concerned about blowing air in there if it was clogged and popping the junctions apart inside the panels/pillars.

This is why I said blow into it from the lower end. The clog is always oriented downwards, towards the lower end; this is just how it forms. The lower end of the clog is the right shape to move the whole thing upwards. I do this regularly and I've never had a hose come off.

Using compressed air from the pan is a really bad idea. That's the best way I know of to pop the hose off the nipple, without removing the headliner.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Water vapor is the result of a wet floor;

Note however that there is ZERO condensation on the windows - so why isolated to only the sunroof glass? It would surely suggest the leak is localized in that proximity, essentially trapped between the shade and the sunroof. There is also no sign of any dampness on the headliner. I did successfully clear the front drains (I say clear, can't really say there was any clog per se, but after snaking it, water did flow freely to the ground)
I did also note that after the major issue, I dried out the interior for several days with a dehumidifier (an actual dehumidifier, not just a desiccant)

 

[Malleus]

 

[2001LC]

leaks:

Has windshield been replaced. If so look there as possible source.
Number one is open rivets holes. Second is black poly seal around glass.
First inspect along inside of side trim, for 4 rivets. Make sure molding pulled tight to body ("A" pillar).
Second pressurize cabin. Soap around windshield.

If roof rack bolts have ever been removed. They tend to leak.

Missing body seals under upper area of hatch.

One other lessor know water entry source. The fresh air intake port for HVAC. Typically water will only be in RH foot well, dripping from HVAC blower motor. But if vehicle cross level LH side lower. Water can flow to RH via dash support, to LH. But one would likely still find water dipping from HVAC blower motor. This takes a very heavy rain storm and fender pocket (between door & tire) drains clogged with debris.

Here's one with only 2 of 4 rivets holes plug. Plugged wrongly with screws promoting rust.

 

[LXMarksTheSpot]

Did you check the rubber trim around the sun roof? I had a very very small gab that cause a leak. However my shade was open and it dripped onto the second row carpet. If my shade would have been closed it would have dripped onto the front area.

 

[D'Ecosse]

great points, @2001LC and @LXMarksTheSpot
Yes, the windshield was replaced, probably about 7 years ago or so and it's certainly possible it is from there - will try the soapy water test. If I go back to when the carpet was soaked on drivers side and the fog lights got stuck on from fuse/relay panel getting wet, that suggests severe leak down the side pillar
Not the Blower, when soaked it was all on the Driver side.
Roof Rack has never been off and I don't believe there are any seals missing around sunroof (it was rarely used).
The sunroof condensation could be a red herring and I'm now focussing too much on that.

This is the first year this has been problem, it was outside last winter and not a problem at all.
So clearly something has deteriorated. Here in the PNW we swing from quite hot in Summer to Wet & Cold in Winter, so I'm sure that takes a toll on seals.

One thing that is consideration on severity is the orientation of the vehicle, now pointing nose up and problem not really so noticable to degree it doesn't feel damp inside (vs when it was soaked, albeit that was also REALLY heavy rain) - the two differences there would be:
Nose down - more water running down off roof, down windshield & forward drains of Sunroof - possible more points to windshield
Nose up - Not so much water running down windshield and using rear drains of Sunroof

As far as windshield goes - do you know if a shop can pull the glass and re-seal it with same glass? Or risk the glass get damaged in the process?
Will Insurance typically cover that?