22 Tahoe with Water Leak

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StephenPT

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Well, my leak is "fixed." No more water coming down the firewall. I used the same inspection camera to see how the grommet was repaired, expecting to see gobs of rtv silicone around the grommet which I would have been ok with. To my surprise, the sunroof drain grommet (pictured in above post) was completely gone with the hole wide open and the white drain hose was extended with some clear tubing that ran into the right kick panel cavity. It's raining again today so it would be impossible to tell where the water is now coming out (if at all). I will test it in the dry and watch for where it exits the truck. I'm guessing someplace behind the front wheel, coming out from a pinch weld or something.

I was able to locate the end of the hose by using my fingertip as a reference. I popped a grommet near the door hinges and saw my finger on camera. I would have felt better if that hose had actually gone out that grommet and drained to the exterior of the truck (which is outside of the door weatherstripping area). Instead, water is just dumping into the inner body metal which I'm sure will rot things out over time right?

I am pretty sure this is not a GM approved repair. It was completed by a third party water leak specialist. Seems all the dealers in the area use guys like this, albeit different companies.

Someone please advise me here. Willing to escalate this or will take to another dealer. This is my third time in for the repair and they only found it because of my detective work.
As long as there is a good low point opening in the structure where the water is going, rusting shouldn’t be a problem. Remember, water gets inside your door panels all the time. There’s multiple openings for water to get out, so it’s not a problem.
 

wheelmanrob

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As long as there is a good low point opening in the structure where the water is going, rusting shouldn’t be a problem. Remember, water gets inside your door panels all the time. There’s multiple openings for water to get out, so it’s not a problem.

True, and at least the metal looks like it's all coated from the factory. Would probably take a really long time to rot out. I'm going to chat with the Service Manager and see how he feels about it. Im also going to test the drain when its dry out and see if anything makes it to the ground.
 

Mike54321

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Wheelmanrob, I just went through weeks of trying to find my leak and found it to be the same as yours. Mine is a 2021 Escalade that I just bought! I'm confident the TSB will fix the issue but the reason the TSB was issued IMO is BS. The grommet you originally saw connects the drain line from the forward sunroof drain into the cowl, right under the glass (same on both sides). There in the cowl it meets water coming off the windshield and everything else. If you want to see it, just pop off the plastic connectors that run the length of the plastic cowl cover and peak inside. To take it all the way off you will need a gear puller to get the wipers off. But the grommet the line connects to is also the spout. Design issue here, the spout (grommet) is nearly horizontal. So when water drips out slowly, the surface tension will let the water run back toward the firewall and then down into the cowl. As it runs back, it seeps behind the grommet it just came out of. On mine, there is very sloppy body seem applied across the hole. There are three prongs that hold this grommet in with tension and in my case two couldn't press in correctly due to the thickness of the seem seal. There is a rubber seal on the inside (cabin side) of the grommet, so I guess I could have removed it, cleaned the sealer off and pushed it back tight to create a seal from the back. But it is such a tight space back there I went the lazy route and put some tubing on the end of the grommet and made extensions. I bought mine from Lowes for $8 and heated the end to make it easier to slide on. Like I said, mine was only connected with one little tab so I was carful not to push it back inside. I bet all anyone needs is a couple inches of tubing just to get the water down and away.

But yours is already gone and you have water going into the body. I can't say for sure that this is bad, but I have evidence it could be a problem. Have you removed your passenger side carpet, or peeled it back to expose the plugs underneath? There are 4 I think, they are circles of plastic pushing into some foam sealer. I ruled these out as a potential root cause early on by putting water on top and seeing if I could get any drips. I didn't, but what i did find was water from one plug area would seep between the two sheet metal panels and come out another hole. I would be concerned in your case that the water could flow between the multiple layers and end up coming up somewhere else. Also, the original spout dumps into the cowl which is wet area. You probably won't get anything pouring in since it is up so high, but it just doesn't feel right and surely there will be some weather that gets in like humidity, cold air, etc.

And for anyone else who might read this and still think they could have a leak from the A/C or evaporator outlet (like so many older GM trucks had...), you don't. I went there first and the drain is as big as my pinky without any rubber flap, nozzle or anything else that could restrict flow. I scoped it and its a straight shot just a few inches to the bottom of the evaporator. This is a redesign for our body style and is extremely hard to get to, centered in the firewall directly over the transmission bellhousing. But with this I think they got it right.
Gromet1.jpg
Gromet3.jpg
Gromet2.jpg
 
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wheelmanrob

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Wow thanks Mike for sharing that. The more info the better. That explains why our front drain grommet only really only leaked at certain angles. I'm half debating buying another grommet and the silicone extension hoses from Mcmaster. I wonder how hard it is to get to that part of the firewall from inside the truck. My first thought was to pop the a-pillar trim off and see if my hand in there. Other than that, it looks like a tough battle from beneath.
 

StephenPT

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Wow thanks Mike for sharing that. The more info the better. That explains why our front drain grommet only really only leaked at certain angles. I'm half debating buying another grommet and the silicone extension hoses from Mcmaster. I wonder how hard it is to get to that part of the firewall from inside the truck. My first thought was to pop the a-pillar trim off and see if my hand in there. Other than that, it looks like a tough battle from beneath.

Easiest side to get off is the passenger side. Pop the two access covers off at the grab handle and remove 2X 10mm head bolts. Pull off the pillar trim and then remove the speaker grille. The grille is a snug fit so make sure you have a good plastic trim tool and take your time. I think if you remove the speaker you'll have decent access to that grommet. I'm not positive though, because I just have an SLE (no sun roof). Last time I was poking around in there looking at my speakers I saw what looked like an access hole for a sunroof drain in the carpeted firewall insulation.
 

wheelmanrob

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Easiest side to get off is the passenger side. Pop the two access covers off at the grab handle and remove 2X 10mm head bolts. Pull off the pillar trim and then remove the speaker grille. The grille is a snug fit so make sure you have a good plastic trim tool and take your time. I think if you remove the speaker you'll have decent access to that grommet. I'm not positive though, because I just have an SLE (no sun roof). Last time I was poking around in there looking at my speakers I saw what looked like an access hole for a sunroof drain in the carpeted firewall insulation.

Thanks for the tips here. You were 100% correct. That was the location of the sunroof drain grommet. I went ahead and ordered a new firewall drain grommet of eBay, PN 84618825 and installed it. Once I got the speaker grille and speaker removed, I reached my hand down and grabbed the clear hose that had been run improperly and rerouted it to my new drain grommet.

Screenshot 2024-02-11 124735.png

I also got the blue silicone hose referenced in the NHTSA 20-NA-219 "Gurgle or Sloshing Noise Heard Coming from Front Sunroof Drain Hose Areas." After looking at the grommet and understanding how it could fail, it's obvious like you said that the extension hoses will cure the issue. Even though I didn't have the gurgling issue at highway speed, I went ahead and installed the drain extensions. I even got the Loctite 380 black instant adhesive that was mentioned.

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