...the interior is completely out except for the front seats and it's loud as heck.

When I drained the rubber floor mat, the jute contained enough water to fill a 5 gallon pail 3" deep. The water appears to be leaking into the passenger side footwell and wicking up to the back seat and slowly to the passenger side of the back seat.

I pulled the fan and used a high pressure sprayer to clean the evaporator and to check to see if the condensate drain was clear. After a few minutes I noticed a small trickle of water coming down from the center right side of the dash, right next to the electronic gizmo bolted to the tunnel at center. I am not sure where this water is coming from within the evaporator housing...maybe running to the drives side of the evaporator and then out a floor vent?

My third brake light has been caulked for a month or more.

The back half of the truck appears to be dry, no visible water staining at the bottom of the back wall, sides by the seat belts ect.

The windshield has quite a few cracks, left and right side at the edge, midway up the A-pillar and one at the base of the windshield center.

I ran the water hose full blast into the windshield wiper trough and did not find any water coming into the cab.

I installed my clearance lights and once or twice, there was a drip from the center console after really heavy rains.

I noticed some rust on the body flange where the door seal attaches on both sides. This is right at the point the quad cab doors meet the front doors.

Thanks

 

My bet would be the drain for the air box for the evaporator........when the AC is on the drain can leak back into the cab....extend the drain down below the opening in the firewall and you should be fine.........both my 94 and 98.5 had damp passenger floors and after drying them out and lengthening the drain tube the floors have never been wet again..........this seems to be a common problem with 2nd gens.......

 

That's the exact problem I have in the work truck. I haven't looked, is it obvious to see the drain?

 

CTD,

If we are looking at the side of the drain tube which sticks out beyond the insulation about 1.5", you are suggesting that the water runs along the bottom of the tube back to the hole in the firewall rather than dripping straight down?

It seems to be that a lot of water was hitting the ground when running the ac when the ambient temperature and humidity were higher.

Adding a flexible tube to the drain won't hurt and I will start there.

 

Yes, water leaks out around the tube and back down the inside of the firewall.........it is a small amount of water but collects over time and because of the insulation with carpeting over top of it, it does not dry out.........my drains would drop lots of water on the ground so you can't go by that.........after the drain is extended below the hole in the firewall the water cannot get back through the hole and down the inside of the firewall.

Eric,
The drain can be easily seen from the underside of the truck but not so easily from the top........run your hand along the firewall on the passenger side and you will feel a small tube about a 1.5" long protruding - that is the drain.

 

Defintely the drain. It got me on both of my trucks, and I would suggest that everyone do this!!!

Go buy some tubing that will fit over the drain hub, and extend it down a few feet so it will drain to the road. Fasten it to the hub with a hose clamp, and zip tie it to the frame somewhere. Make sure it doesnt come in contact with the exhaust.

This will be one of the first mods on the 98 i just bought. Its a must do for anyone.

good luck!!
Phillip

 

Thanks, I will take care of this tonight...

 

I'm going to have to check that out on mine, 'cause my passenger side is SOAKED!



Tony

 

I've stripped my interior trying to find the water source as well. Getting water at rear of cab on both sides. I've siliconed the third brake light so that is fixed but water appears to be coming out from underneath the cowling that is underneath the rear window (non-sliding in my case). I have a topper on so it is hard to tell if it is the rear window or not.

One of the leaking areas seems to be from where the black trim that runs above and behind the passenger door fits into the trim running around the upper rear of the cab. I've added some silicone but this hasn't appeared to stop it.

Anyone else dealing with this?

 

Your door seal may have gone flat or partially flat in one area. You can test this by having someone sit inside the truck (with the doors and windows closed) and then use a pressure water hose nozzle - spray this along the edges of the doors and between the front and rear door and have your helper watch for the leak.

There's another way also - using a smoke tester - that will force smoke against the door seals from inside and you can watch from outside to see where it's leaking out of.

I kinda had a reverse situation of this, instead of water coming in, you could hear a sucking sound from the right rear passenger door as I drove down the freeway - the truck was still under warrenty, the dealer simply replaced the seal and all was fine after....

 

mine was coming in around the seat mounts. Took out the bolts and plates underneath the cab and sealed 'em up....good so far

Chris

 

Another way to find cab leaks is to tape over the outlet vents located at the rear of the door jams, turn the fan on high in any position except recirculate then spray the outside down with soapy water. Bubbles will show you the leak.

 

You know, I see a lot of people saying that they fixed their leaks with sillycone....

I just wanted to let you know about a far better product although it does cost a little bit more but works far better and last much longer - with all the flexing and bouncing around you all do if you go off road and all, it's called Bituthane and it does come in tubes that you can use with a calking gun. It sticks to just about anything (as long as it's dry and not oily) and it takes about 24 hours to dry, once dried it's basically rubber. I use it when ever I need to seal anything, including sealing the replacement windows in my house - don't use that stupid calk that dries out after a couple years and then falls off again. They use Bituthane to seal in the windows in commercial buildings.

I get mine for free at construction sites (I'm a Construction Special Inspector)..

 

The interior is still stripped out. I removed the door seals and when I reinstalled them, they are about 1" short of touching end to end. Since they are worn out where my feet drag across them getting in or out, I plan to replace them. About 65.00 a piece I believe.

But there is more to it, the ac is not working and I think water was getting in due to excessive condensation in the evaporator housing. Considering I need a re-charge I will probably remove the dash and replace the evaporator and possibly the heater core at the same time. If the ac is working properly that should take care of the condensation problem, correct?

I also need a few bucks to replace the rear speakers, I have already replaced the fronts with Infinity's and added my old Sony 2540 and it sounds mucho better. Then I want to add some brown bread, dynamat or other material to the floor and back of the cab. But if the dash and evaporator housing are out, I can add it on the firewall too.

I will keep driving it stripped until I get all this complete...it is a major drag driving a stripped out truck because of cash flow

 

The rear slider seal on my old dakota was the source of my wet carpet. The windoe would leak behind the plastic and then down under the rear seat into the carpet.