camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

i happened to move my drivers side floor mat & its wet under there...i checked the passenger side & its dry...how is water getting under there or even in the inside of the car???

armac

prob coming in through the forewall. a seam or loose/dry rotted groument. pull the carpet back and look for water stain trails and run a hose down the firewall and look for the leak. good luck

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

before someone says "do a search",i did that,came back nothing

Motor City Mike

My guess would be the plenum chamber behind the firewall, and behind the dash (where your windshield wiper linkage is located). This is where your car draws fresh air in through the cowl, in the area where your windshield and hood meet. It's supposed to seperate water from the air (when it's raining, washing your car, etc.), and they will sometimes leak over the course of time.

Have a friend use a garden hose and slowly pour water on the windshield (concentrate on the driver's side). This will cause water to run into the plenum chamber. Then with a flashlight, go under the dash and try to determine where the water is coming in through. You will probably have to pull back sound insulation and/or carpeting to pinpoint the source of the leak.

85SportCoupeto89RS

Oh I hate to say it Kitty, but you may have a rusted floor board. Check under the car and see if you can see any carpet thru the sheetmetal. Water can eaisly get thru there like that.
Or maybe you have a leak somehwere on the door seals, firewall, maybe even from the windshield or cowl area.

1986tpiiroc

I have this same problem with my 86 IROC. I wanna get new carpet, but I have to find that d@mn leak first. I think I fixed my t-top leak though. Time to get the new headliner.

Belker

You REALLY should pull back the carpet and take a look at what is under there. If you have any rust holes then the problem should be taken care of immediately. If you wait you will regret it. If the damage (rust) is very minor then look into POR-15.

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

i checked underneath the car,like 85sportcoupe said,where the floorboards are & didnt see nothing

BTW,your not far from me..maybe 2 hours

91FirebirdFmla

I had the same problem with my car. I found out that it was just condensation formed on the rubber of the floor mats that was absorbed by the carpet. Now every time put the car away for the day, i put the floor mats rubber side up on the folded down rear seats. After a few days, the water dried up and i haven't had any problems since then. I know that there aren't any holes in my floor board and it couldn't have leaked down from anywhere since the top of the mat was dry.

CaysE

My guess is the firewall, also. Maybe the door seals are rotting away, too. Keep searching.

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

my mats are solid rubber,that wouldnt have anything to do with it,would it?

thats what im not sure about,after i washed the car i didnt pay much attention to the mat until i moved it yesterday & noticed it was wet underneath...ill be sure next time to take note to it

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

so if i have someone hold the hose in that area,i SHOULD see water comming in somewhere in that area? they would hold the hose where? like under the VIN# on the windshield?

DJsyclone

Does anybody else besides you drive this car? Maybe they have something to do with it. The first time I got pulled over by a cop I ran a roadblock, they caught up to me and the cop pulled his gun on me... there was some wetness in the car after that.

91FirebirdFmla

If it was leaking from anywhere above the mats ie, firewall, door seals, t-top seals, wouldnt' there be at least some water on top of the mats?

DJsyclone

Well that rules out my idea.

Motor City Mike

Not necessarily, especially if it's the firewall or plenum chamber leaking (which is the reason why I believe this is the source). Water will wick into the sound insulation at the source of the leak (but won't drip directly to the floor, because it holds it like a sponge) and it will all eventually run down and end up on the floor and saturate the carpet, and only the bottom of your mats will be wet, once it gets soaked enough.

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

lol nope im the only driver

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

believe it or not,ive actually never paid any attention to the floor mat

so i have no clue how it is getting in there whether its on the top of the mat or like Motor City Mike said

91FirebirdFmla

For water to go through the firewall and travel through the sound insulation and then soak into the carpet, wouldn't there have to be a lot of water involved in the process. From how I interpreted the description, it was damp, but not soaked. I could be wrong though.

kanuck

I had the same symptom and my leak was in the plenum. For description and solution see:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=191014

I think this is only for non-A/C cars though. I don't know what A/C cars have for a vent on the driver side plenum. My guess is it's blocked off.

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

i finally had sometime today & did what you suggested...mom poured some water directly on the windshield & i was underneath the dash & i seen some drops of water,she said she was pouring the water at the very bottom of the windshield & like above that mesh stuff (where the windshield wipers are)...

i undone the mesh stuff & lifted it up & it looked like a swimming pool under that mesh,so i had her pour more water in there & i got back underneath the dash & when she poured it directly in that area,the water just poured in...

the area where im seeing this water come in at is like around a socket...i dont know what exactly it is...

