99 explorer wet headliner and carpet

[dvdswan]

Ok but wouldn't I have water leaking all over the headliner instead of in one spot? also i have no where to store the headliner i live in an apartment so that's not an option

No, there are 3 pieces of metal on the door edges; The roof, interior roof, and the door jamb which goes up about 2-3" in between the 2 roof pieces. So, a leak from the luggage rack can drip on that and move forward or back without touching the headliner.

My headliner was soaked in the front and floorboards from a bad leak at the cargo light.

Looking at my ST, I took pictures of suspected water entry areas.

In this first image, the two screws go through the roof. Possible intrusion area. The lower seal, my guess it's plastic and not rubber, goes the complete length of this mounting pad. On the inside of the mounting spot is open (sorry didn't take a picture) so this can lead to a leak to the at the bolts as well.

Next image is where water has access to the windshield seal. So, if a windshield was replaced and not sealed well at the top it will leak.

Next is the 3rd brake / cargo light. This can leak at the seal at the roof, the seal at the light cover, and the (2) screws into the roof.

Body seam at the rear of the cab. I found out online these have (2) bolts that screw into the cab that the plastic clips onto, water intrusion area.

Interior of the cab, this would be approximately how high the 3rd piece metal goes into the cab. This would be for extra support of the grab bars.

The middle and rear mounting points of the luggage rack bolts have access to the interior. As you can see between the two bolt heads, one is wet the other is dry. This could be this for several reasons; screw could be loose allowing drainage, it could be a shallower hole to evaporate faster, on a roof rack that is not open it could be a problem. On my 02 explorer, these have plastic covers over the mounting pad.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

No, there are 3 pieces of metal on the door edges; The roof, interior roof, and the door jamb which goes up about 2-3" in between the 2 roof pieces. So, a leak from the luggage rack can drip on that and move forward or back without touching the headliner.

My headliner was soaked in the front and floorboards from a bad leak at the cargo light.

Looking at my ST, I took pictures of suspected water entry areas.

In this first image, the two screws go through the roof. Possible intrusion area. The lower seal, my guess it's plastic and not rubber, goes the complete length of this mounting pad. On the inside of the mounting spot is open (sorry didn't take a picture) so this can lead to a leak to the at the bolts as well.

View attachment 448843

Next image is where water has access to the windshield seal. So, if a windshield was replaced and not sealed well at the top it will leak.

View attachment 448844

Next is the 3rd brake / cargo light. This can leak at the seal at the roof, the seal at the light cover, and the (2) screws into the roof.

View attachment 448845

Body seam at the rear of the cab. I found out online these have (2) bolts that screw into the cab that the plastic clips onto, water intrusion area.

View attachment 448846

Interior of the cab, this would be approximately how high the 3rd piece metal goes into the cab. This would be for extra support of the grab bars.

View attachment 448847

The middle and rear mounting points of the luggage rack bolts have access to the interior. As you can see between the two bolt heads, one is wet the other is dry. This could be this for several reasons; screw could be loose allowing drainage, it could be a shallower hole to evaporate faster, on a roof rack that is not open it could be a problem. On my 02 explorer, these have plastic covers over the mounting pad.

View attachment 448848

Hope this helps.

I found the leak it's the top front corner of the windshield on the drivers side

 

[CDW6212R]

The first pictures suggest there is some rust under the rubber seal area, and there is also a seam there with seam sealer in it. The rust will grow, never stop, and will develop holes that grow. The seam sealer is brittle at this age and shrinks, letting go of the metal, which leaves bare metal to rust.

So you may seal the gap where water is coming in, but the rust will continue and be a bigger problem to repair later. Same with seam sealer, if you find a gap along that, it is letting water down into the seam.

I had an issue with my 99 Explorer, which was my old 93 body that prior body shop just replaced the windshield after the work in 2002. They didn't fix the bare metal that was at that top corner, and it turned into a couple of tiny rust holes. When I reconstructed my 99, I was in charge and had a good friend body man fix the rust spots(one there and one on underside of left rocker). That left a solid and painted surface where the windshield is placed by the glass company.

