Water inside my XJ 1998

I noticed some water drops on passenger side, it drops from the dash just behind the glove compartment.
It was poring rain today and I had some water drops even in my foot when I was driving…..I could fell with my hand that lower dash was wet probably the water is coming from the passenger side because the lower dash is a kinda channel.
Windshield and door seals are perfect and I have no idea from where the water is coming through.
Searching here, I could see some other threads about the same issue but for different XJ models.
I was thinking that could be the A/C drain clogged or something like that because here I have to use it 100% on. I’m just telling this because may be this may give you a better picture of that.
Thanks for your help.

Check for any leaks in the firewall and check your coolant levels. I think your issue is coming from the Heater Core.

Firewall and coolant levels perfect. Any tips how to check the heater core ?
Thank you.

I'll be watching this thread....i've had a small water leak thats coming through my passenger door seal for some time now, however I went out to the Jeep this morning to find the entire DRIVER'S side floor board soaking wet...

Could be the evaporator drain hole plugged or the seal between the cowl and the dash.

I've checked everything, A/C drain and also the water drains in the air vents...I had to take the wipers out to check them and everything OK.
Heater core is also OK once the coolant level never gets down.
I was thinking about the windshiel seal....Is that commom on XJs ?
Mine is 1998 and the windshield is glued not the regular rubber seal. The glass repair guy said there's a risk in removing winshieds with this system but if it's not crack it's cost me U$50.00 to glue it again....other wise U$200.00 for a new glass....
I think the risk may worth....what do you think guys ?

This type of water leak seems to be a common problem on later model XJ's...here's what I did to fix it on my '98.

The first culprit I suspected was the plastic air intake that located under the windshield cowl. You have to remove your wipers, and remove the cowl cover. The intake is underneath some sheetmetal, that obviously prevents water from pouring straight in. I cut the sheet metal away just above the intake. Once I had a hole large enough for my hand to fit in, I simply applied some sealant around the plastic cowl intake, where the foam seal is to seal it off. I then used some plastic sheet to make a "patch" over the hole I cut in the sheet metal. Seal it up with silicon, and you'll be fine.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the cause of my leak, but it was good preventative maintenance since I figured the foam seal around the cowl intake won't hold up over time much longer.

This led me to then next possible area for leak, and that one being the foam seal where the blower pokes through the firewall on the passenger side. Pop your hood an take a look at where I mean.....that is an easier fix. You might have to move some piece of emmissions equipment that sort of blocks your access to the foam sealed area, but its only a couple of bolts, and you can lay it aside. Once you have clear access to the blower seal, just apply some silicon all around where the blower meets the fire wall to seal it up, and seal up the foam really well.

Also, there is a wire loom that runs along the fire wall above the blower, that splits off towards the fender, and then runs down towards the engine. In my case, water was dripping off that wire loom and dripping straight into the blower area. That was the source of my leak. Take a look at yours, I bet it's doing the same thing. Just zip tie that wire loom aside, so that it no longer overhangs above the blower.

I haven't had a leak since...

Hi Ivan, great tip...It makes sense at all for me.
I'll check as you said and come back here with the results.

subscribing to this thread... I'll have to check those things on my '96.

Re: Water inside my XJ 1996

I recently acquired a 1996 XJ sport with 225K miles.
I'm tracking down some water leaks that sound similar to those listed in this thread.
I had rain water leaks in several places, which explains the rusty floor pan.
I caulked the rain rails, repaired the door and hatch seals and cleaned out the A/C condensate drain.
Now it only leaks on the driver's side.

I also have rust on the roof bubbling up from underneath.

My questions:

Is there a HVAC drain on the driver's side?
How do you remove the wiper arms to get at the cowl air box? I tried pulling the retaining clip, but they won't budge.
Most of the fixes in this thread are about the passenger side. Are there specific problems unique to the driver's side?

I think I'm going to caulk the windshield.

Other suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

I was having the same problem with my '98 - water acumulating on the passenger floor with mold and it really started to stink. After pulling the carpet back, my padding was soaked and I found what looked like several paper towels wrapped and sealed in plastic but full of water. I don't know if this was some kind of heat shieild?? Anyway, it got tossed. I patched up the small holes that rusted through the floorboard w/ gorilla hair/fiberglass.

I found a hole about the size of a penny high up on the floorboard under the glove box. I used a vinyl plug and sealed it w/ silicone. I also siliconed my windshield under the rubber gasket. In a heavy downpoor, I still get some water on the passenger floor but nothing too bad. I'm still searching. If I find it, I'll post

Any tips, tricks, or secrets on the best way to remove the dashboard on a '96, before I start cracking plastic?

my 99 had water coming thru the passenger firewall. i found out by spraying the engine side of it with a hose, and saw it was coming through the seal of the heater fan. nothin silicone can't fix.

Rained like the dickens last night and my passenger floor is soaked. Supposed to rain more tomorrow. I need to find this leak this weekend and repair. I'll post what I find

FOUND MY LEAK - OK so apparently others have posted the same source of the leak so my stupidity for not looking there first. It was dripping into the blower fan in the firewall on the passenger side just below the charcoal canister. I also had water dripping off of the wire loom and into the fan housing which others have also mentioned. So I will try their fixes and silicone the bejesus out of the rotting foam seal.

I fabbed up a makeshift sheild for the blower fan out of a Clorox bottle that I cut down to fit behind the wire looms and charcoal canister. It runs from under the drip ledge into the engine bay down to the wheel well with the convexity toward the front of the truck. This would allow the fan to still get unrestricted airflow. The only problem would be securing it in place

Hi,
When I lifted the carpet on my 93 RHD XJ the soundproof padding was soaking wet on the drivers side, this would be the passenger side for LHD vehicles. The carpet was dry on top due to the rubber backing, you have to lift the carpet to see if it's wet underneath. I eventually found the problem.... water getting into the fresh air intake on the scuttle drains out over the inside skin of the fender. Any holes in this skin will allow water into the car, at sometime before I bought the car a tow bar had been fitted, when they put the plastic foot well kick plate back on after fitting wiring they only put 1 of the 2 screws back!!! It was this missing screw that was letting in water, over time the whole floor would have rusted away, just for 1 missing screw!!

It is still dry a couple of years later. Hope this helps.