Can't find a water leak

Ok so my 97 XJ leaks really bad in the rain and the driver side foot well fills with water so I got out the hose and started running it over that side of the Jeep and it leaked from the huge wire grommet that is under there so I fixed that. There was a leak coming from a grommet that was a up and over towards the driver side some more and I fixed that. And the grommet for the driver door wires leaked bad and I got that under control. Problem is there is still a leak that I cannot find where it is coming from. I can tell that all that I fixed helped because the carpet was soaked but I did not have a puddle of standing water an inch or two deep like I did before. I did find that it only leaked when I ran the water through the vent for the cowl so I removed the vent cover and stuck the hose in there and it got even worse to I pin pointed it to something in there but I cannot see down in there to find a crack or anything that could be leaking.

The water runs down from where the red circle it but I cannot see up there to find what is leaking.


Does anyone know what above that area could be leaking? I do not have a garage to keep this thing in and I am tired of finding water in my Jeep.

Trying to track down the same problem though my leak has never been bad enough to cause standing water, just damp carpet. Not that it helps much, but the slope my Jeep is parked on seems to affect whether it leaks or not. I ignored it all summer, but here comes the rain again... I'll be following along.

There is a known, highly irritating, problem where the foam gasket that seals off the HVAC unit from the cowl (and the firewall) breaks down with age and they start to leak. Only real solution for that is to remove the HVAC and replace the seals. Do a search and you will find numerous threads detailing how to disassemble the dash...

I need to do my 98. Right now, I park it facing down hill on my driveway to keep the water away from the HVAC air intake seal. Helps, but not a solution. The cowl drains are located at the front, outboard edges of the cowl. So, park facing uphill and the water stands in the cowl.

Good info, makes sense. Looked it up in the FSM and while it looks like a major undertaking, there is a "seal kit" available that includes the intake/blower motor seal, the evaporator coil tube mounting flange seal, and the evaporator coil tube seal. Part #4874 069AB for a 4WD wtih A/C if anyone is interested. Might be a good idea to do this when performing a heater core swap as a majority of the procedure is the same. Looks like there is also an air inlet seal just above the blower intake, Part #4897 639AA.

However, as it relates the the question posed in this thread, I'm not sure this is the answer. It looks to me like all of the above mentioned seals are on the passenger side of the vehicle. Would these cause water to collect on the driver side floorboard? My passenger side floorboard is always dry...

The Air Inlet is what is leaking on mine. Just do not want to have the AC pumped out and do the work...

It is true that the seals are on the passenger side, but there is a floor vent on the drivers side that carries water just as easily as air.

My drivers side get wet also.

I chased that same water built up once for months, and finally discovered the passenger rear window was not rolled all the way up. It was not obvious looking at it!!! Only when I turned the handle and the window moved up another 1/4". The rain would come in the back seat floor, and drain to the front seat floor where it got 1" deep!

It may be leaking around the brake booster's mounting flange, you'll know if you see water dripping from one of the booster studs.

if you ever replaced the booster, or had it pulled away from the firewall the seal could be torn, out of position or just missing

I had this very leak and it took time to catch it. I had to aly on the floor in a torrential rain to see it happen.
I unbolted my booster, crammed a bunch of duct seal putty around the flanges, and rebolted it. Watertight ever since. Duct seal putty stands up to heat reall nice too. No stink either, it's the same gook as "dum dum".

The red circle is your am/fm antenna wire.

The XJ has several common areas that leak:
-windshield seal
-door seals/door frame adjustment
-A/C blower motor seal
-am/fm antenna wire grommet
-firewall seals/grommets
-firewall sheet metal seams
-undiscovered holes in the floor pan

Make sure the doors are fitted correctly in the openings and fully compress the seals. Use a garden hose and helper to test other problem areas. RTV silicone does no harm, use plenty.

Seal the outlined firewall seams on both sides and caulk in the corners. Water will wick into the seams ( from high school science class, capillary action ) and drip under the dash.

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Thanks for all the suggestions. This is not leaking from the brake booster or the antenna wire. The brake booster is on the fire wall the red circle is on the wall perpendicular to the fire wall underneath the A pillar. This is on the driver side of the Jeep opposite from the passenger side where the antenna wire comes into the cab. Oh and my window is rolled up haha

Ben824 said:

Thanks for all the suggestions. This is not leaking from the brake booster or the antenna wire. The brake booster is on the fire wall the red circle is on the wall perpendicular to the fire wall underneath the A pillar. This is on the driver side of the Jeep opposite from the passenger side where the antenna wire comes into the cab. Oh and my window is rolled up haha

Click to expand...

LOL, hey, I chased that bloody window leak for 6 monthsHasta, before I figured it out!!!! I was just about to drill a hole in the floor!