What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Could this be the source of water leaking by windshield?

badmix

badmix

1/2 ton status
Joined
Nov 7, 2004
Posts
4,474
Reaction score
165
Location
West Virginia
I took my cowl off and the plastic part under it. I didnt find anything really. But I did find this slot interesting. Its just below the windshield and its were the either the cowl slips into or where the plastic part under the cowl slips into, I forget. But regardless, its not a sealed hole. Im sure water can get in there,

where would it go if it did? Could this be what ppl are chasing and thinking its a windshield?

I may just pour a few drops of water in the hole and see where it ends up. lol.

Anyways, I dont have any rust around the seal of my windshield but I know the leak is coming from up high by the corner of the dash.

cid_365.jpg
 
that big hole that the wiper linkage sits in were you got your cowl off and uncovered. there is 2-3 big holes to acssess this area.

there should be seam sealer in there filling the spots were 2-3 panels fit together. it will be painted over . look like caulk but not that. its called seam sealer. should be semi flexable and not torn away from the panels and not dryed out and cracked.
 
Ok, ill look around in there tomorrow. Will it be towards the cab or more towards the firewall?
 
Ok. Ill pour some water in the cowling area and see.

I think my leak is coming up where that slot is in the picture, more around that area, up that high.
 
Did some water testing. With the cowl out and the plastic piece, I look all in there, nothing was amiss. I poured water directly in that big crevise under the cowl. nothing. I even poured water in that slot I have in the picture. It all came running out the bottom. Nothing inside the truck. I tried pouring some water over the windshield but wasnt getting much. Maybe the water/rain was just too much for a normal seal? I still need to pull dash to replace speakers, so ill do a water test again when I can see the bottom of the windshield from inside.

any other thoughts.
 
What year do you have? I have a 74 and it leaks like crazy when the hardtop is on. Mine is coming from the crappy seal above the window where the hardtop mounts. Well, that's the major leak anyway.
 
Revisting this thread. It rained real good on Monday and Ive got water dripping down near the fuse panel. Ive got to get this fixed asap. Im going to pull the cowling again, but Im wondering about the windshield seal also..where else should I check?
 
I have found lots of leaks in my time. Occasionally by myself, but almost always its at least a two man job.

First thing to try, is something I have luck with in certain conditions. It might work here.

Find yourself the brightest light you can find. You may have to block the windshield off with something opaque like aluminum foil.
Go out at night, unless you have a totally lightproof garage.
Pull as much of the cowling off as you can, set the light up under the dash pointing at the leak.
Let your eyes adjust to darkness, then switch on the light while laying on the hood looking along the edges for a slight reflection.

Water will certainly go places light will not bend around, but you would be surprised how many times you can see a slight glow.

The advantage to this is that its dry. You can move the light around and there is no lingering light. Once you start pouring water, everything gets wet and sometimes you have to let it dry and start over.

If the light does not work, then its time for water.
The key here is moderation and goggles.
One person needs to be under the dash with goggles on and a light.

The goggles are crucial. When the water hits your face, it usually gets into your eyes.
Which squeeze shut just at the second you need to be able to see.

With goggles, you can stay there and take it long enough to see where its coming from.

And the guy doing the pouring needs to do it gradually. Pour, and then wait.
It might take a minute or more for the water to work its way down.
If you pour into the obvious places and nothing happens, move farther afield.
Remember under certain conditions water can move uphill if it builds up somewhere.
But, most of the time if you don't find a leak, go up.

You might pour gallons around the bottom of the windshield with no results, pour an ounce at the top of the windshield gasket and have it all pour out the inside of the dash.

Oh, and don't forget the top part of the firewall under the hood. Water can run down through the hood seam, down the front of the firewall and into a hole.
 
From my experience you might also look at your drip rails. I had water come in my cab if I left it sitting in the rain but not when driving. If you have ever taken the headliner off you would see a series of "troughs" for the water to flow if it ever got through the skin. Come to find out there were "pinholes" in my passenger drip rail and the water would enter there and when I would get in the blazer to go somewhere it would drip out near the rear view mirror. Had me scratching my noggin for a while till I found the little "rust holes"
 
I had a leak on the passenger side floor, found out it was coming in from behind the vent door for the heating & air cond. There was a channel up inside the finder that was plugged up with leaves and dirt. Cleaned all that out and havent had a problem since. Dont know what to suggest for diver side, never had a leak there, not yet anyways.
 
yea, I found the pass. side leak. They designed these trucks in the worst way. They also have a channel on the firewall that runs water directly into the holes for the heater core. I got some A/C puddy and put it around the heater holes.

For the leak on the drivers side. would I benefit at all by pulling the fender, would this let gain access to anything that could cause leaks inside the cab? anything I put sealant on?
 
Over the years we have put alot of windshields into vehicles and when we have a vehicle that leaks customers are always quick to say "That window you put into my: car/truck/highwaytractor/boat/bus/limo/rod/collector car is leaking and getting my floor/seat/kid/wife/dog wet".
We go through about 600 invoices every 3 1/2-4 months so yes we put in alot of windows. We investigate every single complaint because we have a reputation to look after and we usually have one or two a year that's really our fault.
People tend to think right away that if they have a leak in their car it's the windshield and they won't tell us they have a leak. So we'll change the window and they come back and b*tch at us. So over the years we've gotten pretty good at finding water leaks in vehicles.
On your truck pull the dash pad off and have someone aim a hose on the outside base of the windshield then slowly work the hose up the "A" pillar towards the roof, with the pad off you can use a flash light and see alot of the fire wall and see if you can spot where it's coming in. I've seen those windshield gaskets leak on Chevy's usually after they get old. In Vancouver here our weather is like Seattle's sometime's worse as we are living in a rain forest and it pours, so what may work in Arizona doesn't fly here. Keep us posted.
 
The easy first step is to seal the windshield with a tiny bit of silicon around the edges (glass and body) ...
 
Well, I just spent the day putting some "body" sealant down in the cowling area. I seen a couple spots where the original puddy was cracking, so dont know if that was a source of the water.

I also got some Urethane window sealant and went around the whole windshield (body to seal and then seal to window).

So we shall see. Im confident in my "sealing" but I still dont know the source of the water leak, so not sure what to check or look for next, but ill wait til it rains and see. I havent pulled the dash yet, as thats a major PITA, but that will be next.

Thanks for the advice everyone. :D
 
We just had a major rain tonight . looks like MOST of the leaks are fixed. Ive got one on the drivers side just behind the kick panel. I didnt think there was anything behind there? :dunno: Ill pull the panel tomorrow and see. But the leaks dripping down from the firewall itself seems to be gone.
 
I have some leaks too. As I was looking for them I was thinking about this thread.
I found my leak coming in from the hood hinge deflector. Its the soft rubber material that seals around the hood hinges. I also found a leak in a grommet that I ran an extra wire through, the one right next to the fuse box.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom