Topic: water leak

[gomi]

I have this strange leak on the passenger side. There are no visible leaks from the door, and when it rains the passenger doesn't get wet or anything, but I'll notice water pool up into the passenger side floor. I can't seem to figure out where it's coming from. Anyone else ever have this problem?

[Jeffy]

Is this a YJ or TJ?  I keep forgetting.  In any case, I'd bend over backwards and look up under the dash with a flashlight.  Look for signs of rust or water.

TJ's leak from the vent seal.  YJ's will leak from 4 different area's;

Windshield frame (rust in the frame can cause leaks to form typically near the glass.)
Cowl Vent (drain hose on teh firewall gets clogged and the vent leaks inside.)
Cowl Seal (this is the seal between the windshield frame and the body.)
Cowl (this is the area of the body that includes the vent on top of the hood.  The area under the windshield  where the vertical meets the horizontal is held together with bolts and calk.  Calk shrinks with age leaving gaps.)

[gomi]

it's a TJ. I looked up into the dash and couldn't find anything. I really don't have any idea where it's coming from. How worried should I be?

[Jeffy]

Well, things can start rusting and shorting depending on where the water is coming from.  Early TJ's had a recall for leaking vent seals.  I believe when the vent drain got plugged it would back up and cause water to seap into the Jeep from the vent system.  The vent is on the cowl, outside under the windshield wipers.  I believe the drain is in the engine bay on the firewall.

You might want to check and see if there is a recal on yout Jeep for the vent leak.

http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html

[SMC4WD]

gotta be registered Jeffy...

[Jeffy]

gotta be registered Jeffy...

Well crap, they made everything require a login.  What a POS site.  They used to have the basic lookup's for free.

[gomi]

called the dealer today and they said it would be $132 just to find the leak. Then add on whatever needs to be done to fix it. DAMN!!! $132 just to find the leak? I tell yah, it's probably just because they figure that I'm a girl and to stupid to say anything.

[Skinny]

I work for a dealership in service. That price they gave you depending on where you are is for 1 hour of labor to diag it.  You may want to call and ask around thru friends about another shop doing the diag. for you.  For us here being a smaller shop we have the price of 119.95 posted on the wall behind me, but we do diag for 50.00 or 75.00 it just depends on the issue.

[Skinny]

I just pulled it up there is a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) for the 97-99 TJ'sMODELS:
1997 - 1999 (TJ) Wrangler

SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
Customers may experience water leaks or wind noise or poor retention of the seal to the door.

DIAGNOSIS:
If water leaks or wind noise are present at the door or if the weather strip has come loose from the door, perform the Repair Procedure.

If you need more info on parts needed the PM me and I will send you over the entire TSB

[SMC4WD]

Two things come to mind...

#1.  Find the guy here who paid $50.00 to find out his gas cap was off (even after he knew it was off because it didn't fit with the billet gas cap cover...)

#2.  Pull the carpet, pull the drain plugs...   Cheaper than $135.00 and it's that Jeep thing that no-one seem to understand.

[Jeffy]

Skinny that's a different TSB.  It's more likely it's the drain tube.

Although there seems to be a lot of places Jeeps Leak. Here's jsut a few of them:

Service Bulletin Number: 241096
Bulletin Sequence Number: 125
Date of Bulletin: 9605
NHTSA Item Number: SB048796
Make: JEEP
Model: WRANGLER
Year: 1997
Component: HEATER:DEFROSTER:DEFOGGER AND VENTILATION
Summary: WATER LEAK FROM HEATER A/C HOUSING.

Service Bulletin Number: 241697
Bulletin Sequence Number: 608
Date of Bulletin: 9711
NHTSA Item Number: SB6089136
Make: JEEP
Model: WRANGLER
Year: 1997
Component: HEATER:DEFROSTER:DEFOGGER AND VENTILATION
Summary: THIS BULLETIN INVOLVES WATER LEAKING FROM THE HEATER A/C HOUSING.

Service Bulletin Number: 242199
Bulletin Sequence Number: 121
Date of Bulletin: 9910
NHTSA Item Number: SB612190
Make: JEEP
Model: WRANGLER
Year: 1997
Component: HEATER:DEFROSTER:DEFOGGER AND VENTILATION
Summary: VEHICLES MAY EXPERIENCE WATER DRIPPING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE EVAPORATOR DRAIN TUBE AND ENTER THE PASSENGERCOMPARTMENT CAUSING WET CARPET OR WATER ON THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT FLOOR

Service Bulletin Number: 234996
Bulletin Sequence Number: 173
Date of Bulletin: 9608
 NHTSA Item Number: SB049127
Make: JEEP
Model: WRANGLER
Year: 1997
Component: STRUCTURE:BODY
Summary: WATER LEAK DIAG/REPAIR PROCEDURE.

Service Bulletin Number: 233698
Bulletin Sequence Number: 222
Date of Bulletin: 9808
NHTSA Item Number: SB602206
Make: JEEP
Model: WRANGLER
Year: 1997
Component: STRUCTURE:BODY
Summary: INFORMATION TO ASSIST IN IDENTIFYING WATER LEAK ENTRY POINTS BY HIGHLIGHTING AREAS WHERE LEAKS ARE LIKELY TO OCCUR BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE GAINED DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VEHICLE. *YC

Service Bulletin Number: 230999
Bulletin Sequence Number: 471
Date of Bulletin: 9903
NHTSA Item Number: SB604702
Make: JEEP
Model: WRANGLER
Year: 1997
Component: STRUCTURE:BODY
Summary: SUBJECT ON WATER LEAK DIAGNOSTIC / REPAIR PROCEDURES. *TT

Service Bulletin Number: 234199
Bulletin Sequence Number: 121
Date of Bulletin: 9910
NHTSA Item Number: SB612179
Make: JEEP
Model: WRANGLER
Year: 1997
Component: STRUCTURE:BODY
Summary: INFORMATION REGARDING THE IMPROVED DOOR WEATHER STRIP. *MJS

For the cowl vent tube, though; you might try pouring water into the slots on the cowl then watch it to see if it drains.  It should drain from a tube on the firewall of the engine compartment.  If not then it's probably draining inside.  From what I understand you can tale a pipe cleaner or small wire and clean out the tube.

[jackhammer]

I know I have a YJ but I will toss in my 2 cents...I checked all the said jeep thing leak spots and found nothing...then It turns out I just watched it when it rained and started poking around and found the windshield gasket was completely loose rapped around the windshield on the drivers side. I could damn near stick my fingure through. some silicone and it holds for now till it warms up and I will raplace whole thing.

[gomi]

okay, so it rained today and I now know where the leak is coming from. On the passenger side next to the door there is a little rubber plug on the wall. NO, it's not the drain plug on the floor, but another rubber plug along the side next to the door. Any ideas as to what to do? I can simply fix the plug, but does that mean I won't really fix the problem, because how is water getting there in the first place. Thanks again fellas.