95 Pathfinder Wet Passenger Side Carpet

[MadManMike]

Hey Guys,

 

So a year or so ago I had a problem with the passenger side floorboard carpet being totally soaked when it was rainy/snowy out. I ripped back the carpet and sprayed a hose in my wheel well to find a screw hole was leaking water under my floor board, a little silicone and it was solved. The carpet stayed dry the rest of the year as far as I could tell.

 

Now a year later my carpet was wet again, pulled back the carpet expecting to find that the silicone I had used was pulled away. But the fix was still working, I spray water under my car and in my wheel well and get nothing.

 

All of my carpet padding is soaking wet and ruined, the rubber stuff that used to cover the metal floorboards has cracked and is no longer and my carpet smells like mold on that side.

 

Any ideas? I was thinking of just buying a couple of the cans of Rhino lining stuff and spraying the crap out of the wheel well and the floor board.

 

Thanks for your time!

 

-Mike

[adamzan]

Try spraying around the windshield with the hose, I heard it can leak from around there down under the carpet.

[nismothunder]

The heater coil could be it,since you have the heat on so the coolant is being pushed through it,causeing the leak...

[nunya]

Heater core would be consistantly wet, not just with wet conditions outside. Do as Adam said and try the windshield area, cowl area, etc.

[nismothunder]

I thought the heater core would only leak if the heater was on...if its not on then its not leaking,I'm pretty sure of this since it seems thats the only time they leak.

[nunya]

It's a fluid part of the cooling system if thta makes sence. Kinda like a small radiator behind your dashboard. I don't belive there to be a on/off function to it, (once again like a rad.) so it would leak anytime the coolant sys. had pressure on it. How I originally meant it though was it seems his issues are only when it's wet outside the way I see it described, not when the heater is running.

[nismothunder]

Okay but theres also a thing called a water control valve that if I under stand it right allows flowage to the heater core,depending on the pastion of the controls its limiting the flowage of hot coolant through it,like if you have it all the way over in the blue its letting in warm air,but if you have it all the way over in the red its letting in a lot of hot air...(this is with the blower motor off...)It could also be the weather stripping and/or a poor gap between the passager door and the rocker panel/fendor...

[RedPath88]

Ok well this has gone off track of suggestions...

 

Mike, does the water causing the problem have any coolant in it? Color/smell/feel? If not then it's safe to rule out the heater core/supply lines for now.

 

Personally I would start with Adams suggestion and go from there, it that does not produce results. I had to have the windshield in my old Escort replaced, long story short the shop that did it did a lousy job and it leaked. Water on the floor was a symptom. It ran down the A-Pillar and firewall until it pooled and soaked the carpet. Only when I hit it with a hose on full blast would enough water make it through to show around the window.

 

BTW, I ended up fixing it myself

[Precise1]

Stupid short days limit the time I have to work on my car

 

Feeling your pain, but I have the GF's and the 3rd car to deal with, not to mention the project car and the motorcycle, if I ever get to it. Seems impossible sometimes...

 

B

[DavefromOZ]

Where abouts does the sunroof drain outlet on these things? Have heard of them getting blocked and causing mysterious wet patches inside pathy's.

[nismothunder]

On mine the water would run down the passger side pillar,but that was because I let the sun roof up in its spoiler mode(got for another 10 mph)

[slade420]

Your floor probably has holes in it. Mine had some big ones, drivers side was worse. careful of the computer is under the passenger seat.

[Nickj]

Hey Mike

 

I had the same with my 2004 TI. I sat in the car upside down with the kick panels removed and got my daughter to let loose with the hise across the front of the screen. Hey! Water ingress.....

 

It appears that when the good guys replaced my windscreen, they missed a section about 50mm (2in) wide across the top of the screen. When they pulled the screen out to fix it, it was dusty where there was no adhesive.

 

The drains for the sunroof go down the A pillar and bahind the kick panel. (Panel beater left them out after replacing the sill. 2nd wet carpet episode!)

