All,

I am in the beginning stages of looking for a leak in the cab of the truck. The leak was under the carpet on the driver's side. I have a 1986 F-150 XLT Lariat. I have read threads on how the windshield adhesion can deteriorate over time causing leaks so I started looking there. What I noticed was that the trim around the windshield appears as if it is not flush with the glass. It seems to be flush by the driver's side door but then seems to raise up the further it goes toward the middle of the hood. I am not sure if that is normal or not. There was "crud" underneath the high spots. As it raises up I seem to see some metal tabs underneath the trip and am not sure if they are supposed to be on top of the glass or under. I took some photos as I know that you all know more about what is "normal" with these trucks. Let me know what you think.

Eventually, my plan is to take the cowl off, scrape out the old cracked sealant and put new sealant in. I have cruised the threads on the forums here and found great information. (Thanks all!)


I hope you can see how the trim seems to raise above the windshield exposing the "Tab"


This is the metal tab

 

I got to go back about 6 months but the bottom trim has plastic clips on it that the metal clips clip onto.
If the plastic clip on the trim is broken It can stick up some.

Also the metal clips like to rust and fall apart all the way around the trim.
You can get new metal clips from LMC.

I would look in the cowl area for the leak. Clean it and the bottom of the fender drain areas also.
Dave ----

 

Metal clip on bottom of windshield with no trim in place



Wet carpet over by the dimmer switch? Look behind this sheet metal panel. Commonly full of debris.


And rain water can't drain out the"duckbill".


Leaks coming in from higher up commonly leak in through the failed seam sealer or rust out along the bottoms of these troughs.

 

Trough repaired.

 

A good way to test where the leak is coming from is to get a helper, and a garden hose, take the sprayer off the end of the hose and kink it so you have control. Get someone to carefully start flooding the grill area without getting water in the windshield area. See if your leak re-appears. If it doesn't, then try the windshield. If that doesn't do it, try over the door at the rain gutter area.

 

Nice pictures and just where the water would come in.

Your truck has factory AC?
It must if it has the plates on the kick panels.
If you remove them, you should to clean out down there, and get the vent type kick panels and you now have air that can come in down low.
That is what I have done on my truck that I installed factory AC. It is nice now that it is getting warmer and I don't have AC working yet.
Dave ----

 

All:
First, thanks for your responses. I appreciate your insights.
Yesterday I backed the truck out of the garage and started to look for the clogs that knew would be in the "duck bill" area. I referred to the photos that DiggerRigger posted (THANKS!) and followed your instructions. I have to say that some of the screws on the little metal plate on the driver's side were a real PIA to get to. I might not have the correct tools in my arsenal so I used some vice grips to grasp the socket, contorted myself on the truck floor and opened up the metal panel. The photos below speaks for itself. There must have been 4" or more of crud in there. I sucked it all out and shoved my fingers into the "duck bill to make sure that it was clear. Then I decided to do the passenger's side. It was much easier getting the screws out on that side. Again, I found about 4" of leaves, sticks, and other crap in there.

I enlisted my son to slowly pour water into the cowling starting on driver's side. No leak at first. Then he moved to the passenger's side. No leaks - but although the "duck bill" was clear the water all flowed toward the driver's side where it exited on the ground - working as it should. THEN I saw the leak. It came from the corner of the Driver's side at the top and ran down to the floor by the parking break. I have attached a photo of where the leak is. I hope that this is simply a result of the cracked caulking and nothing worse (fingers crossed). Visual inspection from inside the cab looking up toward the cowl and the seams show no apparent rust. From outside looking into the cowl I can see crack in the caulk but no visible rust and I see none when looking into the engine toward the firewall. Again, I am hoping for the best here.

Next step: Take the cowl off, scrape the caulk out, look for rust and wire brush it out. I have some 3M auto seam sealer that I plan to use and some red Rustoleum primer/paint to go over top.
Is this how you all would do it? From what I have read here on the threads I think that I have this process down but please let me know if I am forgetting a step...or two. Any tips and advice are appreciated.


Wow! What a mess! This is the driver's side.


Here is the leak coming down the driver's side. by the parking break. There was a lot of water slowly poured in by the time this leaked.

 

Do the best you can in the cowl area. If it's down lower where you can't get to, I have stopped it also by smearing sealer from inside the cab on the seam. Not the best but it's all you can do sometimes. It held for years and is still holding as far as I know. I didn't even use the official seam sealer, I used the black roof tar sealer stuff.

Check your floorboard over there near the door. If it has been leaking for awhile and you didn't know it, it can be hard on the floorboard. Hopefully there is just a little rust here and there and you can clean it up and give it a quick paint job to stop it, and to air the carpet/mat out.

 

I had a leak show up in the corner under the parking brake. It turned out to be coming in through the joint between the cab and the driver's side post. To find leaks I used a small squeeze bottle like they use in laboratories for dispensing distilled water. You can direct a small amount of water right where you want to check for the leak.

On the cab to door post seam I was able to loosen the fender slightly and pull it out along with loosening the cowl and lifting it a bit to give access to the joint which I cleaned with a nylon brush and completely filled it with body seam sealer and it stopped the leak. Been holding now for many years.

 

All,

Thanks for your reply. I am trying to get the cowl off without taking the hood off but I cannot seem to do it. I think that I may have to remove the hood with the help of my son because the radio antenna has a plastic "post" that is holding the cowl in. What am I missing?
Even if I get the hood off, the cowl is stuck in on the passenger's side by the radio antenna post. I do not see how I can get this out without breaking the post or ruining the windshield trim? Here is a photo to show you what I am seeing.


The "post" stops me from taking the cowl out. The hood is still on in this photo. With the hood off I do not see how I can get this out without ruining the metal windshield trim.

 

The antenna comes off. Sometimes you pry the chrome piece up and there are screws underneath. Various styles come apart differently. Some have a nut or a piece that the antenna screwed into, and that piece will unscrew from the base, then it will come off.

The cowl will come off with the hood on. But it's not very delicate and can scratch the paint. You sometimes have to partially close the hood, and then open it again. If you are worried about the paint and you have help, you are better off taking the hood off. Just make sure and get something sharp to scratch around where the hood hinge bolts to the underside of the hood before you loosen the bolts. Then you can line it back up with the marks when you put it back on.

 

Pop the chrome trim plate off the antenna base. Remove four screws. Pull out antenna and unplug the coax wire.

How I removed valence without removing the hood. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post19123747. Care should be taken as described above.

 

Yes that is how the ant. comes off but I don't think the coax wire comes off the bottom of the ant.
At least I have never seen it come off that way. You have to go back to the back of the radio.
Now there may be enough cable if you can pull the rubber seal where it goes into the cab thru the firewall to give room to now pull the cowl cover out and lay it up on the glass with the base if the ant. & cable still thru the cowl hole.
Dave ----

 

This may very well be the case with older models. I refer to my 1986 model, It unplugs.

 

My 1981 also unplugs from the antenna.