Where does all the water come from?

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7demon2

7demon2

Registered User #1824
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i have noticed through time and variouse posts that alot of floor pans get rusted out on mopars. i realise this can be from ground contact or moisture pentrating the metal from below. i have also noticed it can come in through the cowl vents as well. well i have a slight water problem as well. i have noticed water inside on the floormats after a wash on both the demon and the wifes dart. not much but more than i like which is none! it is not coming in through the cowl vents! they are always dry and the inside of the doors are rust free. the water seems to be coming in higher up in the dash near the firewall? i have an optical scope and ran it up in the cowl vents to see if there is anything that could be the culprit but it is clean and also rust free. so where is it coming in from? anybody got any insite on this. also why are mopars so famouse for this? design flaw?
 
is this the only other place it could come from? someone once told me that it could be the windshield trac not sealed properly?
 
Run a hose down your windsheld in your cowl vent and down your fire wall. Take your carpet out and look for leaks. That is the way I do it. Works very well.
 
I've also have had some water in my air duct, came in from the cowl?.

Rubber mats are a culprit for trapping in moisture also.
 
340butterduster said:
I've also have had some water in my air duct, came in from the cowl?.

Rubber mats are a culprit for trapping in moisture also.
Click to expand...

yeah you know in the cowl there is a little stove pipe that lets air from outside channel in the car via. the little doors you can open by the heater box and a driverside vent box. my water only comes in at wash time....
 
Burntorange70 said:
Run a hose down your windsheld in your cowl vent and down your fire wall. Take your carpet out and look for leaks. That is the way I do it. Works very well.
Click to expand...

i will have to try this out. it has to be on cowl area somewhere...
 
I had water getting in behind the driver kick panel. It was coming from the seam where the cowl, firewall and kick panel meet. The water was running out the weep hole in the side of the cowl but some was running back into the seam instead of down into the fender. The goofy thing is that it would only do that if the car was parked nose up the driveway. Leaks are a pain to find but well worth the time spent finding the leak than fixing the damage done if left too long
 
7demon2 if you have ever had the windshield boot out you will notice a punched out tab that holds the boot in on the bottom. the tab is about 1/4" tall and fits into a slot in the rubber. after doing as many restos as i have i've found that because the tab is punched from the inside that it was easier for the factory to just leave it. the brand new car didn't leak for a couple years till the rubber shrunk. then you would see folks take silicone caulking and try to seal it up the sides.it never worked and to thier dismay, the leak continued till rot down won.the water will get i behind the rubber boot(w/s gasket) at the top too then it runs down to the bottom and in through the tab opening.when i do a resto i always clean out the cowl drain behind the top of the door,it is usually full of leaves and sticks and road dirt that comes in through the cowl. i just bend a coat hanger, turn on the hose and,rod it out with the wire.this will stop it coming in through the vent opening.but you may still find it leaking.the culprit is usually (in my experience) the w/s boot locator tabs.the big problem is the w/s has to be removed to do the repair.
 
68POSTCAR,
Look Familiar ?

P1030661.jpg



P1030664.jpg


Wrong Leak Photo
P1030655.jpg
 
Hey, Dave, izzat some new kind of crankcase ventilation system?
 
ON MINE AND EVERY OTHER MOPAR I'VE EVER SEEN WITH RUSTY FLOORS IT'S BECAUSE OF THE WIPER PIVOT SEALS!!!!!! I'm actually waiting for a set right now for my car.
 
my wiper pivots look pretty good but who knows? i will replace them just to rule them out. i am leaning towards the windshield seal thing. i would think if it was the wiper pivots it would be running down the wiper actuator arms inside the car and would be visible or wet at least. it appears to be coming from higher up and along a metal seam under the dash where the cowl ,windshield and the firewall meet...i will look at them more carefully when they comes out from their winter's nap! lol...thanks for the ideas though...
 
yellowdartdave is on his game boy and girls. if you look at the pivot seals there is no water marks on or under them. i always close this hole up and voila, no mo leaky thingy. nice shots dave!
 
There's always rainy days and winter though. We bring in water, snow, slush on our shoes and boots and it make the carpet wet and holds the moisture... just another thing that comes with cars around here, haha
 
Sorry if my post above makes no sense about what you guys are talkng about
 
mopars tend to leak. in the areas of the floor vents water sometimes will come in and run down on the floor when washing or if in the rain. it leaks in through the wiper pivots and around the windshield gasket. the cowl vents leak also as they tend to get clogged up forceing water to spill down the vent tubes as explained above.
 
7Demon2 is correct about the weatherstripping track that the windshield sits in.
Look at my 1st picture and notice the notch in the bottom of the track.
The weatherstripping will cover this notch/hole until the car gets older and the rubber dries out and shrinks, just like the wiper pivots.
Guess where the water goes.
Just a hint--when trying to find a water leak remember this trick that I learned back in the 60's.

Empty the water hose, pour some food coloring in it-preferably white or red- Use low pressure and low volume.
Start low on the suspect area and work your way up slowly.
You can substitute some flouresent dye if you have a blacklight.
It really helps to have a helper man the hose and work a small area.
 
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