JB Lawhon

I realized yesterday, after noticing some fuzzy white mold on the carpet under the drivers seat (I initially thought it was spilled powder of some kind), that I have a leak. I don't drive my truck daily, and we've had a very wet spring thus far, but I've never noticed water in the truck before. Based on my searching here and elsewhere, it seems like it's either a cowl/cowl seam leak or a leaking windshield.

When I pulled up the door sill plates, there was standing water, with more of it towards the back of the driver's side back door (my driveway is slightly inclnined). You can see how much water there was in the photo with the red arrow, which is pointing at the water line. I took towels and a shop vac and removed as much water as I could but quickly realized that the padding under the carpet is soaked (as in dripping). Clearly the carpet and padding will need to be pulled, dried, and reinstalled. Seems like there is no way around that process. I do live in a dry climate and have fans currently blowing into the truck - front and back driver's side - with the carpet propped up to the extent possible to allow air underneath but based on my reading, this won't ever dry out the padding fully.

I called my Ford dealership and told them what was going on and they booked me for an appointment this coming Monday (I have the Ford Protect extended warranty). However, since it could be the windshield, which was replaced by Safelite Auto Glass (lifetime warranty) in early 2020, I'm wondering who to take it to first.

My question is: who is/or how to determine who is responsible (Ford or Safelite Auto Glass) and what's the best order to sort this out?

Should I have the carpet and pad dealt with first before taking to Ford or Safelite? If I take it to the dealer, are they capable of pulling the carpet and pad? I've read where Ford will only vacuum and clean the carpet but will not pull it and dry it for being wet.

Also, if the Ford dealer can't or won't deal with the carpet/pad removal, drying, and reinstall, what kind of shop can? A car upholstery shop?

Any help or advice on how I should go about sorting this out would be greatly appreciated.




This is from under the driver door sill plate.



Same location (under driver's door sill plate) but further towards the back of the area.


Red arrow pointing at the waterline. This was a shot from under the back driver's side door sill plate.

Pacfanweb

Okay, the aftermarket windshield is always a prime suspect for me. I'd want to know first if that was the source of the leak.

If it's not, then we're on to the normal other things. I have my suspicions, but I'll walk you through the usuals:
Sunroof drains. They can get clogged (rare), but more often they can come off the track. Usually the fronts, so in your case, the left front. I'd make sure it's connected securely, and that it flows.

Inner splash shields/barriers behind the door panels. They can absolutely flood the floor. To test, I slip my (dull) pocketknife between the door window and seal, pull it out slightly, and pour a good bit of water down in there. Then open the door....if water is all up on the scuff plate, that's probably your leak. Panel has to come off, and the inner shield/barrier resealed.

Rear window. Fairly common. Checking it goes hand in hand with my next, and most common thing I find:

Rear cab vent. Fold the rear seat down...pull the rear sound deadener/insulation back, and look at the vent. It'll be VERY obvious if that's the source. Usually there will be dirty streaks below it and dirt on top of it. The window leaking will leave streaks from the bottom of the glass all the way down. Sometimes it'll run on top of the vent.

There are other, less likely sources I won't bother with, likely it's one of these things.

Only other, "sort of common" thing I see on driver's side is if someone has run any aftermarket wiring...amp, lights, etc....oftentimes they'll poke a hole in the big grommet through the firewall...but they don't know to make the wire "dip" down before it goes through the grommet, nor to seal it. This causes a fair amount of leaks, too.

As far as drying it out: Front seat needs to come out. Shop Vac the standing water. Prop up carpet with a piece of wood (or two). Fan on it overnight. When it's dry, Lysol the hell out of it, and you'll fixed.

If it's under warranty, let the dealer do all of this for you.