Rain water leaks

Bill Erickson

Bill Erickson

New Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2017
Messages
14
Location
Portland, Oregon, USA
It's been raining quite a bit here in the Portland Oregon area, and I've noticed that my windows of my 2005 TJ (hardtop) have been getting all steamed up. Last night I took a look under the rubber floor mats and found that my carpets were soaking wet. The passenger side front was the worst (could actually see a puddle), but the driver-side back was also pretty wet, and all others (including cargo area) were at least dump.

I brought the jeep into the garage, pulled up all the mats, left all the doors open, and left a fan blowing through the vehicle overnight, so that by this morning things were dry.

I did some google research and found *tons* of information on various leak locations on the TJ (look like the JK also has a pretty serious leak problem ;-). I'll be checking things out this weekend (lots of possibilities), but thought I'd ask the folks here if you have any personal stories of your own leak problems that you would like to share. ;-)

Bill.
 
I'd also remove the drain plugs from under your carpet. The carpet will still soak up the water, but it will now have a place to drain.


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My passenger side leaks from the HVAC seal all the time it rains, I move the carpet up when its going to rain. Most likely yours probably leaks from the HVAC seal as well.
 
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lxxtsy said:
My passenger side leaks from the HVAC seal all the time it rains, I move the carpet up when its going to rain. Most likely yours probably leaks from the HVAC seal as well.
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Your Profile hasn't been filled out, what model year TJ do you have?
 
I had a similar issue with my first TJ back in 2003. I decided to wait till the next big rain then hop in the jeep and watch (pulled carpets first). Found the water intrusion within minutes (it was a HEAVY rainfall).
 
Mine leaked into the passenger side. Pulled the cowl and made sure the drain was clear, but that wasn't it. Ended up finding the leak coming between the windshield frame to tub seal. Dropped the windshield down and applied a thick bead of silicone across the top of the weatherstrip gasket and put it back together. That fixed the front leak. I don't put my windshield down, so it didn't matter for me. Heavy rains, I still get some seeping in the back liftgate windows at the corners. Replaced the back glass weatherstrip, but there is just too much of a gap for a solid seal there. With my soft top on nothing leaks, period.
 
Mine would do the same thing when I picked it up in December. I methodically moved my way up the firewall with a syringe until I found the guilty party. Like @lxxtsy my leak is where HVAC/heater core inserts into the firewall. It would only leak when parked and raining. Quick fix was a small gutter over it attached w/silicone.

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lxxtsy said:
Stock 98 Sport, 4.0, manual trans.
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I don't know if the 98 has this issue but the 97 TJ leaked around the HVAC air intake slot under the cowl where it was surrounded by the adjacent sheet metal. My 97 had that leak which caused the passenger side carpeting to get wet. Siliconing/caulking that seam fixes that particular leak.
 
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Good info as I am now chasing down a nasty leak. However mine was significantly more on the driver's side. Will check the cowl and those noted above. Any advice for the driver's side taking on water?
 
mgroeger said:
Good info as I am now chasing down a nasty leak. However mine was significantly more on the driver's side. Will check the cowl and those noted above. Any advice for the driver's side taking on water?
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Check at the top of the hard plastic part that is screwed on the windshield where the door seals. Not sure what this part is called but the hard top goes into a short channel at the top of this hard plastic piece. It’s easy to crack/break off part of it when putting your hard top back on and then your door doesn’t completely seal. The water comes in there, runs down the door/door frame and ends up on the floor.
 
Gentlemen... experienced auto body shops use rain water to test for rainwater leaks ..it is softer in pH.

Really good for tricky ones , because soft water will go more places.
 
I finally hunted down the leaks and they are all associated with a worn out gasket on my hard top. I'll be replacing it when I take it off for the season and put the soft top on.
 
Yes there is not really anything else to fail.... Sometimes I jeep has been wrecked or has the wrong top.

But normally it's just going to be a gasket that is compressed to the point of no return.
 
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