The problem you have is likely relatively minor, I'm guessing from the location, AL. Hopefully the rust is minor, and the metal work repair can be done in an hour or two. The rust has to be killed, and then the area treated properly with epoxy primer, and then paint. You will have to remove the glass, so find a glass shop that will come to you where ever you can get the body work done(shop etc). Most glass companies charge(used to) about $150 for the service call, so the total cost of a windshield used to be under $250(glass was just over $100 then).

Below are pics of my 99, after the rust was fixed and it was about ready for paint on the roof part. That outer layer is Rust Encapsulator by Eastwood, it is slightly glossy but it was a solid surface for the urethane sealant to bond to.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

The first pictures suggest there is some rust under the rubber seal area, and there is also a seam there with seam sealer in it. The rust will grow, never stop, and will develop holes that grow. The seam sealer is brittle at this age and shrinks, letting go of the metal, which leaves bare metal to rust.

So you may seal the gap where water is coming in, but the rust will continue and be a bigger problem to repair later. Same with seam sealer, if you find a gap along that, it is letting water down into the seam.

I had an issue with my 99 Explorer, which was my old 93 body that prior body shop just replaced the windshield after the work in 2002. They didn't fix the bare metal that was at that top corner, and it turned into a couple of tiny rust holes. When I reconstructed my 99, I was in charge and had a good friend body man fix the rust spots(one there and one on underside of left rocker). That left a solid and painted surface where the windshield is placed by the glass company.

The problem you have is likely relatively minor, I'm guessing from the location, AL. Hopefully the rust is minor, and the metal work repair can be done in an hour or two. The rust has to be killed, and then the area treated properly with epoxy primer, and then paint. You will have to remove the glass, so find a glass shop that will come to you where ever you can get the body work done(shop etc). Most glass companies charge(used to) about $150 for the service call, so the total cost of a windshield used to be under $250(glass was just over $100 then).

Below are pics of my 99, after the rust was fixed and it was about ready for paint on the roof part. That outer layer is Rust Encapsulator by Eastwood, it is slightly glossy but it was a solid surface for the urethane sealant to bond to.

View attachment 448855

View attachment 448856

View attachment 448857

Alright sounds perfect and yes this has been a southern vehicle it's whole life there's no rust anywhere on it except the tiny bit pictured, is there something I can do temporarily so I can get the money saved up to have it fixed right? I'm planning on having it painted this year as well

Would something like this product do well in fixing it temporarily? Permatex® Flowable Silicone Windshield & Glass Sealer, 1.5 OZ – Permatex

 

[Lee's Automotive]

Also is the windshield seal on top removable or not because mine is raised up in the middle and id like to get a good one from a salvage yard and install it

 

[CDW6212R]

The rubber trim around the windshield comes with the glass. Try hard to bend that outward enough to confirm what the painted surfaces are like there. If it has any rust that disappears behind the glass or a crack, seam etc, then it will not be possible to kill that unseen rust. If you could reach all rust, then it'd be a simple but tough job to kill it before restoring the seal etc. That rubber trim doesn't stop water, it's for looks and to reduce debris getting in along the glass. Replacing that means the entire glass.

If you do think the windshield has to come out to properly deal with the whole channel which is the top and both sides, you can easily fill the leaking area with RTV in the short term. The basic RTV of many brands should adhere very well and stop the water leak until you find the time and money to do it right. I hunted for years the leaks in my three 2nd gens around the sunroof. I used Ultra Black for the sunroof gap on one, and along the windshield on one, left half of top. Those leaks ended up being the sunroof shell itself, which is a two or three piece assembly inside(sealed by another sealant like seam sealer which hardens and cracks). Those you have to R&R the entire sunroof assembly to get to them.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

The rubber trim around the windshield comes with the glass. Try hard to bend that outward enough to confirm what the painted surfaces are like there. If it has any rust that disappears behind the glass or a crack, seam etc, then it will not be possible to kill that unseen rust. If you could reach all rust, then it'd be a simple but tough job to kill it before restoring the seal etc. That rubber trim doesn't stop water, it's for looks and to reduce debris getting in along the glass. Replacing that means the entire glass.

