Water leaking into both front floors

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davesgarage

davesgarage

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Camarillo, California
I'm both new to this forum and to owning a 1974 Dart.

Spent some time and money to make this a decent driver but this morning in the little bit of rain we get here both sides of the front floor are wet, the raised area behind the pedals to the firewall is dry. I noticed a few drops coming in at the top of the windshield on the passengers side but can't find anything on the drivers side. I checked and the cowl vents are clear.

SO, any ideas? Do these cars have notorious problems like this?

The cooling system seems tight, but also the defroster fogs up the car and never goes away...

Any help will be appreciated.

Dave
 
Is it a vinyl top car? On mine the roof drip rails didn't have seam sealer in them and leaked down at the front of the headliner. I found this out by running it through an automatic car wash while I was sitting inside. I guess Chrysler figured the vinyl would do the job. Just a thought Mike
 
Sounds like your windshield wiper piviots are leaking. A fairly common problem with older mopars. Its relitivly easy to fix but I beleve you will need to at least remove the glove box and insturment panel to gain access.
 
The cooling system seems tight, but also the defroster fogs up the car and never goes away...

your heater core needs replaced.
 
Could be the lower corner of the windshield, they like to rust away there and then leak down the side where the kick panels go.
 
A heater core wouldn't leak on the drivers side, only the passengers side. To test it why don't you bypass the heater. Is it water or antifreeze on the floorboards? Is it only when it rains?
It's common on these cars for them to leak where the wiper pivots come out of the body. Someone here used 2 tubeless tire valves and cut them off right at the groove where the rim would mount on them then slid them on the pivots to make new seals.
 
I work at a auto glass shop and we get cars with leaks. Moldings, windshield, wiper pivots, fire wall harness, etc.... leak. You name it we have found it and fixed it.

Method 1

Sprinkle baby powder around or on the area in which you think the leak is coming ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE CAR. Then take compressed air and blow from inside the car. If there is a leak of any nature you will see the baby powder blow like a mad wind!! Then you have found your leak.

Method 2

With the assistance of another person roll up the windows, get inside the car and let them carefully drown the lower area of the firewall with water out of a hose. Work your way up the firewall slowly, on to the cowl, wiper pivots, then around the windshield. Start at the lowest point another words and work up. This will eliminate the lower sections one at a time. Don't just squirt it and call it done... let the water flow over things just like you're in a down pour of rain.

If you do this you WILL find your leak. Hope this helps.
 
Anytime you need something go to the top and click "search". It's a very powerful search engine.

The same is true over on BigBlockDart.com
 
Thanks MVR- great link!
Was hoping for a quick fix until I can get behind dash to do it the right way.
No problem getting to passenger wiper but drivers side is another story... :munky2:
 
MVRCorp said:
A heater core wouldn't leak on the drivers side, only the passengers side. To test it why don't you bypass the heater. Is it water or antifreeze on the floorboards? Is it only when it rains?
It's common on these cars for them to leak where the wiper pivots come out of the body. Someone here used 2 tubeless tire valves and cut them off right at the groove where the rim would mount on them then slid them on the pivots to make new seals.
Click to expand...
The cooling system seems tight, but also the defroster fogs up the car and never goes away...


he also posted, that his windows steam up with the heat on, that = a bad heater core.
 
What happend on mine was the drain for the heater inlet ,the grill on the front just under the windshield dlocked up and rusted a hole every time it rained or I washed it the foot wells would flood !!!! hard job to fix as I had to take the fenders off and poke out the crud had to get my head under the dash to see holes in that bit hope this helps
 
OH in answer to your question about where you can get a heater core I got mine from Advance Auto. I think NAPA has them also for around $40.00.
 
mac daddy mopar said:
he also posted, that his windows steam up with the heat on, that = a bad heater core.
Click to expand...


Not always, if the carpet and carpet padding is soaked, it will steam up while the heat is on just from moisture inside the car.

The one down fall these old Mopars had was they weren't vented very well and any moisture in the car would steam up the windows. All I drove back in the 80's was old Chargers, Dusters, Darts, Barracudas etc and everyone had a moisture problem when it rained, I always kept a clean towel near by to wipe the windows.
 
By far, wiper seals are the biggest offenders with Mopar-bodies!
 
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