wet floors update...need advice

[beaver_scott]

I was checking some stuff out today in my 4runner to figure out where the water was getting in to the cab. Here are 3 pictures. the first to show the general area and the next couple of shots zooming in to the leaking area. It looks to me that the water is coming in through an area/seam covered in an apoxy. What would be the recommended fix for this? In the final closeup you can barely make out the glistening of the water along the bottom of the epoxy weld.

 

[1974RUNNER]

How's your window look? mine was leaking like that from the windshield rust

 

[beaver_scott]

I haven't done any work to the window, so I'm not sure what the condition of the windshield seal is. As far as I can tell it looks ok. If I were to remove the cowling under the window wipers, would I be able to access the back side of the leaking area?...or is the likely culprit just simply a bad windshield seal? As far as rust in the windshield...I can't see any around the windshield and the whole truck seems to be rust free from what I can tell (no bubbling of paint/signs of rust around fenders, door jams, windows, back side of bumpers, frame and/or chassis).

 

[RAD4Runner]

Looks more like water splashing around the wheel-well.
Or water seeping through / along grommet where antenna cable enters the cabin.
Inspect there.

Also, if you removed the plastic trim inside A-pillar you would be able to see vertical portion of the pinch weld. Note however that the frickin' hidden fasteners on the A-pillar trim are likely to break IF the do not break the trim itself. I'm completely replacing my trim with something that screws on. I absolutely detest hidden fasteners. What's wrong with simple screws, after all?

 

[1974RUNNER]

Mine was leaking in from the lower right corner. At first I couldn't see any evidence of rot. Then it just got bad. Sometimes the angle I was parked at would also accelerate the water pooling. You might be able to see some evidence with the cowling off. I had a body shop friend do the work so I didn't see mine with the cowling off.

 

[beaver_scott]

Maybe I'll try removing the cowling or the fender to gain access to the other side of the leak. I was just thinking of getting some flex seal as seen on tv too...but if there is a hidden issue I need to get that taken care of.

 

[beaver_scott]

Crud. Now that it is raining hard, I decided to go take a peak at the leak. It's definitely coming in from above where I thought it was coming in at. Probably the windshield?

 

[mikekfr]

I don't know if yota has them but a common problem leading to rain in the floorboard is a clogged drain outside under the windshield wiper cowling area, i had that happen to 2 fords i own. As far as the seam there, you can always scrape out the goop and jb-weld it back, but go for the source first IMO. I scraped and used west system epoxy on my box truck floor, only to find out it was simple as a clogged drain at the bottom corner of the windshield. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[DeclansDaddy]

I'd guess windshield. I had the same problem with my 95 but on the left side. It was actually running down and soaking the fuse block and it was in the dead of winter and at night it would freeze up and my parking lights would come on by themselves and wouldn't go off until it thawed out haha. But anyways being the cheap ass I am I masked around the trim with the tape about an 1/8 of an inch away from the edges, sprayed a couple coats of black flex seal and bam, problem solved. The trim was jacked up anyway so making it black wasn't such a bad idea anyways.

 

[RAD4Runner]

Yeah, I would thoroughly inspect the pinch weld where windshield mounts to. Need to remove that awful exterior trim in order to inspect for rust / leaks.
Also the plastic trim on A-Pillar.

Cowl drainage also suspect.

 

[beaver_scott]

how do I inspect the cowl drainage? I took the 4runner to a window shop today and coincidentally they just had a customer with the same problem. they turned on the hose and ran water into my cowl (between the windshield and the hood). water started to leak in the problem area almost immediately. i guess that rules out a bad windshield seal. I took the 4runner home, removed the cowling, the passenger fender and looked for debri that would be backing up water. I couldn't find anything. i will mention that there seems to be a large area under the cowling that i cannot access between the engine bay and passenger compartment. what is the best way to access that area between the engine bay and the passenger fire wall? i'm guessing i'll have to remove the dash and components?

 

[mikekfr]

The drains should be on the outer edge of the cowling, it could look like nothing more than a hole or valley that leads nowhere. What's more important is the other end, hop down underneath and look for a drain hose or tube. Keep in mind i'm using my references from my Ford boxtruck. The drain hose should be fairly close to the same area the drain starts at up top ( at the outer egdes of the cowling-right where the inside fender well meets the actual fender, if that makes sense). An air blower or a coat hanger could help alot in finding clogged drains.

 

[mikekfr]

This is just an example http://www.justanswer.com/toyota/3th13-back-three-spark-plugs-2001-sienn.html check out the 'cowl water extract hoses' in the yellow pic......that is the area a drain should be...on my ford they went straight down vs. on a *90 in the pic

 

[beaver_scott]

Good news! I found the leak. There is no grommet on the radio antenna wire coming through the fire wall. It just so happens that the antenna wire goes right through the path of the cowl drainage, the water hits the wire and hitches a ride right into my 4runner. Now for the fix... should I just goop it with a glob of caulking or look for a grommet that will fit the hole? btw, thanks for all the help guys!

 

[mikekfr]

You can silicone it and you'd always have easy access if you decide to use the hole, or jb weld it and leave it. I prefer the GE 3 hour silicone myself, it's made for outdoors and sets in 3hrs. Glad you found it !!!

 

[beaver_scott]

Got 'er sealed up! Thanks to all again!

 

[RiFF RaFF]

Got 'er sealed up! Thanks to all again!

Happiness is a dry cabin. Glad it was a cheap and easy fix!

:smow:

 

[RAD4Runner]

Good news! I found the leak. There is no grommet on the radio antenna wire coming through the fire wall.

Cool and thanks for sharing your solution! It's very much appreciated when people share what they've found out or how they solved their problem, instead of just quietly leaving the thread after they fix the problem.

 

[1974RUNNER]

Score!!!!