If you do think the windshield has to come out to properly deal with the whole channel which is the top and both sides, you can easily fill the leaking area with RTV in the short term. The basic RTV of many brands should adhere very well and stop the water leak until you find the time and money to do it right. I hunted for years the leaks in my three 2nd gens around the sunroof. I used Ultra Black for the sunroof gap on one, and along the windshield on one, left half of top. Those leaks ended up being the sunroof shell itself, which is a two or three piece assembly inside(sealed by another sealant like seam sealer which hardens and cracks). Those you have to R&R the entire sunroof assembly to get to them.

Alright so i went out there and peeled it back some and there is a tad dot of rust on the passenger side but nothing major but i do see where the previous owner used silicone in the middle where it's raised up at so now i know this was a previous issue i took some pics that ill add below also no visible rust on the driver side that I could see

 

[CDW6212R]

You should work on that windshield seam during the day, with a good small brush and clean that up well. Remove any dirt and anything covering the paint etc, see what the underneath paint looks like. You need to see the entire channel along the rubber trim, it's a fairly big area under the rubber.

Also look at the 5th picture you posted, that's one side of the roof groove. Those are both coated when new with seam sealer, the sheet metal of the roof pieces meet there, and the seam sealer fills the meeting line, smooths it out. That crack you see near the rubber is leading rearward under the seam sealer. Water is getting in the crack and wicking all along the seam, which is going to be bare metal. I'd use a small screw driver to pick off some of that. It's not metal under that paint, so don't worry about hurting much, you just need to see the metal underneath and find out how much rust has begun. If any metal is exposed, it needs to be covered/sealed/coated etc, to slow any rust. If it's as large there as it looks in pics, it's going to need some minor body work to kill the rust and properly seal it back up.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

You should work on that windshield seam during the day, with a good small brush and clean that up well. Remove any dirt and anything covering the paint etc, see what the underneath paint looks like. You need to see the entire channel along the rubber trim, it's a fairly big area under the rubber.

Also look at the 5th picture you posted, that's one side of the roof groove. Those are both coated when new with seam sealer, the sheet metal of the roof pieces meet there, and the seam sealer fills the meeting line, smooths it out. That crack you see near the rubber is leading rearward under the seam sealer. Water is getting in the crack and wicking all along the seam, which is going to be bare metal. I'd use a small screw driver to pick off some of that. It's not metal under that paint, so don't worry about hurting much, you just need to see the metal underneath and find out how much rust has begun. If any metal is exposed, it needs to be covered/sealed/coated etc, to slow any rust. If it's as large there as it looks in pics, it's going to need some minor body work to kill the rust and properly seal it back up.

Ok, ill get it cleaned up and get more pics also how do i go about picking out the seam sealer without damaging things?

 

[Lee's Automotive]

Also how do I replace the seam sealer?

 

[dvdswan]

If you are going to have the truck painted later this year, have the body shop fix the rust issues. 2 birds one stone thing. And since that is happening, IMO, I would just use the windshield sealer along the top of the windshield molding and the crack in the seam sealer. It doesn't look pretty close up but at a distance no one will see it.

 

[410Fortune]

Silicon!

Gorilla tape has been used before also

 

[Lee's Automotive]

If you are going to have the truck painted later this year, have the body shop fix the rust issues. 2 birds one stone thing. And since that is happening, IMO, I would just use the windshield sealer along the top of the windshield molding and the crack in the seam sealer. It doesn't look pretty close up but at a distance no one will see it.

Yep that's what I'm going to do for now

 

[dvdswan]

I used the silicon you mentioned in post #44. Easy to use and its clear. If you look closely, you can see the silicon on the cargo lamp.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

I used the silicon you mentioned in post #44. Easy to use and its clear. If you look closely, you can see the silicon on the cargo lamp.

View attachment 448871

Yep honestly if it will just get me through 6 months id be fine with it i just don't have the 3k to paint it right now plus it needs body work

 

[dvdswan]

Be sure to clean before you apply the sealer/silicon. Any wax will not let it stick.

 

[Lee's Automotive]

Be sure to clean before you apply the sealer/silicon. Any wax will not let it stick.

Definitely gonna clean everything up and seal it as best as possible

 

[Lee's Automotive]

Silicon!

Gorilla tape has been used before also

Can I fill the "gutter" with silicone as well or will that cause an issue?

 

[donalds]

 

[Lee's Automotive]

lol this thing is kicking my butt