Water Leak on Passenger Side - Searched & Have Questions

[xjnewbi]

[/QUOTE]


Make sure that the silicone/ATV/sealant of choice is flush with the firewall opening at the lowered left edge of the fan housing - a lip or high spot here will tend to retain water (if any water does manage to drip into the fan housing). From the picture you can see some water in the fan housing - although the picture is somewhat misleading b/c I am parked on an incline

 

[Emerscape]

Thanks for the pictures. I did as you suggested an added some silicone around the blower motor housing. Unfortunately I'm sort of a big guy so it didn't come out as pretty. Raining again today and I've still got some leakage. Looked everywhere and couldn't find the source. Took the glovebox out and found some water but still cant figure out the source. Everything up top was dry, just some water on another wiring harness behind the green one. I've included a picture below - any help would be appreciated.

 

[Emerscape]

anyone help!! think I'm going to have to install a bilge pump

 

[Ivan]

anyone help!! think I'm going to have to install a bilge pump

Did you seal all the way around the bower area, just not the bottom? I did mine all the way around, and was able to get my leak stopped. In essence, you are sealing up the rotted, leaky foam gasket that fits between the HVAC box and the firewall....

 

[oldseddie]

It may not be any of these things. I had a simular leak on my MJ and it turned out to be the antenna lead. It enters through the kick panel on the passenger side, as it ages the grommet shrinks and pops out of the hole so the water just follows the wire into the interior. I glued mine in with some silicone and it hasn't leaked again. You must remove some interior trim to get to it.

 

[Emerscape]

thanks guys. I'll take a look tomorrow. One thing to note.. I parked facing downhill today and didn't get any leakage despite the heavy rains.

 

[wheeling365]

I just recently had the same problem with my 2000XJ. I was parked facing up hill but my husky liners caught all of it. I noticed it was driping out of the small weep hole in the bottom of the HVAC box. I am thinking that with the jeep facing up hill that the water is not draining out of the cowl fast enough and is backing up and running into the fresh air intake for the HVAC. I'm going to investigate a bit more this weekend when I can get it into my garage.

 

[xjnewbi]

When I first found my leak, I was parked facing uphill in the rain. I watched water drip off the wire loom that runs above the blower fan right into the housing. Parking downhill was just enough to make the water miss the housing and land onto the inside of the fender well and down to the ground.

I would try zip tying that harness out of the way and sealing the housing at least half way up the sides.

Your leak may be from another source, but it sure sounds and acts just like the one I had. If it's still raining, open the hood slightly and watch.

 

[Emerscape]

awesome thanks for the responses guys. I'll seal the blower up more. I'd expect if water was coming through that area that it would not end up near the glove box. I dumped almost a gallon of water down the cowl vents and it all drained out behind the front passenger tire.

I'll try tip tying that wire back and see what happens.

Thanks,

Pete

 

[RenegadeT]

xjnewbi - Good job. You must be a contorsionist to get in there. Did you take the fan out and seal around it or did you leave it in place and just seal around the seam?

I just went thru this leakage issue on my '99. Many searches pointed to the blower motor, so thats where I started. I left the blower motor in place, and since I'm not a contortionist, I pumped RTV onto my finger then smeared it around the seal, and repeated. I had half a tube and used all of it this way. Leak seems like it is gone, carpet reinstalled after a few months, the DD is happy.

 

[sjx40250]

This is a great thread that should be considered as a sticky. Maybe a new thread discussion water leaks with identified locations!

I know this thread was targeted at 97 and newer XJ's of which I have a 98 which has not leaked yet. But my daughters 90 developed a leak several weeks ago and I learned from this thread how to find it! Thanks to all of you.

OK so now I thought I would share my findings and observations.
After removing the overflow tank and bracket and the fan, here is what I found. Note the rusty area at the bottom of the hole below the blower opening. The foam gasket was not properly installed at the factory 20 years ago! It took that long for the seal to fail.

This is what was found after removing the carpet. You can see the leak trail:

The blower motor has a breather tube that connects the motor housing to the fan plenum. The tube comes with the blower but connects to the HVAC housing through the firewall. The end of the tube actually fits into a recessed grove in housing to prevent leaks. The tube has a lot of flash along the parting line.

I don’t believe there is an intended seal between the tube and the hole wall or the seal that failed. That would be asking too much from a design stand point! I did sand down the flash in that area then lubed it for ease of insertion and to help seal the mating surfaces. Here is the final assembly with white RTV (hey it was the first tube of RTV I found!).

 

[Emerscape]

thanks for providing the pictures. I've still not been able to trace my leak yet. I have a feeling it's coming in from higher up above the blower motor as it seems to be behind the glovebox. Dumping a bunch of water down the cowl vent didn't replicate any of the leaks so going to have to wait untill I get a hose and can spray it down.

 

[oldseddie]

Have you looked behind the right kick panel. You can test for this by running water on the rt. frt. fender/door area.

 

[jmcleish]

also look out for the crapy heater air intake design in the late model cherokees cowl. mine does not seal to the cowl very well and leaks through there a lot. my windshield does not leak.