NEED HELP i got a water leak is it the cowl? i need some help cuz it raining again!

ok since its so dry and warm here in cali... not often to i even see this as a problem with any of my cars. not to meantion most of my cars that are outside are new so i don't have those problems of water leaking into cars.... thank god!

however the past few weeks we been having alot of rain.. well at least for us people here in cali.

so i took my 75 out yesterday for a drive for the first time in 3 weeks and then noticed some moisture form the passanger side floor near the bottom of the door right near the door sill plate.

and so i looked under the floor mat and dang, the whole floor was soaked! AHHHHH! there went the nice new carpet! anyone wanna buy some half new carpet? lol

first thought was heater core. but allas.. i don't have the heater hooked up nor is there any water in the core, so that ain't it. anyways the water didn't seem to be comming from that direction. looked like the water was traveling upwards towards the firewall becuase it was soaked form the bottom up.

i tried to trail where the water is comming from but really its hard to tell. and since i'm sick as a dog i'm not in the mood to get on my back if you know what i mean.

but the doors are dry and under the dash is dry what gives? its comming form some where. i noticed the drip rails on the cars could push water between the door and the front fender. also could it be the cowl? i know many of you have had to repair your cowls due to rust.

i pulled off the door stills to find that there was a small water puddle in the little valley where the wires run under the door sill. looked like the water filled in there and then fill over on to the carpet. if it was the cowl would it leak there if that was the case?

now remember this car sat outside for five years with no cover and when i bought the car there was no rust under the carpet mositure or anything. so this looks like it happened over a 2 to 3 week time spand while the car just sat.

any sugestions?

 

It could very well be the passenger side cowl is leaking due to being rusted out. The water is probably dripping down on the heater box, and then to the floor. The carpet will act like a wick and soak up the water until it can't hold anymore and then it will puddle up. What you described is exactly the same way my Stallion looked after a heavy rain. The passenger side floor would get a puddle of standing water 2 inches deep from were it was running in from the cowl vent. The carpet soaked it up and the water was even under the door sills. The best thing you can do for now is get a tarp over the car or at least something to keep the rain from getting through the vents until the rain stops. When you are feeling better, pour some water down the vent and see if any water is getting in the car. If so, the vent needs repairs.

 

You can put a shoplight, or whatever you got, over the cowl vents. It is easier to have someone up top to move the light around. Anyways, lay under the dash and look for light. This is done a bit easier at night. I just did that to my grabber and saw 2 slivers of light on each side of the cowl vents. Hopefully it is just your windshield seal.
Dan

 

I would suggest to take a water hose and turn it on kinda medium flow and lay it on the front of the car (I usually tape it down) pouring only into the cowl vents. This will give you time to look inside under the dash and see if there are any signs of water coming in. Give this test plenty of time because if you have very small rust holes it may take a while to show up. Hopefully it won't be there but this would be the best way to eliminate this potentially serious problem. If you don't see any water here you can start testing around the windshield next. Start working slowly at the bottom and work your way towards the top giving every couple of inches about 5 minutes of testing. Test the windshield last because you'll be getting water in your cowl so it's difficult to check the cowl after you have water all over the windshield gasket.
I wish you luck and be sure to let us know what you find.

 

I agress with rayzorsharp with the hose. I works best with 2 people one with the hose and another looking up from the dash. I would let the water flow into the cowl directly if that your leak you will know it. Also try the wiper arm. I had problems with that with a bad gasket water will leak through. Than try the window. Good luck

 

Could be the cowl...

I just posted a response to someone else yesterday regarding a leaking windshield on this forum. I saw a post from an old body shop guy about a month ago that said the Mavs/Comets had a drainage system from the windshield down to a point on the drivers side and the passenger side. Ford designed the drainage to flow around a raised circle area that would often accumulate dirt and debris inside the circle, then rust the raised circle area out. This would lead to water coming into the area between the firewall and inner fender to either the driver side or passenger side on the floor. He said many front fenders near the door would rust out from this waterflow. He said it was a "B" to repair, but had performed a repair on many Mavericks/Comets. I'll try to find this post and bring it back here if I'm successful.

If it is the windshield seal, the response yesterday also said if the top of the windshield is where the leak is coming from-Check the seal where the headliner trim attaches, as it might have pushed the seal away from either the body or the glass.

I know this water leak made your day, but I hope you are feeling better physically!!!

 

hum some very good ideas on how to check this..

i knew you guys would know.

i guess i gotta wait still it stop freakin raining here so i can check it. but yeah jean .. i just up a plastic tarp on top for now.

i'll let you know what i find.

thanks!