I keep getting rain water puddling in front of my front passenger seat. I thought it was the front winshield, and have sealed it completly. I thought it was the passenger door's little window, but have since gotten that watertight. I've left a hose running in the grilles directly below the winshield and could not get any water entry. In fact I have not been able to get it to leak with a hose, so far.
It seems to be coming in right by the firewall, a/c vent by the passengers feet. Anyone know what I should suspect next? It's an '89 b250.
I'm getting ready to install my hardwood flooring but need to fix this first.
Dodgevanman
08-01-2007, 09:46 AM
Try squirting water where the HVAC box attaches to the firewall. Have someone observe if water is coming in at the air intake grille by the floor.
landyacht318
08-01-2007, 05:00 PM
It was definitly leaking where the Hvac box attaches to the firewall. As all the bolts were tight, and I did not want to go through the effort required to remove the whole unit and reseal it, I rigged up a rubber sheet that will keep any water from puddling on top of the HVAC unit.
But this was only one of the obvious leaks I found. Directly under the bottom passenger hinge there is a limber hole to drain any water which might get into the area where one tightens the hinge bolts to the frame. However this limber/drain hole is not the lowest point. When I removed all the plastic trim covering this area there was a puddle under the level of this drain hole, and a lot of rust, and a swarm of ants. In fact, I believe water is entering through this supposed drain hole, as the van is parked on a slight angle.
I've chiseled and wirebrushed all the rust I can reach in this area and swathed it all with rust converter. I'm think I'm just gonna paint the converter and fill the low spot with Caulk so the drain hole works as it should. I was thinking I should drill a hole at the low spot into the wheel well but figure this might cause more moisture to enter when driving in the rain.
Not to talk shit about dodges but this is an extremly poor design.
Dodgevanman
08-02-2007, 07:45 AM
Hey I hear ya...I love Dodge vans, but they have faults too. Sometimes I get to working on mine and think, "Why did they do it this way?"
landyacht318
08-02-2007, 08:44 PM
I decided to check the drivers door and see if it has the same problem. It seems that any water which might enter the hinge area drains into the same outlet as the Ram Air drain, and does not enter the passenger compartment. Do you think that the installers of the A/C unit on the passenger side hinge blocked off a drain hole? If One does not have A/C, is this Vent on the Passenger side footwell still there? Ram air or intake for recirculation?
Dodgevanman
08-02-2007, 09:19 PM
As far as I know vans that are not equipped with A/C have a vent on the passenger side kick panel. The intake vent is still utilized for the heater.
B-300
08-02-2007, 11:15 PM
The inside of the entire front fender is exposed to weather on both sides since this is where the air flows in from the grille under the windshield.
Vans with factory air use the heater system as an air intake for the AC with a recirulation intake below that.
Most aftermarket AC systems use the passenger side vent as an air intake.
It would be helpful to know which type you have to help troubleshoot the system.
landyacht318
08-03-2007, 10:55 AM
I am guessing that is is a factory installed system as the Van was originally sold off the lot in south Florida. When The A/C was operational all the dash vents blew cold air. The conversion company was also located in Florida though. What has me suspicious is that there seems to have been a fairly good amount of white body filler used in the passenger compartment to seal the wheel wells. All this Bondo is painted over in what looks to be factory paint. The water was seeping into the cabin through cracks in this bondo, directly adjacent to this hollow for the hinge bolts and the Intake vent When I chiselled out the bondo, the leak increased ten fold.
I have since injected Caulk into the low spots, but since it did not rain last night I'm going to hit the door seam with a hose and see If I got it. If it still leaks the neighborhood will turn black with my curses. :crazy:
landyacht318
08-03-2007, 11:21 AM
It appears that I've succeeded. The neighbor hood is safe, for now.
One good thing about this is I found out how the Mexican mice were entering the passenger compartment and can take preventative steps to foil the little *******s in the future.
Dodgevanman
08-03-2007, 01:14 PM
The "bondo" you speak of may have actually been seam sealer used by the factory to seal the various weld joints where the various parts of the unibody come together in that area. But anyhoo, yes I could see water coming in if that stuff was cracked up.
It cracks me up too! :)
landyacht318
08-03-2007, 07:38 PM
Yes I can see it being factory installed seam sealer as it is by the rear wheel wells as well. It is definitely more flexible than any bondo I've worked with. Just to make sure my fix is water tight I went a little ballistic with the hose over the whole front end and managed only a slight leak on a door seal. The manacial laughing had the neighbors locking their doors. I've since got about a quarter of the hardwood floor installed
B-300
08-05-2007, 03:52 AM
I asked about the AC install because my "71 had an aftermarket unit installed and removed by the previous owner(s) and the passenger side vent door was screwed on without any type of a gasket. The first time it rained with some wind water leaked in and puddled beween the seats.... There is rust there and I can see thru a pinhole. I figured this could be what was happening in you case also.
I have seen hardwood installed on the wall of a van in the junkyard, but not the floor.
