I searched every forum and website I could find trying to track down the source of the leak in my 1997 TJ, but could only find how to unplug the drain under the cowl. One problem, the drain under my cowl wasn’t plugged, but the puddles kept coming...
I took apart the cowl and began to inspect it and quickly found what I thought might be the issue. The double sided tape used to secure the black plastic sections to the bottom side of the cowl had finally given way to 23 years of sun and elements. This was allowing water to flow right into an open hole leading directly into my HVAC box, resulting in a short in my blower motor resistor and subsequently melting its harness into unrecognizable plastic art.
Taking the cowl into my shop I began to slowly and carefully pry all of the plastic guards away from the cowl, leaving a lot of still STRONG double sided tape behind on both the plastic and the underside of the cowwl.
I used a sharp edge scraper as shown in pic to remove the residual tape from the cowl. If you can work the blade underneath a section and push forward it may come off in one strip like mine did. I used a razor blade scraper to remove the tape from the plastic, being careful not to gouge The plastic. Once all of the tape was removed I cleaned the surfaces with acetone. I chose Gorilla 1” Double Sided raps to replace it, which in retrospect, 1/2” tape would’ve been easier because I had to trim mine. Once all contact areas on the cowl were taped I re-installed the plastic guards, being sure to provide the force needed to bond the two surfaces. I reinstalled the cowl and waited for a few heavy rainstorms to report that this fix had eliminated my passenger floor board puddle issue. It also fixed the moisture inside my hvac box causing my blower motor resistor and harness failure which was a nice bonus.
So if your cowl drain isn’t plugged, but you continue to have moisture on the floorboard of your 97 TJ, take a look at the double sided tape holding the guards to the underside of your cowl and it might help.
I took apart the cowl and began to inspect it and quickly found what I thought might be the issue. The double sided tape used to secure the black plastic sections to the bottom side of the cowl had finally given way to 23 years of sun and elements. This was allowing water to flow right into an open hole leading directly into my HVAC box, resulting in a short in my blower motor resistor and subsequently melting its harness into unrecognizable plastic art.
Taking the cowl into my shop I began to slowly and carefully pry all of the plastic guards away from the cowl, leaving a lot of still STRONG double sided tape behind on both the plastic and the underside of the cowwl.
I used a sharp edge scraper as shown in pic to remove the residual tape from the cowl. If you can work the blade underneath a section and push forward it may come off in one strip like mine did. I used a razor blade scraper to remove the tape from the plastic, being careful not to gouge The plastic. Once all of the tape was removed I cleaned the surfaces with acetone. I chose Gorilla 1” Double Sided raps to replace it, which in retrospect, 1/2” tape would’ve been easier because I had to trim mine. Once all contact areas on the cowl were taped I re-installed the plastic guards, being sure to provide the force needed to bond the two surfaces. I reinstalled the cowl and waited for a few heavy rainstorms to report that this fix had eliminated my passenger floor board puddle issue. It also fixed the moisture inside my hvac box causing my blower motor resistor and harness failure which was a nice bonus.
So if your cowl drain isn’t plugged, but you continue to have moisture on the floorboard of your 97 TJ, take a look at the double sided tape holding the guards to the underside of your cowl and it might help.