Water leak front driver's side.

[KarstRanger]

Water leak - driver's side floor

Your picture helps Roddster67, but I am not getting a drip there on that rubber grommet/gasket as yours is showing. My leak seems to be coming out of the firewall and the side panel one inch to the left of that grommet. It would appear to me that the water is coming in around the door hinges as a previous poster noted as a poor design. I siliconed as best I could around the hinges, but don't really feel like taking the door off and no suprise it still leaks. I have a sun-roof that is not working, so I sealed it up completely with black silicone but that did not help.

There is a pop-out rubber plug in a floor-board groove (under the rug) just below the emergency brake pedal next to the door. This is where my leak water flows until the groove fills up and the soaks the pad/rug.

As I only use this Explorer for 4-wheeling in the woods and when we have flooded roads down here on the Suwannee River, I will leave that plug out - prop the pad/rug up a little, and see how it works.

The downside is water coming IN when on flooded roads or mud, but the truck is usually in need of drying out by then anyway. Good luck guys!

 

[leoJr]

I think I found it. It's along the seam where the two panels of the firewall are joined together, under the brake booster and power distribution box. I could see water in the seam. There is no seam sealer in this location. Water also travels this route and dumps onto the rubber grommet of the ebrake cable where it enters the passenger compartment. I tried taking a picture but it was too tight in there. I'm going to clean and silicone everything, and install new hood and door seals.

It's the seam in the bottom of the above photo.

I am unable to see your pic but you may be describing my suspected problem area as well. There is a seam that runs parallel to the windshield, visable inside the compartment with the linkage that connects both wipers, exposed when removing the plastic grills that hold the washer nozzles. I too believed the leak was closer to the side and above the E brake pedal. If you are a contortionist, can get your head under the dash, and let your eyes adjust long enough you can see light through this seem.

Has anyone else seen and solved this problem? I tried to put 1/4" tubing on a caulk gun but couldn't move move it through the tube...maybe I didn't warm it up enough. I believe there is no access other than through the grills and am not sure there isn't a drain hole at the farthest outside end of the compartment so I don't just want to flood the whole area with sealant. :scratch:

 

[KarstRanger]

I pulled out the rubber plug in the metal floorboard just below the e-brake pad, and then removed some of the underrug felt there. Then propped up the rug away from the metal floorboard with a small block of wood. This way the water can run freely from the unknown leak somewhere above and the water goes down through the floorboard hole to the ground - and the rug stays dry.

After sealing the heck out of anything I could seal on that side of the truck, the above is the only thing that has worked to keep the rug and the rest of the felt dry for me. Kind of a jury-rig, but at least the truck no longer stinks of mildew after every rainstorm.

 

[Aztec Eagle]

H2o issue

I have the same problem with my Explorer 1999 4x4 water gets in to the carpet on both sides drivers and passengers i am tired of this problem is driving me nutz! we have the same weather that SoCal so rain is not a big issue here in Baja California,Mexico but every time it rains i get a wet carpet i did what "KarstRanger" did i took out that plug on the metal floorboard because i had the hole floorboard full of water i left it unplug to see if the water would run out outside instead of my carpet i will try to seal anything i can see with silicone but i checked all my rubber seals and they seem in great condition surprisingly almost new but the water keeps coming out under the dashboard near the emergency break, any other tips that can help me???

 

[Aztec Eagle]

Fyi

Just in case anyone else has the same issue, well rain is back and ever since i took out that plug on the side metal floorboard i had no water inside the truck and no more wet carpet.

 

[JChrisMarion]

I know this is an older thread, but I experienced the same water leak this week. Bad rains and my floor is soaked. After an hour of water leak testing starting from the bottom outside door jam and working up, I found it.

With the hood up, facing the firewall, look to the right corner. There is a metal plate with four bolts. Below that you see the body seam with the factory seam sealer. That seam sealer is the leak. I'm putting silicone all over it and the body. First, I sprayed it with bleach water to kill mold and mildew. So it has a clean surface.

And if you are wondering how its getting there, with the hood up look where the rear edge sits. The water funnels from the fender, hood and metal cowl down in that area. Isolating the water only in that area resulted in water inside. With you head in the driver pedal area, look to the corner and pull back the rubber insulator. You will see a body seam there. You might even have a moldy spot or rusty looking. That's the other side of the seam sealer. This is from my phone.

 

[JChrisMarion]

To add to this. I bought "Permatex Flowable Silicone Windshield and Glass Sealer". Small size tube. This is much easier to work with, considering the lack of space. Plus you can start at the top of the OEM sealant and squeeze, it will follow the path with no need to smear it along the joint. So it will also fill the cracks/voids.

It appeared to be coming from behind the E brake pedal assembly. But that was from the rubber insolated catching the water and flowing down dripping right at the cable grommet.

 

[leoJr]

There is a metal plate with four bolts. Below that you see the body seam with the factory seam sealer.

JChrisMarion, I'm still living with the leak so thanks for dredging this back up! With this pic, can you guide me a little closer? Looks like I may have to remove the brake booster, wiring harness, fuse box or something because I'm not seeing an area that catches water. Many thanks!!

 

[KarstRanger]

Thanks for the picture, leoJr. This is just what my 99 XLT 4.0 looks like, also. So I am puzzled too. Does he maybe mean that little bit of foam at the bottom of the 4 bolt hood hinge support? Doesn't look like a body seam to me, either.