 

Also, there is a drain for the Aircon in the centre of the transmission tunnel that could be loose or not seating correctly.

 

Good luck!

 

Nick

[MadManMike]

Okay so after removing all of the carpet, padding and rubber crap on the passenger side of the car I dried everything up really good. The next night it rained (whats new here in seattle) and when I went to go to school in the morning there was a puddle on the passenger side floor again. I could see a little tiny stream of water coming down the (firewall/floorboard) area. I followed the stream of water all the way up (under the dash) to the place where the kick panel and the firewall meet. Water was leaking in the seam between the firewall and the kick panel.

 

I really can't reach this place, so I don't think I could get silicone or epoxy up in there. I purchased a can of rubberized undercoating, I think I am going to give it a few coats up in that area and see if it will stop the leaking. Using a hose I couldn't exactly pinpoint the spot that the water is entering at, but it's around the passenger side hood area. It doesn't seem to be the vent cowls, I think its entering from the panels that are around the windshield wipers.

 

Any other suggestions are welcome.

 

-Mike

[slade420]

under the dash, there should be a rubber lining with sponge on the back it covers where the floor meets the firewall. when i pulled mine up the join was separating. i also had rust holes in the top right corner. drivers side was the same. my "new" D21 has some holes but not as bad. dang salt!

[MadManMike]

under the dash, there should be a rubber lining with sponge on the back it covers where the floor meets the firewall. when i pulled mine up the join was separating. i also had rust holes in the top right corner. drivers side was the same. my "new" D21 has some holes but not as bad. dang salt!

 

Same thing here. The rubber stuff just kind cracked all apart when I took the carpet out. My car has been in a few wrecks (in it's previous owners life), my guess is that when it wrecked the joint separated a little more than normal. Probably didn't leak until the rubber got old enough to fail, now it's noticeable.

 

So here was my solution, (checked for rust everywhere none found!) found the place where the joint (firewall to door frame, passenger side) was separating a little tiny bit. Removed exsisting failing rubber seal. Sprayed area with several coats of rubberized undercoating (probably could also use truck bed liner). The leak seems to have stopped, in the mean time I am still going with out a passenger seat and with the carpet still torn all up (waiting for a really good rain).

 

thanks everyone for your suggestions/help!

[Mr. Pickles]

I'm sorry, but I think you just did a band-aid. You fixed the leak at the low point, and the water was coming from somewhere up above. So now that its sealed, that water is going to pool up and/or go *somewhere* for you to find later.

[Derrik]

I had a similar problem a while back... I cleaned out the drain area for the cabin fresh-air intake plenum and that resolved it.

 

What was happening was that there was too much debris (similar to http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=7466 ) in the area just above the a/c fan blower motor assembly; in fact, a leaf had strategically wedged itself such that it was directing rain-water into the cabin. Also, the drain at the base of the evaporator core (used to drain the water that condenses on the evaporator core's surface) was also clogged, so water would overflow and enter the cabin (front right passenger area).

 

The Details: You have to remove the blower motor (see link above) to reach up and over into the plenum drain area (an area between the firewall and outer fender sheet metal) to remove the accumulated debris.

Externally, this area drains to a hole at the base of the outer fender; the hole is visible from underneath the vehicle, directly aft of the tire, at where the door meets the fender, and is often identifiable by a leaf or twig which will be protruding from said hole. I inserted a barbed drain cleaner up there and started working, and out came such beautiful soil; I mean just perfectly aged compost, but, I digress. Do this to both sides of the car. Who says a Pathfinder isn't eco-friendly? Composter AND transportation in one.

Edited April 5, 2010 by Derrik

[ahardb0dy]

just went thru this with my 94 I just bought, on mine the water was coming in at the base of the windshield, where the trim sits on the glass, I could see an area where there was a gap, put some silicone in there and checked it 2 days later with the hose and also 2 times after heavy rain and no more water. I was also able to see exactly where the water was coming into the cab from and have pictures which I will post below, good luck.

this u shaped bracket is on the inner fender and the plastic part screwed to it is the AC heater box