Mystery leak on driver side floor. Roof drain?

[Boston71]

I have a leak that has been driving me crazy.


Everytime it rains for more than an hour or two, I get water in the drivers side floor. It seems to be running from where the emergency brake is, but I can seem to locate it. It is possible it is running down the left side of the body under the dash. I think the water is running off the roof and draining into a gap between the window frame and hood. Does this make sense? If so, how the hell do I fix it?

Thanks.
Chris

 

[broncosr4ever]

might try checking the drivers vent box, it has a drain tube to let water out but if its clogged it will start to leak out the vent box onto the floor.

 

[HotWheels]

Check your fresh are box drain tube for blockage.

if not...

The original body sealer sometimes (it is 30 years old) dries out and breaks away. Todays seam sealers are a very significant improvemnt.

check for a gap where the cowl, door post and windshied support come together. Buy some 3m weatherstrip caulking (kinda like silly putty strips) and plug the areas.

This is good because it will seal yet is removable should the area not be a problem. When you do locate it you can dry it out and use the 3m body sealer for a more permanent fix.

hth,

Mick

 

[jbeyer]

check the seam sealer in the rain channel on the top. mine was wet front and back after it rained until i dug out the old stuff and resealed. look inside the channel for any cracks in the sealer. that would be a sign its all dried out. it could be other things also. the rubber seals around top and windshield... the air intake... rotted cowl...

 

[jbeyer]

yeah, and like hotwheels said too.

 

[Boston71]

Thanks guys - I'll give it a try.

 

[2badrotties]

There are a few things that could leak on that side. The vent is one of them. If the drain ISN'T plugged, it may be leaking around the top where it sits on the cowl. Take out the screws , remove the vent and re-seal it around the top, re-install the vent box. It also could be a antenna hole way up high on the kick panel, maybe leaking around the antenna wire and maybe there is just a hole with no wire at all. There is also a way for water to leak through the rear most fender bolt because that rear clip slips in between the bottom of cowl and the top of kick panel ( kinda hard to describe ). One last thing I can think of is right through the hood hinge bolts themselves. That would be pretty easy. Remove the bolts one at a time and squirt a little RTV in the hole and reinstall the bolts. All of the holes in the firewall are prone to leak. Any bolt or gromet COULD be the broblem. Good luck. Hope you find it without having to remove the fender.

 

[72Sport]

All of the above and the lap joint between the cowl and the bottom of the windshield support. There is a lip on the cowl that extends up about 3/4" toward the bottom of the windshield. It may leaks also. The goop they put in the seams to seal things seems to dry up and crack and provide a leak path.

Mine leaked in a couple of places along the seam. Look for cracked paint at the top of the lip.

I sealed it with 3M Drip Check. It is paintable. You can buy it at an auto paint store.

 

[taxx]

Let us know because I (and I am sure others) are about to imbark on the same treasure hunt.

Sounds like any of the seams leaking I can just put a new sealer on them and scrape off the old (not in that order)? This will be easier than I thought.

 

[HotWheels]

Let us know because I (and I am sure others) are about to imbark on the same treasure hunt.

Sounds like any of the seams leaking I can just put a new sealer on them and scrape off the old (not in that order)? This will be easier than I thought.

A Dremel with a wire wheel works pretty well for getting the old crusty out...

 

[taxx]

A Dremel with a wire wheel works pretty well for getting the old crusty out...

Good to know! Can't wait to start that project in a couple weeks!

 

[HotWheels]

Good to know! Can't wait to start that project in a couple weeks!

If u need anything feel free to PM me...

 

[MsMyMny]

Peice of cake,
I had the same dang problem, all I did was replace the seal that goes under the windshield hinge.

Scott
www.americanbronco.com

 

[taxx]

Peice of cake,
I had the same dang problem, all I did was replace the seal that goes under the windshield hinge.

Scott
www.americanbronco.com

I have that and I am hoping that is it, but I have a bit of rust under there too. The kick panels are rusted through at the top. Those get replaced in a week and the dash gets torn out for a wire harness so I will pull the top and replace those gaskets and run a hose over it and check for all leaks. Just glad to know its not terrible. But I need to eliminate the water coming in before I replace wiring and eliminate the cold air. Just gotta get in there and look around and hope for the best!

 

[hackyrat]

Mine started leaking there also. If it only leaks while you are driving then take a look at the dimmer switch. My dimmer switch bolts were loose and the tire sprayed water up and under the dimmer switch onto the floor. Got that fixed but now have to check out the vent leak.

 

[IowaMike]

I get leakage on the windshield seal in both lower corners. Doesn't look like it would leak there but does every time it rains.

 

[72_EB]

Mine is going where the spotwelds on the hinge are starting to fail. You can look up under the dash and see where. It's on the spring to do list-pull frame off, add stainless hinge (or solid stock), reweld.