rntonp

Hope this is helpful to someone someday, because I was very frustrated after buying a used 2011 Ecoboost Scab from family of deceased elderly owner, only to realize that every time it rained, the drivers floorboard became wet. Finally found the problem.
If my current solution eventually fails, I'll use Bondo next time.






1 Underneath Hood _ Inside Cowl View

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2 Water accumulation left drivers kick panel behind hood latch location

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3 Removing drivers side fender

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4 Removing drivers side fender

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5 Removing drivers side fender

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6 Pain in **** bolts behind headlight - have to remove bolts in picture 9 in order to access one of these

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7 Drivers door partially open looking into fender space

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8 Behind headlight - Top view of hidden bolts shown in picture 9

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9 Bolts attached to some type of motor ( I'm no mechanic)

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10 Another picture of motor with bolts loosened

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rntonp

11 Used LED strip to find out exactly where this cavity went - came out in area shown in picture 2

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12 Don't laugh - the LED strip worked GREAT - especially at night searching for leak pathway.

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13 Fender off. Source of leaks are arrowed


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14 Closer look of the UPPER arrowed part shown in picture 13


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15 Closer look of the LOWER arrowed part shown in picture 13


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16 Exterior view of opposite side of COWL drain plastic piece shown in picture 1


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17 Covered lower gap with Gorilla Tape prior to using Gaps & Cracks insulating foam sealant


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18 Used Gaps & Cracks insulating foam sealant to fill in ALL cracks - Then applied more Gorilla tape to contain the foam as it dried to prevent dripping

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IF THIS FAILS, I WILL USE BONDO TO FILL IN VOIDS NEXT TIME.

Jrsharpa

I had this exact same problem. I used windshield silicon to seal mine up and added a sheet metal patch to the hole on the side of the bracing.

Gremlin85

Wow, that's quite the problem to have. Those obviously should have been sealed from factory and the factory also should have noticed something when testing for quality control when running the vehicle through the water test to check for leaks.

I wonder if it was a small run of trucks that were missed and if it's isolated to 2011's? Jrsharpa, what year is your truck?

Another theory is that what ever was there previously to seal those gaps might have come off in transport or over time of ownership? We may never know unless more people pop up with the same issues and provide information on their truck year and specs....

AK4wheeler

I also think that maybe these trucks were involved in an accident during their life and the body technician fixed/replaced the fender but did not replace the sealant. that happened to my old Ford Escape. Was hit from behind and the damage was fixed but the technician did not seal the gap behind the passenger light. Had to have body shop fix it under warranty.


AK4wheeler

Jrsharpa

My truck is a 2014. According to the carfax, there were no accidents reported and I can't see any evidence of such.

Gremlin85

I'm noticing in the pictures that you can see the residue where the foam sealant once was. Something had caused it to come off. Probably poor adhesion from factory, or like what AK4wheeler said about a previous accident, or maybe a creature using it for their nest/shelter? All guesses.

Bsevans5

I know this is an old post. I just picked up a 2013 and while detailing found water dripping on my drivers floor mat and the upper left corner of the carpet is wet. I hope I dont have to pull the whole fender off. What a hassle.

arshooter

Yep, it's an old thread but I have heard of any more problems like this so that makes me think that only a small number of 2013s had this problem. Pulling the fender might be a PITA but it's probably the only way to adequately fix the problem. Post up what you find.

dewski

Just figured I'd revive this. I have the same leak and tried to address it today. All of the factory foam had failed and was soaking up water like a sponge. The cavities under the dash were full of water, which leaked into the wire channel running down the floor of the cab. The driver's floorboard carpet would grab it and soak it up. Hopefully this does something about it. I sprayed in a little foam, covered it all in aluminum tape and then I sprayed the whole thing with flex seal.





Just figured I'd revive this. I have the same leak and tried to address it today. All of the factory foam had failed and was soaking up water like a sponge. The cavities under the dash were full of water, which leaked into the wire channel running down the floor of the cab. The driver's floorboard carpet would grab it and soak it up. Hopefully this does something about it.