Has anyone had rain water leaking into their interior and can offer advice before I tear my dash apart?

I've toured the archives and forums a bit, but most of the "waterproofing" concern extremes (snorkels of many types) that I'm not into.

I'm dealing with a leak that puddles on the passenger side floor pan on an 3rd gen 4Runner (1997). I've had the floor carpet out and the leak appears to be at the firewall, but I have yet to dig deeper.

Thanks for the great site.

 

this happens to me too once in a while if i am driving on the freeway and there is a heavy rain. i wouldnt say it "puddles" but there is for sure water coming in just behind the glove box. it isnt on my priority list of things to do/fix

 

sunroof?
common to have problems when the drains are clogged with crud.

 

yeah, on my old '99 model, my carpet would be wet after a rain b/c it was leaking from the factory roof rack and dripping down through the headliner onto the carpet. I found I had a bolt missing up there (stupid previous owner) and that's where it was coming from.

Also, like stated above, check the Sunroof. Another area can also be around the windshield. I've had that happen to me before too. Just ideas though. Water can find crazy ways to work itself in your 4R.

Good luck finding the leak.

 

Yeah, mine leaks around the top of the windshield. It's a cheap windshield put in by a cheap shop hired by the stupid previous owner. Oh, wait, that's me! Gonna get a quality shop to put in a new one soon.

 

Check the boot around the engine wiring harness going thru the firewall.I have had 2 that leaked from there.Just take out the screws load with rtv and screw it back on.

 

My sunroof drains got clogged which resulted in water pooling in the front driver's side. The dealer shot some compressed air through the drains, cleared them out and solved my problems.

 

I have the same problem right now, I have husky liners so it really isnt much of a problem for me.

 

Is the engine wiring harness on the driver's side or the passenger side of the firewall?

I see the water on the passenger side front seat only.

I don't have a sunroof. I do have the roof racks, but they are mounted over the rear seats.

I have dried out the floor carpeting and noted that the batting under the rubber mat glued to the foot rest was also soaked. I couldn't remove it as it ran across the firewall held down by the console. This leads me to believe that the water is flowing down the firewall inside the cab.

Thanks for all the great posts

 

Also check the drain for the AC ducts. I once had a car that the condenstion would collect in the ducts, then when I went arround a left turn the water would come spilling out on the pass. side. It would also do it more when it was humid, or raining.

 

Yeah, my guess is the air duct for fresh air. It's the cowling under the passenger wiper. pull off the passenger kick panel and you will see a clear plastic/vinyl tube running down from that duct. Inspect it and pour some water down the cowl to see where it goes.

 

Where do they blow the air?

Aaron

 

Found it.

Turns out my truck was hit or something. The passenger side fender and wheel well were replaced. Removing the original wheel well left a 1/2 inch hole in the fire wall that was only partially covered by the new wheel well. The caulk job didn't cover the hole.

Water would cross the cowl plate, drip into the engine compartment, down onto the channel formed by the firewall and the wheel well, then through the hole and into the interior.

I found this after I cut a hole in the cowl plate to examine the fresh air duct. It looked in good shape, so I continued the search.

At this point I plugged the hole with some nasty caulk, replaced the rubber matting with fresh jute, sealed up the cowl plate hole.

I'll have to evacuate and recharge my A/c since I removed the evaporator and blower to examine the fresh air duct.

But I got 'er done.

 

I have the same leak.... it seems to be coming from where the interior fan is, below the glove box. I only notice water coming in after I run through a carwash, or extreme rain.

What is the fix for that?

 

I have water stains around my sunroof but every time it rains i check to see if it is moist but it never is. Its been raining for two days here in NC and just noticed that i have water stains around my back hatch of my 4runner. Where could the leak be?

 

Another culprit (at least on first gen 4runners) is the radio antenna mount. I had the same leak and thought it was the windshield seal....turned out that whomever installed the aftermarket radio mast, forgot to put in the grommet to the passenger compartment...so rainwater would just follow the radio antenna wire into the cab and flood the passenger side....awesome. Took off the fender to install a new OEM radio antenna (some jerk broke off the previous one) and saw the large hole with no grommet- ta da! Not sure if other trucks are built the same but for those looking on this thread it may help....

 

I just wanted to chime in, I know this is an old thread but figured I would add my experience. I have an 86 4runner and was getting leak into the passenger side cab and soaking the carpet and causing windows to fog etc. It ended up being the FM/AM radio antenna firewall hole, had no grommet like Philbert said. Now I just need to find the right size grommet.