blibli667

First of all I would like to thank all the contributors here who posted DIYs and various solutions. I read lots of them and successfully dismantled the glove box compartment and the black plastic cover that is above the feet if a passenger is sitting. I saw several wires and A/C components after removing this black cover. The reason for doing all this was to find the source of water that is drenching the passenger side front and rear floor carpets. It seems the water is oozing from the floor itself because there is no wetness on the carpet near door sills. Also point to note is that there is no wetness on the driver side front or rear floor. I read in other threads that there is a pipe that carries evaporator water but I was not able to locate this pipe. Will I have to remove the carpet to see this pipe? There was however a foam covered wire or may be pipe going into the firewall but the foam was dry so I left it alone. When I removed the black cover that I described above, it was wet from inside so there was some leak there but I just couldn't find it. The carpet is at its wettest in two places. For the front passenger, its right under the glove box on the inner side of the car and for the rear passenger side floor, its near the inner base of the front passenger seat. I must also point out that I am not using the air conditioner for several months now, only the heater because its winter time yet the water is leaking. The car is 1997 Lexus ES 300. Any advice on how to proceed?

Thanks !

310V6

Check the heather core. Has you're coolant level gone down?

blibli667

I checked the coolant level and it doesn't seem to be leaking. The heater also works fine. I know this sounds strange because most other threads talk about wet carpet when the A/C is on. My carpet is getting wet when the heater is on.

mspearl95

Check your sunroof drains. This happened in my 1997 LS400, and the right front sunroof drain hose had come loose under the roof liner.

310V6

Mspearl95, is right.

blibli667

Here is what I have done without success:

1- Got the windshield inspected for leaks, it was fine.

2- Got sun roof inspected, it was fine.

3- Stopped using AC and heat for 20 days. On a Friday parked my car with dry carpet, then it rained on the weekend and on Monday morning the carpet was wet again. I did not drive so this is definitely rain water.

My mechanic thinks that the rubber seals in the door might be leaking and water gets into the car through these leaks and travel under steel layer without touching the carpet and then oozes in the floor wells. I don't think this could be the case because the rest of the car is totally dry, the door sills' carpet stays bone dry.

The most likely source of water into the car seems to be the two air vents. First one is on the front passenger floor well and the second one under the passenger seat. The amount of water right under these vents seem highest. Any one else experienced this before? Is this related to heater core? I am thinking to put duct tape on these vents to test and then I'll report back.

Thanks.

PFB

When you park your car, is it on level ground? If not, is it parked front up ,or front down? Or do you park it indoors?

It's also worth while for you to remove the back seat cushion, and to look for any water penetration in that area.

mspearl95

how extensive was the sunroof inspection? did they run compressed air or water through each of the drain tubes, and make sure its coming out in the proper location? or did they just check the drains around the sunroof for clogs?

when i had this problem, everything appeared fine with the sunroof, until I blew compressed air through the sunroof drain and heard it coming out underneath the headliner, instead of out through the end of the drain tube in the front wheel well. There is a small plastic hose that connects the sunroof drain to the drain tube; this had come loose, causing water to leak into the passenger compartment and pool on the front passenger floor pan.

PIONEER

iTrader: (2)

can you look under the car to make sure the chassis drain plugs have not been removed or punctured? Does this happen when the car is parked or you drive through rain?

Check the center door channel as well, if its both front and rear foot area, it could be going through a door hinge or something.

blibli667

@PFB
The car parks outdoor on level ground with no noticeable slope in any direction. As per your advise, I removed the back seat and it was completely dry there.

@mspearl95
The inspection was done by pouring water in the front right drain and the water went right into the drain pipe in A pillar and dripped down the car from right behind the right front tire, all as expected. None of the other sunroof drains were tested this way. However, compressed air was pumped into the front-right and rear-right drains. I think I will put water in the rear-right drain next and see if it drains properly.

@PIONEER
I have left car completely dry on a Friday evening and found the carpet wet on Monday morning without the car being driven in between. That's why I am convinced that this is rain water and coming from above the floor. Although when looking at the wet carpet it seems that the water oozed from under the floor.


Here are some updates on my inspection process. On Friday evening, I sealed the front and rear passenger side doors of the car with about 6 feet of duct tape. I also sealed the place in between these doors so that I can be sure that its not the rubber seals in these doors that might be leaking. The carpet was dry at the time. The car was not driven but it rained and on Sunday morning I found the carpet wet. Hence I am quite sure now that the problem is not in the doors. I will try the same with the sun roof now once the carpet gets dry and report back my findings. I have also noticed that about 80% of wetness is in the rear passenger floor carpet and only 20% on the front passenger floor carpet. The water seems to be oozing from the base of raised floor section on which the center console sits upon.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

^ Try and run compressed air from the 'outlet' end... not the inlet.

But don't do this with water... I did to clean out the piping, and ended up with a SOAKED rear footwell...

blibli667

I sealed the sunroof with duct tape so no rain water could possibly enter the car from there. After that I removed the passenger seat and the carpet and the following pictures describe my findings. I am now convinced that the sunroof and doors are not the problem. The problem seems to be in the front passenger firewall area but I need some advice to proceed further because inspecting the front firewall seems to be complicated.

I let the car go dry but then after rain I found the first place to get wet to be the rubber pad I've pointed out in the front passenger well area and it was not just wet, it was fully drenched in water.
Any advice will help.

Thanks.

PFB

Spread some Talcum powder around the perimeter of the floor, than with the hood closed, and with a helper if possible, get him to spray water from a hose directly below the wipers.

You, or him, should be inside the car looking for signs of water traveling through the Talcum powder.

If nothing is vsible after about 5 minutes of spraying and another 30 minutes of waiting, than move the hose half way up the windshield and repeat. If still nothing move the hose all the way to the top of the windshield and repeat.

The Talcum powder will indicate where the water is entering the floor area. The next step is to find the source of the leak, which I suspect to be the cowl area.

blibli667

Thanks for all the help guys. I was able to fix the leak. There have been several downpours since the fix now and there is no leak anymore. The leak was in the cowl area as pointed by #PFB. I took out the wipers by opening two nuts and then removed the plastic molding on the passenger side. The edge of this plastic molding that sits on the windshield had a sponge seal underneath which I replaced by purchasing a similar seal from Lowe's used to seal home windows and doors. I carefully removed the old seal completely by using sandpaper so the new seal would stick properly. Then I put the molding back and resealed the edges with silicon. Finally placed the wipers back. In all it took me about an hour.

jess4fun

I so far have found that the leak is coming from the cabin air filter area the filter is wet was completely plugged hasn't been changed in years. Going to the other side of town to get the filter tomorrow. Now i am concerned that the evaporator drain is plugged. Where is the evaporator located? How do I clear the drain line? Could the cowl air be getting the filter wet when washing the car? Any ideas would be appreciated.