 

[JChrisMarion]

Was on vacation. Using your picture, look at the black metal plate bolted to the firewall behind the relay panel/fuse box. Below that plate you will see the seam of the body and firewall joined with factory seam sealer. Start at the corner and squueze the tube. If you buy what I posted, you need not remove anything. Wait one hour to dry and apply again. On top and bottom of the seam sealer. It flows out real good and will follow the seam with gravity. Sealing up any cracks and voids. My second coat I applied extra. You can also apply it watch it flowing along and then hit with a hair dryer or heat gun to get the bond started. Wait and reapply.

 

[JChrisMarion]

As soon as I get back home tomorrow, I will post pictures for you and anyone else. Also a note, the Bissel Little Green Machine ($90) is beyond worth $90. Perfect for auto interiors or upholstery. I did my entire Ex with it. I bought the Bissel 2x concentrated cleaner too. Man did it clean the carpets! Especially if you lift the carpet back on the drivers side and suck the water from the padding. Spray with light coat of bleach water on the floor pan area where the padding sits and let all dry. Popped a little can of odor absorbing gel when it was done (autostore, walmart) and no more rank water smell.

 

[leoJr]

Have you caught up enough from vacation to find the pictures? Greatly appreciate it!

 

[dale0414]

water leak solved

Had the same problem with water leaking onto drivers side floor.
Tried sealing up several different areas including around the windshield, where the parking brake cable goes thru the firewall, firewall seam. No luck
Removed the drivers side windshield wiper and cowl. There is a seam along the bottom of the pan. Smeared chalk along that seam. No more water.

 

[leoJr]

There is a seam along the bottom of the pan. Smeared chalk along that seam. No more water.

I suspect this seam is my problem too. How did you get it in there (it's tight) and what did you use?

Thanks!

 

[dale0414]

fortunately mine seemed to be towards the center of the windshield. removed the cowling, took a caulking gun with a tube of black caulk. squeezed caulk down inside and smeared it along the seam with my finger. had some heavy rain about a week ago and no water. will continue to monitor but seems to be taken care of. saw a trick on another webpage of attaching a drinking straw to the nozzle of the caulk tube. fit it over the end of the tube and secure it with duct tape. you may want to try that if all else fails.

 

[JChrisMarion]

Hey guys, I just checked back on this thread and I didn't know my post never actually posted. So, I am posting again. This is the area of the first leak I am going to show. I say first leak, because I had another leak and drenched my floor board again. I found its location and also photographed it. It will be the next post.

This shows the area you need to go to for my first leak.

This is behind the fuse box/relay panel. You will see where the firewall is body welded to the cab and so forth. The giant goop of seam sealer that is OEM was my apparent leak.

So as stated in the above post, I applied the sealer and voila. It was fixed. It looks smooth because that is how it applies and dries. It is not thick and not too thin, so it flows good for a good seal.

 

[JChrisMarion]

Now for the newest leak. This one was horrible. I don't drive the explorer much and I have those thick Goodyear floor mats, so I cant exactly see the carpet. One day I noticed the smell, and yet again we are wet. I know last time it was fixed because i tested it and no leak. This one was way worse. I mean the floor was soaked and standing water below the carpet. Again I removed the drivers kick panel, pulled carpet back to see the horror. I removed the wiper cowl on the drivers side and pulled out the water hose. Leak testing certain area's at a time and I found the new one.

The bottom corner of the windshield area.

The black liquid I assume is from factory install of the glass. Here I already applied the same sealer I used above, which is why it has the wet look. The black vertical line on the left is actually a body seam with a tiny bit of sealer. The right vertical black stuff appears to be the liquid glass sealer from the factory. I assume.

That sealer apparently decided to stop sealing. Water was pouring in from there. So I took a flat head screw driver and pushed off the OEM sealant. I then applied my tube of sealer to fill any voids. Let one coat dry, and applied again.

Here is the other place that also leaks onto the E-Brake assembly. With the drivers A Pillar removed, you can see the inside. So now I confirmed both locations leaked, routing water onto the E brake assembly area and down to the floor.

See my water drop. Dont ask me how I managed to get that picture so clear, but that is where the water pours in from the outside corner of the windshield where another body seam is located.

After a two hour drying time, I turned the hose on full and let it flow down the windshield onto that corner for ten minutes. Not a drop. WOOT!! I determined I was not doing this a third time. I put on this sealer at every possible point of a body seam, door hinges, etc, near the drivers side area.

So, here is another point to check out for those of you with a leak still.

 

[JChrisMarion]

To clarify. It appears one possible leak location for anyone with the drivers side leak could be the location behind the fuse box/relay box (under the hood), on the firewall body seam. The second location would be the body seam below the drivers lower corner of the windhshield. Both locations dripped along the e brake assembly and down to the floorboard.

 

[DaisyCar]

Here's what I did to stop the leak: under the hood, drivers side corner there is a cable running from beneath the cowl down into the engine compartment. I ripped off the plastic cover of that cable because water seemed to pour right down into it. Then I plastered the Corner and cable with silicone. Then, and this is key, I drilled 4 holes in the cable tray at the floor of the door jam. Water seemed to pool up in there and the carpet acted as a sponge, feeding off that pool of water. Done. Done. And Done.