Gumby

Anyone ever deal with water leaking onto front floor from cowl area?

im at a loss to where the water is getting in, I really don't want to run a hose and make things worse, but nothing is standing out.

Is there a common area or place water gets in on these???

84 1LE

iTrader: (9)

Have you removed the cowl screen & looked into the cowl.The bottom of that sits in the interior.So any pinhole on that floor would be a possible leak.Also if the blower motor is removed the is a vent there that could also be a possible leak.Id start there.

snakeshooter

Are you sure it's water and not coolant? Bad heater core will leak onto passenger side floor. Edited I just saw how many posts you have. You already knew about heater core issue. Sorry about that simple answer. I have seen leaves and debris in the cowl areas cause water to leak inside on other cars.

PurelyPMD

iTrader: (3)

^This^

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

A leaky door seal can do this too

Gumby

it on jack stands and hasn't been ran in 4 months, only once the floor wad finished did it finally rain "enough" for me to find water.

Gumby

I thought that whole area was plastic like the rest of the HVAC system ducks n parts.

Gumby

pulled the blower motor, yanks up plastic cowl vent, all is good inside. no water has ever been in blower motor area, of course damp in vent area but no hole of any kind.

Could or can water get down to where the heater core is?

I change that a yr or so back, the box isn't 100 sealed shut. but it didn't effect heat and never saw water dripping from it or even noticed a wet carpet.

almost has to be coming off the fire wall area somewhere and just slide down and under carpet.

NowhereFast

Pull back the carpet on that side. Run a hose into the cowl. Watch the water permeate through the floor at the seam at the front of the floor pan. The cowls seem to rot out on these cars.

84 1LE

iTrader: (9)

The two fittings on the heater core should have grommets/seal to prevent debris from getting inside.

TylerSteez

iTrader: (3)

it could not actually be from inside the cowl but from the ports that are drilled through the firewall for wires to run into the cabin. I had a rotted out driver side pan because someone took one of the grommets out of one of the holes to run wire for a sound system to the battery. also not sure if you have a tpi car but the tpi harness comes in behind the passenger side kick panel and is well known for leaking water through the harness and into the passenger floor pan. I had that issue as well.

Gumby

the car is gutted right now, I just don't want to get water in the freshly fixed right side. Was hoping to get the left side done first. Then I was gonna used bed liner or something to super seal it all.

Gumby

two good points, didn't think of those pass thru items as a problem.

Gumby

did run it a few min yesterday for giggles n let the new exhaust smoke off a bit. #1 reason I Gutted it, exhaust fumes kept getting in somewhere, then realized they were getting in everywhere.

Gumby

Unless I rip out the entire dash I could not really find anything, so I went crazy with the spray foam and went around the HVAC box lip where it goes through, around wire bundle computer, anything that passed through. I also did the same under the hood.

I am using a cheap car cover for now to stop any down pours until the floor is done,done.

Did just give the pass side its coating of rubberized under coating today. Driver side is done. Then ill just have to cross my fingers.

only on a 3 yr plan right now, just 3 more years and im replacing it with a Vette. I can then blow it out and go crazy. Cut out the floor and drop it on a VW dune buggy, maybe build that roadster version ive had in my head. [ mount front seats in the back, chop doors, top n floor to pull the front back till its a true 2 seater roadster with no doors or top. ]

scooter

iTrader: (11)

Spray foam will hold water against the metal. There is a seam in the cowl under the windshield that could be leaking, it is completely covered by the jute pad under the dash and could be routing the water to the carpet so you don't see it dripping from anywhere. I had a similar issue, but mine is from accident damage that I am repairing. I only about the jute because I have my dash out and I just looked at the seam and the inside

phasevariance

This is like looking for a needle in a haystack without applying water to see how and exactly where the water is flowing in.

The common spots on the front passenger side floor to check are near the front kick panel up near the HVAC BOX and down along the floor closest to the door. Other spots are behind the windshield, inside wheel well, above the exhaust (passenger side), and the crease from inside the engine bay where the fender meets firewall.

If you are *very* lucky it might just be a hole someone drilled and didn't seal.

The amount of water you find is also a big clue. A bad leak is going to leave a noticeable puddle.
If you find a rust hole and try to put sealer/bondo on it, it will just keep coming back as the rust spreads and contaminates more surrounding metal.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

The seam sealer in these cars is dried out and cracking from age. Even if it looks OK it's probably not bonded to the panel beneath. Usually if you pick at an edge just a lil it'll pop off and you'll see the surface rust underneath or serious rust. GM used HEAVY dollops of sealer over HUGE gaps all over these cars. When they age they start to leak, leaks lead to water getting in, and eventually rust.