[ajgpolo]

I lifted up my rubber mats today and noticed a pretty large area of the carpet on the drivers side was moist. I had gotten a car was a day or two prior, but the discoloration and smell of the carpet leads me to believe it's been sitting wet for some time now. It wasn't drenched/pooling with water.

The wetness runs along the the door and stops just about where the parking break pedal is. It's beginning to spread deeper towards the center. I live in Caliornia where it hasn't rained at all the past couple months. The only chance the truck could have been exposed to lots of water is during a car wash, which I get about every 1-2 weeks.

Any ideas of where I can begin troubleshooting the source of this leak? Thanks a bunch.

 

[fodder]

There are a few common sources of leaks. Windshield header, which in my case drips around the steering wheel, cowl clogging up with leaves (firewall leak), and B-pillar/rain rail cracks (rots the wires behind the seat to the dome light and tail gate). However, looking at your water marks, I would start by making sure the door is well aligned and sealing properly up top. That water looks very evenly spread over the length of the door.

 

[BigBlue 94]

Ditto^^^
Take care of it now or you'll get this. The whole lip for the door seal is completely gone.

 

[miesk5]

Yo ajgpolo,
Inspect door weather strip

and see installation @ 1996 Bronco/F-Series

Door Inspection
To determine door alignment requirements:

• Check that the front door contour is flush with the body contour.
• Check that the body-to-front door gap is the same around the whole door.
• Determine by observation of the door alignment what adjustments, if any, are required.

See Door Alignment @ 1996 Bronco/F-Series

Inspect inner Door Water Shield.

 

[fodder]

Ditto^^^
Take care of it now or you'll get this. The whole lip for the door seal is completely gone.

Well, at least you don't have to worry about water pooling along the length of that door sill any more...

 

[BigBlue 94]

Well, at least you don't have to worry about water pooling along the length of that door sill any more...

Not once I cut the majority of the crap out! The inner lip was full of silt and broken glass. Only reason i pulled the vinyl up was to do a trans swap. Now i have body work too.

 

[fodder]

Not once I cut the majority of the crap out! The inner lip was full of silt and broken glass. Only reason i pulled the vinyl up was to do a trans swap. Now i have body work too.

That's your current rig? Ugh. I'm scared to pull my rubber mat up and see how much moisture it's trapping under the pad.

 

[Flesh Eater]

This is one reason why I gut interiors and bed line floors on these older vehicles. Peace of mind. Even with new door sills and weather stripping.

 

[BigBlue 94]

That's your current rig? Ugh. I'm scared to pull my rubber mat up and see how much moisture it's trapping under the pad.

A current rig, yes. Its my 96 F350 4x4 single cab long bed with 351w and factory c6. C6 was puking fluid out of a couple broken spots in the case. So in goes the ZF. Eventually.

Once i get around to fixing the floor, it'll get some rust encapsulating paint then I have a bunch of dynamat to lay down. Then the vinyl will go back in. Hopefully swapping the craptastic bench out for 40/20/40 seats.

 

[jermil01]

@fodder hit them all..

I've been chasing a leak forever.. Luckily for me, my carpet was torn out years ago..

The windshield is definitely a likely spot as is the cowl trough (mine had a hole rusted through). Both of these areas were problems for me. I've got a thread dedicated specifically to troubleshooting water intrusive, you can see some of what I've been dealing with there..

Here's my thread. '92 Bronco, water intrusion in cab

 

[ajgpolo]

That's your current rig? Ugh. I'm scared to pull my rubber mat up and see how much moisture it's trapping under the pad.

Hey everyone. Thanks so much for all your input.

I pulled up the carpet and found that there was a LOT of trapped moisture under there. It wasn't pooling, but that thick rubbery material that was adhered to the floorboard had rotted, and I tried to peel most of it off. You can see the floorboard that had been covered by that material is discolored and darkened by water, thankfully no rust yet.

