Need Help! Water Pours Into Cab When Ever It Rains

[Astroc2002]

Well about a year and a half after I got my Pathfinder LE I came across that when ever it rains and I make a left hand turn water pours in through the ventilation fan on to the passenger side floor or on to my friends feet. I was asked by my friend to see if the smell of the fluid pouring into the cab smelled like coolant and I checked multiple times its not coolant. An auto body shop claimed they fixed this problem several years ago, but a year later it came back. Now the body shop told me that it was a build up of debris in around the drains in the cowl and ventilation system.

 

Now one of my friends informed me that he has experienced this issue on a Ford Focus and told me to be ready to come up with $2k or more to fix this problem, because the entire dash would have to be removed to gain access to the entire ventilation system and then from there who knows. So if anyone out there has experienced this problem or knows a solution please let me know right away. Because I might be taking to a different auto body shop to have them fix this problem and this time get a warranty on the fix this upcoming month.

 

The reason why I'm having this problem fixed is because I don't want the carpet to brew mold and I don't want the floor on the passenger side to rot away.

[blackspawn]

Well about a year and a half after I got my Pathfinder LE I came across that when ever it rains and I make a left hand turn water pours in through the ventilation fan on to the passenger side floor or on to my friends feet. I was asked by my friend to see if the smell of the fluid pouring into the cab smelled like coolant and I checked multiple times its not coolant. An auto body shop claimed they fixed this problem several years ago, but a year later it came back. Now the body shop told me that it was a build up of debris in around the drains in the cowl and ventilation system.

 

Now one of my friends informed me that he has experienced this issue on a Ford Focus and told me to be ready to come up with $2k or more to fix this problem, because the entire dash would have to be removed to gain access to the entire ventilation system and then from there who knows. So if anyone out there has experienced this problem or knows a solution please let me know right away. Because I might be taking to a different auto body shop to have them fix this problem and this time get a warranty on the fix this upcoming month.

 

The reason why I'm having this problem fixed is because I don't want the carpet to brew mold and I don't want the floor on the passenger side to rot away.

The only thing I can think that it could be is the drainage tube from the sunroof is blocked. If you do not have a sunroof then the passenger side inner fender must be blocked to where the water from the rain can't drain.

[DavefromOZ]

X2 on the sunroof, if you have one. I have heard of people using a compressor to blow the drain line out.

[Astroc2002]

Alright I'll have the Sunroof drain checked and the passenger side fender drain checked. According to courtesyparts.com there's a drain line for the A/C Evaporator so I might as well have that checked. Thanx you guys

[GrimGreg]

According to courtesyparts.com there's a drain line for the A/C Evaporator so I might as well have that checked. Thanx you guys

Yep, you can see it on the firewall, and they do like to clog. When they clog the condensation builds up in the air box then will back flow into the fan. Poke something into the drain line like a piece of wire hanger. Also open up the inside (remover the fan resistor out of the box) and make sure it isn't full of leaves.

[Alkorahil]

Agreed, check all 3 drains and the box for buildup.

Everyone should do this at once a year IMHO

[Astroc2002]

Thanx Again Guys, Really appreciate the info.

[Kittamaru]

x2 on the A/C condenser - mine was blocked and it took me days to figure it out - finally noticed this little tube that was there, so (go figure) I decided to poke something into it... freaked me out when a crapload of water came pouring out... thought I broke something XD

 

Typical guy reaction right? See a hole, poke it with something.

[Astroc2002]

Well I found out when I partially opened up the heater core box there was a ton of sticks and leaves built up inside the heater core at the base and around it. Plus the bottom of the heater core was damp and the bottom of the box had standing fluid around it. Couldn't tell if it was coolant or rain water, but to be on the safe side my mechanic is going to take a look at it and do a pressure test to see if it is leaking. But if turns out that a lot of the fluid is coming from the A/C box, then I'll take it to an Air Conditioner shop and have them check it out. But again thanx guys.

[wood6078]

Yep, you can see it on the firewall, and they do like to clog. When they clog the condensation builds up in the air box then will back flow into the fan. Poke something into the drain line like a piece of wire hanger. Also open up the inside (remover the fan resistor out of the box) and make sure it isn't full of leaves.

 

 

Where abouts on the firewall is this tube? Mine does the same thing in the summer. I was about to drill a hole in the airbox to fix it.