lowercasee

Just found that the drivers side carpet near the door was wet after sitting during a hard rain. Truck is a 94 F150 XLT regular cab. Hadn't been driven for a few days prior and it was definitely dry before. I know that one or 2 of the screws that hold the plastic carpet retainer panel down are a bit rusted. Could this be the reason? I would understand if I had driven it but it seems like water shouldn't be getting in there if it's sitting. Door and window seals seem OK as far as I can tell. Any other things I should check? Thanks.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

Windshield might be leaking. Pretty common if it's a really old windshield, or an improperly installed new one.

Steve83

Have someone spray a garden hose up so it rains down on the truck while you sit inside with a flashlight & inspection mirror. Have the assistant work slowly up the w/s & along the driver's door gutter while you do your best contortionist routine under the dash & along the door edge. It will probably help if you remove the carpet first, and maybe the kick panel & w/s trim.


(phone app link)

lowercasee

Thanks for the suggestions guys, will give them a try. Was reading through some old threads too about the windshield seal. One particular one mentioned a windshield starting to leak after a cold snap. We just recently had one here so I am going to look into that first.

lowercasee

OK, had a little time to try the hose suggestion and I couldn't seem to find any leaks from the windshield. However, noticed this today. Going to seal it and see if it helps. From where the water is entering, it would seem logical that this is the culprit. Any thoughts?

Steve83

It's possible. If that's the source, you'd find the rain (and probably a thriving colony of fungus/bacteria) inside the driver's kick panel behind the hood pull (two 4.5mm screws) inside the A-pillar below the door hinge nut plate.


(phone app link)

The bottom of that well is filled at the factory with closed-cell foam, but it often leaks rain into the footwell or door jamb. It can be dug out through the hole in the bottom (under the rockers) so it drains, and then plugged after it's dry.

Before adding any seam sealer to the roof rail, dig that shrinking crap out of there, and inspect the metal below. A wire wheel on a 4 1/2" angle grinder makes short work of it, but it also removes a lot of paint. This pic shows the REAR end of that drip rail on a Bronco, but the idea is the same:


(phone app link)

lowercasee

Wow, thanks for the info. On looking at the hood release, there is evidence of water coming down the plastic from it. I will look into draining the footwell / rocker area. Going to get getting some rust spots taken care of once my tax return comes in so I will see about fixing the drain well part too. Thanks again, very informative!

lowercasee

Just wanted to update this thread. Ended up finding a leak around the windshield seal near the drivers side corner. Pretty clearly the source of most of the water issues. Ordered a trim removal tool so I can pop the trim off to take care of it. Will check the rest of the windshield too. Thanks again for the help in this thread.

Steve83

It's not a complicated or precise tool - with a little effort, you can make one. With even less, you can find a substitute. Read this & the NEXT few captions:


(phone app link)

lowercasee

Thanks for the tutorial on removing the trim, that will be a huge help! Hoping to dig into it this weekend. Lots of rain here for the next few days so I will have to pull her into the garage to get it sealed up. Thanks again!