BTW,the passengers side was dry as a bone

how do i fix this problem??

kanuck

That sounds just like the problem I solved. Just follow my link in my post above.

It shouldn't hold water like a pool in the plenum though. I think it's supposed to drain to the driver side and down the inside of the fender. Maybe yours is blocked with leaves or gunk?

I'm not sure what you're talking about with the "socket"? How big? Does your car have A/C?

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

there was alot of water in there...how in the heck are you surpose to see down in that(plenum)?? maybe its because im short...

no my car doesnt have A/C...in this area im seeing the water I THINK there is surpose to be a vent but the vent part isnt there cuz it fell off,anyway its like what would hold the vent onto the car body,i guess...its in there with a screw but i would need a socket to get it off & i was out trying to do that but GM doesnt give ya much room to work with so i havent figured that out yet-lol...

sorry to confuse ya,i even confused myself


BTW,is this thing thats holding the water called the "plenum"??

Motor City Mike

Yes, it is.

There should be water drains on both sides of the plenum chamber (in the area where the front fenders are) on the inside. They have rubber flapper valves covering them to only let water out, and nothing in. It is very possible that they are plugged with leaves, twigs, etc, and causing the pooling of water and your water leak. Somehow you need to verify that these aren't plugged up. I assume you already have the hood up and the mesh screen off. Is there a way you can use a flashlight and visually see if the drains aren't plugged through the cowl opening? You might need a step stool or something else to stand on be able to see in there. Stand on the right side of the car so you can better see the area where the drain is though the cowl opening on the opposite (left) side, and vice-versa. If these seem okay, you may have a problem like kanuck had with his car.

MCM

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

where would i find this gasket? (& dont say down in the plenum,i figure thats where its at) whats it look like? & where do i get a new gasket & whats the name i should ask for?

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

im going out tonite when i get home from the fire dept to see what i can see...ill let ya know..thanks again,Cristy

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

MCM & kanuck...

i just came in from looking in there (plenum), & i dont see one thing-no twigs,leaves,etc

now about this gasket thing,where is it located at? i have to go to autozone tomarrow so while im there ill pick up one of them if yall tell me about-name?is there a certain size? etc...

kanuck

You'll never find that gasket in any store. Forget it.

The part that leaked for me is a ram air vent. The gasket seals this vent to the underside of the plenum. Non A/C cars had one on the driver side, and one on the passenger side. On A/C cars, the passenger side vent is replaced by the recirculating defrost setting for your A/C. I have no idea what the driver side does on A/C cars. I've asked, but no one knows the answer. I just assumed it's blocked on A/C cars.

On my car, you reach the vent (and gasket) from the underside of the dashboard, right against the firewall as far forward and left as you can go. It was held on with four bolts and bolts to the underside of the plenum. You can't reach anything from the top through the mesh below the windshield. All you can do is see the top poking through the plenum.

I resealed mine by fixing the mounts for the bolts, and using a liberal amount of caulking on the existing gasket. Maybe your car has a blockoff plate with a gasket? You could try removing your driver side fender, then maybe you can get in the top and see why your plenum fills with water. That should not happen.

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

1st ?...so basically what your saying is to take that vent out & replace the bolts & just caulk everything up around those bolts?

2nd ?...would clear silicon work to seal that up?

kanuck

I don't know on your car. Since you have A/C, it might be different than my case. But yes, that is how I fixed mine and clear silicone should work fine.

You need to figure out why your plenum acts like a swimming pool first. That should not happen. Any water you pour in should pour out behind the fender. Not collect and fill up.

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

my car is NON A/C

grngryoutmyway

iTrader: (1)

Your not looking at those pics I put on your other post while your driving are you? jk

Silicone should work if you find the problem. Also I have no clue about this plenum and everything this other guy is talking about, but look for the spot where it is supposed to drain out of behind the fender. I not sure were it is or if its accecible, but if so next time your at the fire station, get that hose out and shoot it up there. If its overflowing cause its clogged, I would think the pressure would bust whatever out. If its a hole or something tho it would just get your car more wet. Actually scratch that..get someone else to do it for you so that way even if your car gets wet it will still be fun to watch. Ok..this is stupid, i think im getting delierious...

