is there a reason other than a rust hole why water is leaking down from under drivers side dash in the corner somewhere, during hard rain sitting still. had to leave it out a couple days. never noticed this before i put the new front end on. but it has never rained that hard on the car before. when washing, it does not leak under the dash that ive noticed. any ideas?

 

You probably have some rust issues around the windshield.

Pull the A-pillar trim, and the kick panels, and have a look around as deep as you can go. I would even suggest pulling the passenger knee pad out and looking behind the ducts for rot around the bottom of the windshield.

The leaks you describe indicate some rotted birdcage areas.

 

 

Durango Boy's dead on here, but it might be a little easier of a fix that's worth looking into.

Check your cowl drains at either end of the wiper valley (I don't think that's the technical name for it). Unbolt the two screens and see what you can get out of there. A hose on a vacuum cleaner works great. You'd be surprised what you pull out of there.

My car leaked in the same places. After I got all of the crud out of there, it doesn't leak anymore.

If that doesn't work, then you've got the bad diagnosis. Hope it's the easy fix.

 

Good possibilities listed above.... It might also be that working on the front end caused some caulked areas (caulk is brittle after 35 years) to crack and allow leakage from the cowl drain areas.

 

cowl vent leak. There was actually a book I bought about curing wind and water leaks that detailed this. Like previously mentioned most likely caused by birdcage rust right beneath the top of the fenders on either side of the hood where your windshield frame goes up. After you clean out the area of leaves and if the car still leaks there is still hope. I have done two different things on a few cars I have owned...1972, 1974, 1975 (current car). The book I read actually said to cut away the fender to repair the rust, my 1974 which was the first car I encountered the problem just had a new paint job before I bought it. So instead of of cutting away the fender, I mixed a pint or so of fiberglass resin. I then slowly poured the resin on the lower corner of the windshield with the idea the resin would follow the path of water and seal the leak. This has worked for me on 3 cars. One thing I will mention is to not get carried away with the resin and to first note the path of water in that area. The resin will run down the inner door jambs and create somewhat of a mess if you are not careful. Definitly cover/remove your rocker panels. At this time I also addressed the door hinge to body seal. If you look under the dash, many times you will notice a rust trail from the bolts holding the hinge to the car, in my opinion a clear sign of a leak. Also to help any water that enters this area to leave without causing too much of a problem, I drilled drain holes next to the body mount inside the door pillar. They may be band aid repairs but they have worked for me on 3 cars. If I were to do this again I would probably pour down POR15 or similar product 1st to treat rust and then the resin. Good luck with your car.

 

when the front was off i saw no signs of rust. car is pretty nice with no rust any where else. dash was out no rust. if trash is in the cowl drain area. where does the water back up and come in at? i am thinking i caused something putting front on. it didnt leak before front removal. i will have to look closer at it to see were it is coming from. sure am glad the interior is out. was just about to install new carpet. would have been pissed to find 1" of water standing on it. heck im pissed anyway. got to get this fixed for sure.

 

Maybe when you removed/put back on the front end, you knocked some old caulk out of place, therefore opening up a previously sealed hole.

Just a possibility.