2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Bad water leak

[EBottema]

After pulling my carpet out I am starting to piece together a story of the water leak.

The truck is lifted in the front and not the back until I get my new rear springs this week so I know there rear window of the truck is not the problem. Atleast i hope :{ Already sealed the 3rd brake light too.



It looks like I am having major water run down both the driver and passenger side kick panels, down both door sills and get stuck in the rear area. Any suggestions?



Thanks

Erik

 

[bmoeller]

How are the seals for the side windows, behind the drivers' door?

 

[Chris N5CWM]

It may be worth the time and $$ to check the windshield. It could be leaking somewhere around the perimeter of the glass under the rubber external weather strip.

 

[EBottema]

The seals on the door and side window look okay without any damage to them. I'm starting to think it is something on the firewall or maybe the windshield since the truck is sitting at a 10 degree angle since its only lifted in the front and the water is running down both sides of the cab next to the sills... Then collecting in the back

 

[mechanic]

After pulling my carpet out I am starting to piece together a story of the water leak.

The truck is lifted in the front and not the back until I get my new rear springs this week so I know there rear window of the truck is not the problem. Atleast i hope :{ Already sealed the 3rd brake light too.



It looks like I am having major water run down both the driver and passenger side kick panels, down both door sills and get stuck in the rear area. Any suggestions?



Thanks

Erik

My truck is not altered, but I had a pond in the passangers floor. I tried to relate it to every conceivable possibility, but found nothing. I even pulled the cowel vent covers and cleaned everything and checked for cracks in the sealer or welds or ANTHING, but found nothing. I removed the carpet cleaned and dried it, crawled under the dash... nothing. Then at a Snap-on class I was talking to a Chrysler/Dodge dealership mechanic, and he told me that they have a kit for the leak, that it is from the A/C drain trickling back along the tube and runing behind the carpet to the floor. I had been suspecting that that was the source all along, but thought sure that if that were it there would be some sort of bullitin on it, and Alldata didn't show anything. The kit is a 90* ell hose that slips over the outlet.

I don't know if this fits your situation or not, but it might be worth checking. Aren't water leaks fun?

Good luck

 

[EBottema]

After ripping all the interior out and having some good rains in southern california this week I think I found my leak. After all, it was the rear window seal on both upper corners. It leaks so bad that the water runs down the channels and gets up by the front seats. The carpet even sucked it and pulled it up by the kick panels. I hate water leaks. lol

I'm going to temp reseal with silicone since the truck will be painted in a year or so. Then im ordering the AC tube just as a preventative item. Did you ever get your leak fixed?

I guess You can get the molded hose from NAPA that fits the a/c drain.

Part #9808 and cost about $10.

Make sure the drain is clean before putting the new hose on

 

[mechanic]

After ripping all the interior out and having some good rains in southern california this week I think I found my leak. After all, it was the rear window seal on both upper corners. It leaks so bad that the water runs down the channels and gets up by the front seats. The carpet even sucked it and pulled it up by the kick panels. I hate water leaks. lol

I'm going to temp reseal with silicone since the truck will be painted in a year or so. Then im ordering the AC tube just as a preventative item. Did you ever get your leak fixed?

I guess You can get the molded hose from NAPA that fits the a/c drain.

Part #9808 and cost about $10.

Make sure the drain is clean before putting the new hose on

I have not put the hose on mine yet because I won't need the A/C untill at least March. But I will put it on before then. I know my case and drain are clean because while tring to find the leak, I filled the thing with water 2 or 3 times using a cut off water hose slipped over the drain. By the way, my floor is still dry after some real heavy rain storms.

For your rear window leak, I would suggest that you use a seam sealer or something beside silcone. If you are going to paint the truck soon, the paint and body man will have some rather uncomplementary names for you if you use silicone. There is a clear sealer that is solvent based that is used in construction that stays flexable and will come off with MEK or simular solvent. It is called CLEAR SEAL and several other trade names. It is almost as clear as water. Hardware stores and building supplies should have it usless it is band in CA because of the solvent in it.

 

[EBottema]

Do you only recommend the clear seal since it comes off easy? or for other reasons? I'm goin to be doing the paint so thats not a big issue for me. I just want to get some goop down there to stop the leak. A solvent might help clean the area too so it sticks? Who makes the product and what size does it come in. Hopefully its not banned here yet!

 

[mechanic]

sealant update

Good morning,

I recomended the clear seal because it really seals, it is clear and will not look dorkey, it is flexible, it can be removed, though not easy to remove, it can be done, but mostly because it will not cause paint problems. Silicone seals fairly good, though I have seen cases where it leaked, but when you try to paint the truck it will cause the paint to "fish eye" to bead up, to "pull back" off the area ect. I use silicone gasketing products in building engines and have had paint problems 6" from the area where the silicone is. So that is the main reason I recomend against silicone.

There are automotive seam sealers that work great, but I have not seen them in any thing but white or black, plus it is not flexable enough to seal a window. Windshield urethane would seal it but when the body shop pulls the window to paint the truck, they would use your name in connection with some other terms that I won't mention.

The product I have in hand is an ACE HARDWARE product called CLEAR SEALANT product # is 17600. Full UPC # is 0 82901 17600 8. It is rated at 50 years in outside use. It cleans up with TOLUENE or MINERAL SPIRITS when fresh. It is paintable with latex or oil base. After ageing it would be ok for automotive finishes. It is in a 10. 5 FL. OZ. caulking gun size tube.

There are other brands of the same product, HOME DEPOT has one and I have seen other private lables out there. If you can't find it, I think you could get it online from ACE. Hope this helps.