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

no not looking at those pics while driving-lol..i dont know where the water drains out exactly

i went out today & TRIED taking that d@mn vent out & OMG what a PITA!! i never did get it out,too many wires & alittle black box that was preventing me from getting the vent out...so i said f-it & i took a cr@p load of silicon & put it all around that vent & especially where the water was comming in around that one screw..ill probably go out again tomarrow & put more silicon around it--i hope to G0d this works!!

only thing i can say is id like to meet the person from GM that invented these cars! no f-in room to do anything!!!

so my car totally OWNED me today!!

kanuck

You found the vent!

Some tips to get it out if you still want to try:
-Take off the bottom half of the vent first. It unscrews from the top half. Then you can unbolt the top half.
-The little black box is the main wiring harness running through the firewall. If you take off the black cover, you'll have more room to manouver the vent. The cover pops off with little tabs.
-If you can, take off the vent control rod.

Regardless, it's a huge PITA like you said. I wrestled with mine for a long time. Very sore back!

Is the screw you're talking about one of the 4 bolts that holds the vent to the plenum?

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

yeah i found the vent

i scratched my hands all up messing with it & still didnt manage to get it out

thanks ill remember those tips .....yes the water was comming in around that one screw closest the firewall but closet the brake pedal,so i put loads of silicon on there **pray it works!**

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

an update for you guys..

mom & i went through the whole ritural again...for some reason instead of there being 4 bolts there is only 3 bolts...where the water was comming in before problem solved! now i have the water comming in through the hole where there should be a bolt
,my question is (obviously i didnt put the bolt back in that hole) so should i move one of the other bolts & put in that hole? OR (really dumb ? ) would your regular house caulking work for that? if not where should i get a bolt that size to put there?

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

scratch that last question...found a bolt to fit! put more silicon around it & will update yas again

kanuck

I had all four bolts myself, but two had broken mounts, which made the gasket even less effective. That's why I fixed all four AND siliconed everything.

But if you manage to fix this without taking the vent out, that's great!

Motor City Mike

Definately reuse all 4 bolts/screws - it needs them all to get a good seal. My plastic vent housing was badly cracked around one of the "ears" where a screw/bolt went through also. I used a fender washer (a wide washer with a small hole) to cover the cracked area to provide more support for the housing under the screw/bolt head. Don't over tighten!

MCM

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

MCM-it only had 3 screws for some reason but by the grace of G0d,i had one to put in there about the same size...


AWESOME news guys..i froze my azz off & washed the car today,opened the door & looked on the floormat & NOTHING!!!i put more silicon around the whole thing just in case

no matter what anyone says about yall,i know you guys are awesome!! :hail: thanks for all yalls help even with my strange questions-lol

CrazyHawaiian

Duct Tape and Superglue. Thats what I use.

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

duct tape is AWESOME!

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

ok guys...im digging this back up because now my 91 RS has sprung a leak except this is ontop of the floor mat....

its raining outside so i open the car door to get in & theres a puddle of water on the floor mat,drivers side.

so before i came back to you guys,i got down & took the fuse cover lid off & the fuse box lid was wet & i could see before i even removed the lid that i had a leak,some where....

my question is what is above the fuse box & wiring & insulation??? is it the same thing that was wrong with my 87 & i had to fix a couple years ago,like is it that same box leaking but on my RS?

also what i cant figure out is why the insulation is still dry?

help me please before I spring a leak...lol........

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

funny i had this same problem around this same time two years ago...

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

anyone????????????

any suggestions at least?

Motor City Mike

Having lots of bad luck with water leaks and 3rd gens, aay? Try the same method as I mentioned before with the garden hose and flashlight. It may be the same problem as what was on your other car, but the water leaking out may be following a different path and dripping down on top of your floor mat instead. Even if it's coming from somewhere else, you should still be able to trace down your leak this way.

Draven

I took out my carpet to replace it, and the passanger side was wet under neath, lucky it didnt rust anything but it took off all the pant
its all silver instead of red.

and im still not sure why it was wet, and it didnt feel like water.

camarogirl18

iTrader: (2)

your problem sounds like the heater core...



as for my problem....now its not leaking when i had someone pour water down over the front of the car in those areas... this tells me that its not leaking from under the dash,its either coming in around the ttops somehow or the windshield.......i notice though with the ttops on,i can hear air comming in around the ttops somehow...i had the weatherstripping on the ttops replaced when the car was painted...oh well im not gonna worry about it,ill just be aware of the problem when i wash the car.