Hey all,
I've got a 2001 ranger extended cab that seems to be getting water into the interior. I haven't driven it much in the last month, but today I noticed that the rear carpet was completly soaked, and is starting to mold. I checked around the rear sliding window, but that all seems dry. Any ideas???

 

3rd brake light would be a good place to check next.

 

I had a serious interior water leak/buildup with my 99 Ranger XLT. Water was soaking the floor under passenger and driver feet. I had floor mats so didn't notice it until bad moisture buildup on the interior windshield. It was finally solved by replacing the rear window seal. Water was running down the back, under the seats, and to the front interior floor. New rear window seal fixed the problem. Hope this helps. If not sure, take the back apart, take the water hose out, flow off the top of the truck back over the window and observe. Good luck, Bob T.

 

I am having a similar problem with my 94 regular cab. Front floor mats very damp underneath. I have taken up all the carpet and underpadding to dry it out properly. I pried out all the rubber floor plugs - they appear to be in good shape and not leaking. Underneath the truck, the floor is solid and well undercoated.

I hadn't thought of a rear window leak, but will check it out. Another odd thing I've noticed is that the front seat brackets that bolt to the floor are very rusty, even though those bolts don't penetrate the floor. The rear seat bracket bolts do penetrate the floor, but they aren't rusty at all.

I suppose it could be that people's shoes and boots would spread moisture there, however, my passenger side front seat brackets are equally rusty, and about 90% of my driving is alone.

I'll definitely check out the rear window seal leak, though.

 

Thanks for the info, I'll check the rear window again but it seemed dry before. Has anyone had any problems with the rear doors leaking?

 

It's most likely the 3rd brake light. My friends ranger had the same problem. We sealed the damn thing with all different type of sealant and it kept leaking. I finally found that were the red lens was glued to the black housing was were the leak was. He threw is in the trash and bought an new one from the ford dealer that had the cargo light in for like $55 and he hasn't had a problem since.

 

Hmmm, interesting. My '97 extended cab has water marks on the headliner near the edge just above and slightly front of the driver side jump seat that I have been curious about. I've only had it a couple of months now, and it hasn't rained enough here for anything to show up.

 

Yep, check that third brake light housing, especially if the rear headliner or floor near the jump seats is wet. A few good blobs of clear silicone around my third brake light fixed my problem.

 

I had the same problem, except mine was a heater core!! A little scarier than just a seal leak.

 

I confirmed today that it is my rear window seal, lower corner on passenger's side. It poured rain here today (Nova Scotia), so I went out and close examination showed a steady trickle of water from the lower edge of the seal.

I still wanted to confirm nothing was coming from the floor, though. Last night I had removed the seats, the carpet, and all the underpadding (needed to dry it out anyway). This afternoon, I bolted the drivers seat only back in, and went driving in the rain. I put bolts back in for the passenger side rear seat, and as I drove I watched closely for water leaks. Also, I did not have the black plastic door sill pieces installed (that cover the weather stripping and hold the carpet down). I left the screw holes open, too, just to see if water could get in.

I drove around for about 40 minutes, highway and in town, and no water got in, through any bolt holes, screw holes, or rubber plugs. I found one big puddle of water about 6 inches deep and 100 feet long in a parking lot, and drove through it back and forth about 10 times at various speeds, really splashing the water around. Nothing came in at all, even through the open screw holes for the sill.

 

Would a rubber seal replacement work for the third brake light leaking problem?

 

I called the local $tealer here this morning to see if the gasket only was available for the third brake light assembly. OF COURSE NOT! The gasket is listed as part of the assembly, to the tune of $54.59. Looks like I'll be trying the silicone caulk route also, since there's nothing wrong with my light!

 

I had to add some foam sealer to mine after running my Sirius antenna wire through it. I got a bulk roll of 1/2inch wide sticky on one side foam weather stripping from Pep Boys for about $5 i just stuck it to the gasket on the thrid brake light all the way around and screwed it back in and it doesn't leak at all.

 

Thanks, Jim...that's a great idea! I recall having the same thing happen with my '89 F-350 Crew Cab several years ago. A body shop guy told me that it was a common problem. He replaced the gasket at that time and it fixed the problem. I'm going to give your weather strip solution a try!

 

please for the love of you truck DO NOT silicone anything on your trucks! i just bought a truck that had a leaking windshield and the previouse owner didnt want to flip a bill to have it took out and re-sealed. so he siliconed it in.. well over the years water got in behind the silicone and was trapped till it rotted the metal out around the window and ran down the a-pillars and in the cab. so a cheap fix now can cost big bucks laters. ( the a-pillars are so trashed they have holes in them the size of a quarter but is hiddien behind the molding, so since i have the truck now, i get to replace the cab; YAY not!)