Water Leak on Passenger Side - Searched & Have Questions

Hi all - Last week I parked my 2000 xj sport facing uphill during the heavy rains that we experienced in Boston. When I was troubleshooting a no-start issue, I noticed that the passenger side was soaked. I had my evaporator and heater core replaced last August and to my knowledge had not experienced any issues with leakage. I looked up under the dash and noticed some dripping from the cover on the blower motor

Long story short I had my jeep towed to the mechanic for the no start issue (replaced CKS and CPS) and four days later decided that I'd troubleshoot the leaking issue. After pulling back the carpet I noticed a good sized pond of water in the front passenger side floorpan. I've been able to soak most of it up but it is still damp.

I've searched and found that a common leak exists through the windshield cowl and around the heater blower motor. The problem is I'm having difficulty in understanding how to resolve the problem. I'm going to pour some water down the cowl to see if it leaks but I'm pretty sure it's the heater blower motor. I've read that sealing the motor using RTV or silicone caulk works best - but I'm not really sure how to go about doing that and where I should apply it. Any help (and pictures if possible) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Pete

Had the same type of leak over there its pretty common. Could be a number of things keep searchin but the first thing I did was pull the carpet kit out and drill a couple 1/8" holes in the floor board. Not a true fix of course but it keeps those floors and cab a LOT drier while you search for the cause...don't let the floor rust away! GL

2 other common places you can look, is the base of the windshield, and pull the carpet back because you may find some factory drain holes w/ a sheet metal cover, the gasket material may be deteriorated enough to seep through the floor board.

Pull the blower motor out put a bead of sealant around the joining area and re-install.

Seems like your experience taking the Jeep in for the starting issue was typical of what happened to me may years back when I was stuck away from home with no tools. Funny how that CPS and CKS both go out at the same time.

I found all my inside leak issues were:

Bad seal at the wing window, easy to find. Get inside and have someone hose it down. Watch for drips.

Luggage rack, almost undetectable unless you have the headliner out. Dripped thru the roof and ran down the A-pillar, onto the floor. I pulled the screws, RTV'd 'em, put the screws back in. No more leaks all winter.

Sounds weird, on my 90 the rain gutter had come loose and when it rained (hose) they directed the water straight at the wing window seal, it leaked.

Thanks guys... It's a 2000 so don't think the wing windows are an issue since I don't have them .

Is there any way I can seal the heater blower without having to pull it out? Don't want to have to pull the dash apart.

Thanks

The blower motor comes off the firewall under the hood!

nice ill check my fsm

I have a '98 and had the same issue - I sealed by heater blower from inside the engine bay with a generous bead of silicone starting mid way down one side, across the botton and mid way up the other side - just sealed the junction b/n the blower and the firewall. I'll see if I can get a decent pic tomorrow.

thanks that would be greatly appreciated!

Hey - I also have a 2000 XJ with this leak problem. Were you able to fix yours? Do you have any pics or tips?

Sorry man, forgot to take the picture today - I got caught up tiling my bathroom (shower took way longer than I thought). Tomorrow I'm working 12 hour shift so I'll try to get the pic posted on Thurs.

Husky liners if you are cheap or dont want to pull the dash. Mine comes out of the heater ducting when it rains or I wash it

check your windshield too. i had that problem (rusted my floorboard too) and found out i could lift up the entire pass. side of the windshield off the seal!

xjnewbi said:

Sorry man, forgot to take the picture today - I got caught up tiling my bathroom (shower took way longer than I thought). Tomorrow I'm working 12 hour shift so I'll try to get the pic posted on Thurs.

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No problem man. Thanks for the help so far. I'm not going to be able to have time to seal it myself until saturday anyway.

I'll also take a look at our windshield. Recently got cracked up at the top (very small) from a rock so maybe that somehow is playing a part. Hopefully this weekend I'll have access to a hose or can bring it to the car wash to see where it's coming from.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

Alright, sorry for the delayed posting - here is the pic of the blower fan housing from the engine bay. You can even see some water sitting in there (its raining today) but no water inside. You can see the silicone bead along the bottom of the fan housing. Hope this helps

xjnewbi - Good job. You must be a contorsionist to get in there. Did you take the fan out and seal around it or did you leave it in place and just seal around the seam?

MelloYello said:

xjnewbi - Good job. You must be a contorsionist to get in there. Did you take the fan out and seal around it or did you leave it in place and just seal around the seam?

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That's where my water leak originated from as well. Some good application of silcone, like shown in the picture solved my water leak. There is also a wire loom that runs along the top edge of the firewall. Put some zip ties on it and pull it away from the fire wall, above the blower access area. Water has a tendancy to run on that wire loom, then drip directly into the blower motor access cavity....

Also if it's a 97 or newer XJ, with AC; you can't remove the blower motor without first removing the accumulator. To remove the accumulator, you have to discharge your AC system....

MelloYello said:

xjnewbi - Good job. You must be a contorsionist to get in there. Did you take the fan out and seal around it or did you leave it in place and just seal around the seam?

Click to expand...

I went the cheap and easy way first and kept it in place - luckily it worked .

Yes, the wire loom that my hand is pushing back out of the way for the picture, has a tendency to allow water to drip off of it right into the fan.

Ivan said:

Also if it's a 97 or newer XJ, with AC; you can't remove the blower motor without first removing the accumulator. To remove the accumulator, you have to discharge your AC system....

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S.O.B. that sounds like a real pain. I think I will stick with the "easier" way first, gob the ATV around and zip tie those wires. Thanks for this thread!