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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
Was going to replace carpet today, and heres what I found. Tomorrow Im taking a hose to the exterior and look for any leaks. Are there any typical places moisture can get in I should keep an eye on? Also going to add more sound insulating after fixing rust.
Especially with all the miles you have on the old girl, I would bet you have cowl cracks.
I find them on almost every 1st gen I work on.
On my restorations and 12V re-power swaps I always, weld up the cowl cracks and then reinforce it with extra metal welded in to stiffen up that area.
Once the cowls crack up towards the lower windshield edge the rain gets in behind the dash and runs down soaking the floor.
Jute padding is awful at holding the moisture and rusting out the floors.
What you're looking at in your truck, is the specific reason why, when,I bought this truck, I immediately toased the carpet and padding. And replaced it with removable mats from home depot.
After every rain, I peek under there, and,if I find water, I wipe it up, and dry out the mat.
Take off the front fender[s] and inspect the area of the front of the cab under the windshield.
I almost guarantee you will find some cracks in that area.
I remove the carpeting and jute padding and run just a removable rubber floor mat in several of my 1st gens as well.
Like Oliver Foster and NJTman previously stated...Cowl cracks and the speakers could be the cause. It could also be leaking from a bad seal around the vent in the kick panel or the windshield seal.
If the water is getting in from the speaker area, I would recommend installing some water proof speaker baffles like the one in the pic. My truck was leaking around the speaker grills and I installed a set of the baffles to resolve the issue.
Where on the cowel are to seeing cracks? I assume u have to pull the fenders to see them?
Like I just posted... Yes, pull the front fender and you will see the cracks on the cowl.
I would post pictures of mine, but that is not in my skill set.
Google "1st gen Dodge cowl crack pictures" and I bet lots of pictures come up
I have welded up the cracks and reinforced them on both of my 12V powered crew cabs.
I have also done it to both my Ramcharger 12V conversions and I need to do my '91.0 called Poncho.
I can tell Poncho needs it done as I hear a metal like cracking and popping noise when driving it coming from that area. That and 19 out of 20 1st gens I work on have some sort of crack in that area.
I find the 2wd have it less often but even my '89 2wd cream puff Ramcharger tub with low miles had them.
Water can also leak in around/through the door seal, and the floor vent on the drivers side. When your done keep that plug out of the floor so the water at least has some where to go, I removed all plugs and drilled holes in all the ribs in the floor to allow any moisture build up a place to get out. And when I did my extra floor sound deadening I did a thin 1/8 sheet of rubber matting, then a fiberglass type insulation with foil on one side, and then the jute on the back of the new carpet.....I never have wet carpets now other then run off from the floor mat from my snowy boots.
At the lower corner is where they crack. Mine was only cracked on the drivers side. Be sure to put body caulk around the edged and any gaps in the area.IM000393
My cowl crack repairs are done in a very similar manner as archer2's job.
Dodge used to sell a cowl crack repair panel for the 1st gen which has long since be sold out.
So we have to make our own.
When you are done cover the upper seam by the windshield with RTV or something similar to the factory "bitchathane" or ice and water shield roofing adhesive.
That is where the water gets in often.
I had water running in from the speaker grills too but I found the water was dripping in around the vent window pivot. Sealing the pivot flange to the glass stopped the majority of that. You can still force water past it but in just normal rain fall they don't leak anymore.
02-02-2019, 07:02 PM
