Good to know. Thanks.

 

Got the wet floor and just ordered the elbow.
Ford has a new part number.
4M2Z-6A614-AA
and now it is $18.

 

I guess its a aluminum 90 now..lol

 

'08 SCREW, same problem, coming from up front somewhere. 3rd brake light is siliconed, plus I caught the puddle spreading front-to-back after drying it all out. Still didn't see where it was getting in, though, just not from the back.

I bought the AC drain elbow, which was $18 and black rubber, not aluminum - wonder if I got ripped off. Tip: also get two standard black plastic "push pins". It's well worth a buck or two to just cut the old ones, one in the top of the liner just forward of center, one in the extreme front outside corner.

I pulled the right front wheel and started removing the liner. The area behind the lower rearward section of liner, i.e. directly behind the mud flap, was completely packed solid with leaves and dirt and muck, sopping wet. I suspect rain water coming down from above was backing up behind this muck and finding its way into the cabin floor.

There's also a sort of boxy diagonal brace above that area, behind the liner and below the hood hinge, with drain holes out the bottom; this too was full of dirt and leaves and a sopping wet wad of firewall insulation (mouse nest?). I used a bit of coat hanger to pick out as much crud as I could through the drain holes, then ran some water in from above with a hose, which washed more crud into the holes; lather, rinse, repeat until clean.

I installed the AC drain anyway - in for a penny, in for a pound - but suspect my leak was almost certainly caused by those two areas behind the liner not draining freely due to years of accumulated leaves and muck.

 

Just wanted to share my experience with same symptoms, different source. My driver side carpet was getting wet. I found that the wiring channel on that side was filling with water. Easily figured out it was coming from the front versus rear. Then the fun started. I'll spare you the days of frustration and gallons of water spent. Here is the bottom line: 1) Water can build up in cavities and take time to drain into the cab, so you have to dry out the channel and wait to ensure it doesn't refill before starting a new leak test (15 mins); 2. Rolling the carpet back and taking the kick panel off gives you good access to the wiring channel. I never could see where the water came through, but I could see quickly when water was in the channel; 3. there is a hole on each side, just under the cowling, that is filled in at the mfr with some kind of putty. I replaced this with RTV silicone; 4. Remove the inner liner on the fender (it's simple) and you can look up in the fender and see a hole where water is supposed to drain down. Mine was full of leaf debris. There is also a seam in the firewall behind there. I covered that with RTV as well. One or more of those put an end to the leaks coming from water in the cowling. 5. Finally, I place a tarp over the windshield and began hosing it down, 15 minutes at a time, and raising the tarp. Found there was a leak around the lower part of the windshield. Before calling the windshield folks, I popped the trim off the right side of the windshield and found dirt/debris in there that would have impeded the flow of water down the right side of the windshield. Sprayed all that out with water and replaced the trim. No more leaks.

I was reminded that troubleshooting is made way harder when there are two causes for the problem! Guess that's what I get for keeping the '04 this long, but it's just too good of a truck.

 

thanks for the great write up. I'm in troubleshooting phase right now. This will save me tons of time

 

You're very welcome. Hope it will save you some pain.

 

I had the same issue with my 08. It was the third brakelight leaking. Water running down the rear pillars , into the wiring channel, and the front pass side, drivers side carpet was soaking it up.

 

Hello could you post a pic of where this hole would be , I can't find what you are talking about

 

You are going to be waiting for that picture. The post is from 2013 the same time that user was last active.

 

 

I just found both sides wet under the WeatherTech mats of my '08. I never would have suspected a 3rd light, but i know mine has a crack in the plastic on both sides. I'll check that as well as behind the fender liner. Good write-up.

 

 

What's a waterline doing in that box? Is it a drain from something else?