SN95 Rain Getting In Passenger Side Floor

90sblue

Member
Aug 11, 2019
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Jersey
Hey guys, question regarding my '94... I'm getting water in the passenger floor board when it rains. Before there's enough water to accumulate, the bottom of the floor mat is wet but not the top. Accumulation starts in the marked spots:

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the left and right walls are dry, only the floor is wet... if i pull back the carpet we see some significant wetness
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I'm thinking that black material should be snug against the floor, but it isn't and lifting it reveals the insulation underneath is very wet...

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I have tried removing the cowl at the front of the windshield, I did not find any clogging. When I poured a water bottle over the windshield it seemed to drain easily across the length of the vehicle, so the issue may only be present during heavy rain. Which we've been getting here.

Any thoughts on how this could be addressed are appreciated!
 
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Is this a convertible or hard top?

Are you certain that this only occurs after a rain? Does it happen when the car just sits in the rain or only when it's driven?

Have you checked/cleared the case drain for the A/C condenser?
 
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I've used the AC quite a bit on sunny days without seeing any water, both days I've seen water it was raining pretty hard. Definitely seemed like the water got in while the car was sitting.
I haven't checked the AC drain, can't get under the car at the moment. Hoping to have it in a garage and up on jack stands late next week.
Currently thinking I need to take the cowl off again and try blowing compressed air through there, open to any other suggestions
 
Best off just using a water hose with a sprayer around the cowl and windshield area and try and locate it. If you are spraying pressured water at it, it should surface.
 
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What top is on the car? Any sunroof drains?

Be mindful about blowing compressed air through old drain tubes. Some small diameter tube and a shop-vac can help.

Also: Check your passenger door drains. See if anything is clogging the holes (rust/dirt). Pull the door panel and check for moisture. Look under the flat portions of the rocker panel covers and see if any of that is moist.

Look underneath the car and see what condition the rubber plugs are in. Same for the ones in the firewall beneath the dash.
 
So I know the weather seal on that door is bad where the window meets the car body. Quick fix was to put adhesive weather seal on the inside of the window, this stopped air whistling. In a few weeks I'll get a replacement weather seal and do the job properly. Because the bottom of the floor mat gets wet before the top, I don't think this is my water entry point. I'll take StratTone's suggestion and hit it with hose this weekend.
 
Clogged cowl drain?

From another site. I know it's an '03, but I imagine the drains are still there:

Ok after having the leak problem myself and tearing out the innards of the car (2003 Vert) here is what I learned.

1. There are two drains in the front cowl on either side of the car. Where the a piller meets the body and fender.
Put a garden hose up there and look for water coming out under the car.

2. In the back just in front of the rear wheels on each side there are drain holes. They are easier to see if you remove the plastic ground effects panels.
Believe it or not, it is NORMAL for water to run through the car. What happens is it will enter the front and run through the frame under the plastic rocker panel covers, or whatever they are called, the things that say Mustang on them. If you pop them off, park on an angle with the front up, and flush the front of the car, you can look through holes in the frame and see the water running through there.

The water SHOULD exit at little slits in the rear which are behind the rear side mounted speakers. Water going in from around the metal trim at the edge of the vert top will also collect in here and somehow make it's way to these slits. With the top down if you look in on the side toward the front where the springs and top hydraulic lift tubes are located you might be able to see the slits.
If not, remove the rear seat or the speaker and peek in there and you will see them.

The problem is they clog and then water collects under the rear seat, rear floor pans.

In my case the seam where the passenger side floor pan is welded to the frame (where the water runs through) didn't have enough seam sealer on it so when the water ran through the frame, it never made it to the rear drains and instead ran out into the rear passenger side floor pan making a mess.

Chances are your drains in the rear/front are just clogged.

Hope this helps.

Also to the other person, my Ford (ebay special) DVD doesn;t have anything about the body/top either.
I think it's a POS and am interested to know if the *real version* has these manuals.
Purchased from manualsunlimited btw. You get what you pay for I guess.

BTW I just re-read your post. If you are getting water in the plastic thing that covers where the top lives when it is down, chances are your rear window seal is leaking. Water is NOT supposed to be in there.
If you mean the wheel wells, the drains are clogged.
Follow what I said above.

Any more questions, let me know.

Also, maybe a missing rubber floor plug?
 
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So, firstly, thank you everyone for the replies! Just now I spent time looking at the previous owner's (non-functional) sound system set-up. Two wires were running through a hole on the passenger side of the car out to the battery. In the images below, I've already pulled the large red wire out of the interior, now only the silver wire runs into the car...
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This may seem like a silly question but... is that hole supposed to be there? You can sort of see the insulation behind it, I'm wondering if rain water isn't getting in and running down the cabin side of that wall. Thanks again guys.
 
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Any hole in the firewall is going straight into the inside of the car. A stereo isn't worth flooding the car so I'd take those out and put a grommet in it and see what happens. Or until you can find a grommet just put a piece of duct tape there for testing (can't believe I'm saying this). Water inside the car is bad news.
 
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I put duct tape over it temporarily to be sure that's (the only?) leak. I'll need to come up with a real plan to cover it durably, some of the pieces in front will need to be moved out of the way, can't really get my hands in there as it is.
 
Just about everyone here with an account older than 5 years has one of these kits. :D
Proly true. That's a nice little kit and just a pic I borrowed. My kit is in a big clear plastic jug that I filled up by walking around the junkyard grabbing every grommet and plug I could find. Talk about OEM quality! :jester:
 
Check the drains in the underside of the door too. I've seen them clogged with debris or undercoating that prevents drainage. Water then pools up inside the door until it overflows into the interior.