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So today I decided to finally address the small water leaks that my truck has. I've been aware of them for a while but they are small enough that I've been able to ignore them. But after a big rain earlier this week I decided it was time to fix it.
I know the top corners of the windshield are both leaking a small amount. To find the other leaks I went ahead and removed the dashboard so I could see the whole firewall. It looks like it's leaking from under the reinforcement panel around the steering column, but I can't see exactly where it's getting in. Anyone deal with a leak in this area? Also, are the brake booster and clutch master cylinder supposed to have some sort of gasket between the body?
The water that drains from the cowl will go somewhere, and if the drains in the body panel drains are blocked shut with leaves and accumulated crap, the water will find it's way into the cab.
Also the third brake light/ cargo light mount is a bad leaker, it caused my left rear cab to rust out.
Clean the area between the rear window gasket and body with compressed air and brakekleen, it gets really nasty there. I did and sealed it with polybutylene sealer.
Have you pulled the cowl off & looked at the seam sealer in there?
Yep, it looked like globs of mud, but it wasn't leaking. Still I removed it, treated the area with POR15 and tomorrow I am going to re-seam seal it.
This leak around the steering column seems to be coming in from the actually gap between the firewall and the support panel that is spot welded to the firewall, right at the hole for the steering shaft. At least that's what I'm seeing.
Here is what my cowl area looks like after removing the old seam sealer and treating with POR15-
There's this split foam cowl drain behind the passenger side inner fender.
It fills with trash & allows water to stand long enough to find any less than perfect seals.
There's a funky blown plastic seal behind the power booster that disintegrates.
If the hood/cowl seal goes bad it can let a lot of water run down the firewall & find anything like a weak column seal.
That seal behind the booster was something I was suspicious of. I have those split drains behind the fenders cleared out.
I ordered a new hood to cowl seal from bronco graveyard, should have it sometime next week.
I wanted to seam seal today but didn't get a chance to. I got a tube of 3M clear seam sealer for around the windshield and a couple tubes of Fusor 800DTM for inside the cowl and around the firewall and any other areas.
I did some seam sealing today. The Fusor came out very well IMO, the clear 3M seam sealer was not very workable and it's a little sloppier looking. None of it will be seen though, and hopefully it seals my leaks. I haven't tested it yet, I'd like to wait until it cures first. Inside cowl Inside cowl Touched up the sloppy factory seam sealer The clear 3M seam sealer was not nearly as easy to use as the Fusor 800DTM. Fortunately the moldings will hide it.
That seal behind the booster was something I was suspicious of. I have those split drains behind the fenders cleared out.
I ordered a new hood to cowl seal from bronco graveyard, should have it sometime next week.
I wanted to seam seal today but didn't get a chance to. I got a tube of 3M clear seam sealer for around the windshield and a couple tubes of Fusor 800DTM for inside the cowl and around the firewall and any other areas.
The seal behind the brake booster was getting my floor quite wet. It would run down the inside of the firewall.
It would have had a workout here as a failed tropical system dropped a few inches today.
Your glass guy may drop you from his xmas card list...
Funny you mention that, I have ONE glass guy that I trust to do fixed glass in my cars, he is the only person I will let install/seal winshields in my vehicles. He just had his knees replaced so hes not working right now, but when he gets back to work I'll probably have him replace the windshield. But for now, if this keeps the water out I'll be happy.
I got a local solo owner/operator (wife runs the desk, lends a hand) who has been very good to me fixing chips, replacing windshields economically & chasing leaks in my Fords for little & sometimes nothing.
Gave me a roll of butyl tape to put in a side window (correctly) on my fox. Another shop had used urethane that was near impossible to remove & re-seal.
The seal behind the brake booster was getting my floor quite wet. It would run down the inside of the firewall.
It's supposed to rain tonight so we will see what happens. I taped up all the holes that are left from the days behind removed, so it shouldn't leak anywhere. If it does leak from around the booster, I'll just replace it.
I got a local solo owner/operator (wife runs the desk, lends a hand) who has been very good to me fixing chips, replacing windshields economically & chasing leaks in my Fords for little & sometimes nothing.
Gave me a roll of butyl tape to put in a side window (correctly) on my fox. Another shop had used urethane that was near impossible to remove & re-seal.
He's priceless.
My guy is kinda the same way. He has yet to fail me, I've been SOL since he's been out on medical leave. He does really high quality work. It took me a while to find him, but I've had enough bad experiences with auto glass shops that I won't use anyone else.
Well it rained last night anddd.... it leaks. I didn't have time to figure out exactly where its coming from, but I think the windshield is going to have to come out. Ughh this is aggravating work.
Did you check the rain gutters above the doors? (on the exterior roof) Mine had a crack in the body caulk that would allow water in. Somehow the water would run all the way through to the dash and drip on the floor under the glove box. (This was a leak on the passenger side gutter. It took me having someone else spray the outside of the truck with a water hose at various spots with me on the inside looking until we finally found the leak. Until we did the water hose test, I was sure I had a windshield leak.
Check the gutters, especially the driver side with your leak location, and try the water hose test. If the gutter is not leaking, the hose should show you what is.
