Strange Rain Leak in Lanos

[BosnianLanos]

I had gone out west for vacation, leaving the Lanos sitting for a couple of weeks. Florida has had some NASTY rainstorms over the last couple of weeks, and for whatever reason, the car didn't get garaged. Basically, this morning, I get in it to go back to work, and there is a nice SOLID puddle of water on the drivers side carpet of the car, pretty nasty, very wet, all the way from the pedals to the back seat. I've noticed my carpet a little wet before, but never during the rain, and I always thought it was the AC...so I never gave it much thought. This is out of hand, if I leave it like this, I will ruin the car. When I get home from work, I will remove the carpet/padding, dry everything off as well as I can, and then I'll get up under the dash while a buddy pours water from a hose onto the car to see if I can't diagnose the leak.

I don't think it's the doors, as the sills and carper directly under the doors was dry. The entire passenger's side carpet was dry, divided from the drivers side by the hump in the middle. I'm thinking some fitting/gasket has given way underneath the cowl or windshield. I can't be certain until I check.

Before I go tearing my car up, has anyone ever had a leak like this, and can you let me know what you found? The rainy season is about to start in Florida, and I have to get this resolved before it ruins my car. Thanks!!

[buddha102]

tare the interior out, and get urself a water hose (a friend will be needed to help u) and let him wash the exterior of the car w/ water while u be inside checking where it leaks from

should work

[wolfsreign]

lol buddha, you stated what he was gonna do :P

yea, i would say the windshield on driver side, make sure u check the top, as it can probably leak down the left side, inside the car, and be hidden by the plastic cover. have u tried starting the car? if you havent, good, b.c if it is still damp in the dash.. you could cause a short, so make sure you dry it out well before you even put the key in the ignition.

it should be the firewall, as the water from the shield drains on top the firewall down to the side wheel wells.
my last thought could be the wireing from the driver side front quarter panel to the little fuse box might also be a problem, although it should, we may never know.

and i would suggest useing a high flow water hose, or a fatty hose, so as u can drench the car.

good luck.
~wolf

[buddha102]

lol buddha, you stated what he was gonna do :P

~wolf

lol just making myself clear

[sheepdizildawg]

i have the same leak. i can see it dripping down under the dash when it rains. i can not find it anywhere. let me know if you find anything.

[MMamdouh]

ok i have a bit of a strange theory...

if the darning pipe of your A/C is blocked and their was enough water going into your vent grills on top of the firewall then this could cause a leak into the passenger side floor

what makes me think of that problem is the fact that you mentioned that you had wet floors before but never with rain... if it was associated with A/C on then odds are you got a blocked darning pipe and the rain water accumulated into the A/C housing leaked into your floor

MMamdouh

[sheepdizildawg]

yeah that could be for him, unfortunately I dont have ac. anyone have any other ideas?

[daewoomofo]

this might sound odd but do you ahve the smell of bad celery in the car? if so you prolly have a leaky heater core

[sheepdizildawg]

nope. no celery. lol. i know its rain cause it only happens when its raining. lol

[wessock]

I have a similar problem, but on my passenger side. I can see where it's dripping onto the floor (under the door molding on the floor) but can't find where it's entering the car. Oddly it only seems to happen when I park the car on an incline with the car facing up the incline, even if it's a small one. Unfortunately my driveway is inclined, so I just always park it facing down and my leak is solved for now. I suspect mine is the windshield because I don't see any water in the door, but I also don't visibly see any places in the windshield caulking it would be leaking. It's fun when it gets below freezing because the foam expands and it's like a moon bounce in the car!

[jidasas]

this is gonna sound crazy, but get some tape and tape up the holes in front of the windshield between it and the hood. could be water coming in through those vents. I had that problem. As far as fixing it...if the tape stops the leaking I'll get a pic of how to fix it.

Jimmy

[wessock]

Yeah get a pic and show how you fixed it. It would be helpful to others even if it isn't the problem I'm having. I parked the car facing up the incline in the rain yesterday because I got curious about the leak again. Didn't tape the holes though. I thought the water was dripping through the door, but actually saw that it was dripping from the back of the bottom dash to the right of the glove box, onto the bottom door sill, then onto the floor. It looks like it's either the vents or the windshield. I haven't really looked, but what do those vents actually do anyway?

[MMamdouh]

yeah that could be for him, unfortunately I dont have ac. anyone have any other ideas?

it doesn't matter

you still have A/C intake path on top of firewall, no A/C filter, A/C enclosure and blower motor, draining pipe so the theory is applicable... you are only missing the inner serpantine

try to pour a shit load of water into the grils on top of firewall... if water leaks then my theory is correct

MMamdouh

[sheepdizildawg]

will try tomorrow =]

[nubira88]

Are you sure its not the steering wheel cover