Water Leak, Drivers Side

[moviewithnotitle]

Opened up the cowl diverter last thursday and noticed that the sealant in there was dried and a little cracked. Added some marine sealant in there (3M 5200). Sealed around the firewall grommets as well. It had a few days to dry. We got rain last night, but I have not checked out the truck yet. fingers crossed.

Working from home for the next 3 weeks due to COVID-19, so maybe I'll be able to pick away at things during lunch breaks and after work. #orderingparts

 

[moviewithnotitle]

I checked at lunch, no water intrusion into the cab, but the rain last night could have been light, so it's possible there wasn't enough rain to create the right conditions. Or the sealant was the trick to fixing it, which would confirm it was an issue with the sealant in the cowl at the firewall. #SheGetsTheHoseAgain!!!

 

[OR VietVet]

You can always roll thru a brushless car wash and watch.

 

[moviewithnotitle]

We got a monsoon last night, which I was actually happy about, it was the best litmus test for the leak fixes. As it turns out, there is still a leak, albeit a very small one. And considering the 1"+ of rain we got last night, I'm pretty happy the leak wasn't bigger. The good news is that without a doubt, the leak is at the grommet for the hood release cable. I just didn't seal it up well enough previously. #mybad! I'm going to seal it up again after work today.

So how is this really happening...
Water comes down the windshield, into the cowl, out the cowl drain, leaks past the cowl diverter down onto the grommet in the firewall for the hood release.

More details to come.

 

[OR VietVet]

Pics as well if you can. Glad it was figured out. Lots of water leaks related to that cowl area.

 

[YukonMatt]

Another thing to check, mine leaks at the top strip and runs down into the sill plate area. Blue arrow at top shows where it comes in...

I think this is my issue. Passenger side carpet gets wet at the edges, between front & rear seats. We’re you able to fix it? If so, how?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[moviewithnotitle]

I think this is my issue. Passenger side carpet gets wet at the edges, between front & rear seats. We’re you able to fix it? If so, how?

Thanks,
Matt

Partially fixed. Over the weekend I did reseal the hood release grommet in the firewall. We have had snow, sleet and rain today here in NJ. Work is busy so I have not actually been out side today. Will check the repair after work to see if it was successful. If it's still leaking, I'm breaking out the endoscope to deep dive into the cowl, firewall and under the dash.

 

[moviewithnotitle]

I did seal up the cowl drain a little more with silicon sealant. And it's working, but after a bunch of rain, I have a tiny leak still. It was a lot of rain though, over several days too. I am happy the leak has been reduced, but it's not fixed. The strange thing is the water pooled in a slightly different position as it has previously. I'll have to keep picking away at it.

I'm going to try and use the hose very specifically on the firewall.

 

[moviewithnotitle]

Ok, after a few hours playing with the hose in different scenarios, I finally found the real sneaky leak. It's where the body parts of the cowl are sealed together.

Long story short, the body sealer from the factory is cracked and that is what's leaking from, the drivers side hood hinge. What I ultimately ended up doing to verify it was the from this location (because most of the sealant is cracked in some way anyway) was to use Food Coloring on the sealant and let it sink in. Red for hood hinge, green for the upper cowl. Then I used a tiny bit of water to move it along. The result, was a Red leak inside and verified exactly the crack where the water is coming in. It's just a trickle of a leak at any time, but it's enough. A leak is a leak.

I plan to remove that hood hinge to get a better look. But the bigger question is; what to seal it up with that will last some time?

 

[Big Mama]

Now that’s some detective work. It doesn’t sound like the area is structural so some rtv or body panel sealer which may need to come from an automotive paint store