I'm getting a suspicion that the water is dribbling down from an area behind the parking break, from the firewall. There's a an area up there that's wet and dirty. I tried pouring water into the cowl and over the doors/windows, and wasn't able to see anything come in from there.

Any ideas what this could be?

 

[jermil01]

Did you look at the links and other information provided above?? @fodder listed them all our in the 2nd post and linked to my thread..just because the water is pooling in that particular location doesn't mean it's coming from one particular place..My money is on the cowl drain or the windshield.

good luck.

 

[ajgpolo]

I did thank you.

Decided to check the cowl drain as that seemed to be the culprit for lots of people... lo and behold:

I was able to access the drain by partially removing the inner fender. Scooped out a crap ton of dirt and pineneedles by hand - wasn't the most fun thing to do lol. Doubt this things ever been cleaned out before. Hopefully that does the trick.

 

[ROCKOBRONCO]

I have the same problem here in NorCal. In the winter when it rains, carpet gets wet right by drivers side door just like yours. I'll check my cowl drain area see whats up as well. Thank you for posting!

 

[Burntoutaccountant]

A current rig, yes. Its my 96 F350 4x4 single cab long bed with 351w and factory c6. C6 was puking fluid out of a couple broken spots in the case. So in goes the ZF. Eventually.

Once i get around to fixing the floor, it'll get some rust encapsulating paint then I have a bunch of dynamat to lay down. Then the vinyl will go back in. Hopefully swapping the craptastic bench out for 40/20/40 seats.

Don't forget those motor mounts! Get on amazon and order a thing of mass loaded vinyl too. I think I spent an extra $115 to order that. It's so quiet and I only have the mlv in the back. That dynamat made a huge difference but the mlv was the real game changer.

 

[Burntoutaccountant]

I did thank you.

Decided to check the cowl drain as that seemed to be the culprit for lots of people... lo and behold:

View attachment 168716



I was able to access the drain by partially removing the inner fender. Scooped out a crap ton of dirt and pineneedles by hand - wasn't the most fun thing to do lol. Doubt this things ever been cleaned out before. Hopefully that does the trick.

My truck is from the Portland area so that picture made me cringe. I never thought to clean that out.

 

[jermil01]

I did thank you.

Decided to check the cowl drain as that seemed to be the culprit for lots of people... lo and behold:

View attachment 168716



I was able to access the drain by partially removing the inner fender. Scooped out a crap ton of dirt and pineneedles by hand - wasn't the most fun thing to do lol. Doubt this things ever been cleaned out before. Hopefully that does the trick.

That's a sizable amount of debris, but you're still going to want to pull the cowl off and check in the trough for any holes.. This is what I found on the drivers side of mine..

 

[BigBlue 94]

My truck is from the Portland area so that picture made me cringe. I never thought to clean that out.

Haha you should see a truck that has spent its whole life in the silt dust out here... It just builds up in every cranny. Then absorbs moisture and rusts. My 85 started rusting immediately when i got it from CO. The humidity doesn't help. Oklahoma is worse. That red dirt was everywhere in my 08 superduty. I mean every where. Even the vents inside are still red. Even inside the gauge cluster. I bet I swept 3 pounds out from the drivers side just wiring the sub and amp up in it.

If you looked close at my van, you would've seen how its just rusting apart. Ive seen chunks fall off just driving!

 

[ajgpolo]

Just sharing an update... got a car wash today. Was crossing my fingers hoping that without the cowl drain blockage, water wouldn't come in, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Water still coming in from the same place.

Going to take @jermil01 advice and pull off the cowl completely. If not that, it's gotta be the windshield.

 

[jermil01]

Just sharing an update... got a car wash today. Was crossing my fingers hoping that without the cowl drain blockage, water wouldn't come in, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Water still coming in from the same place.

Going to take @jermil01 advice and pull off the cowl completely. If not that, it's gotta be the windshield.

let us know what you find once you get everything cleaned out..I'm willing to bet you have a hole that's rusted through.