Water Leak...Help!!!

TexasAggie · November 6, 2002

Howdy...

Hope one of you fellas can help me out here. I've got a 97' Z-71 with a pretty severe leak. Every time it rains, quite frequently as of late, I get water in my ducts. When I get in and turn on the fan for the A/C, defroster, etc...I can hear the water sloshing around inside the blower and there is usally a small puddle in the floorboard. Does this sound like a windshield leak or something else? I have had this truck for going on three years and it has always done this and I am unsure if the windshield has been replaced.

Any and all comments will be greatly appreciated...like where to start looking, possible ideas, etc.

Thanks :thumb:

sincityZ71 · November 6, 2002

Well I don't know an answer to your problem, it could be the windshield. Thought I would bump this up so somebody may be able to help you...

Welcome to the site... :thumb:

asepgrad98 · November 7, 2002

when you run your AC is there a constant drip of water coming from the drain tube? maybe it is clogged up, and can be purged with shop air. ???

GREGGO · November 7, 2002

Don't know the 97's that well, but where is the heater core at ? I know they are usually on the passenger side under the dash near the firewall. If that went bad, you could try bypassing it and seeing if you still have a problem. You won't have a working heater while it's bypassed, but you could find out if that is it.

TexasAggie · November 9, 2002

I am certain that it isn't the heater core. There is no smell of antifreeze and as far as the AC condensation, I don't think that is it either. This happens whether or not the AC is turned on or not.

Esentially, it has to be a leak somewhere from the outside allowing water to accumulate inside the blower housing, but I was just checking to see if anyone had seen something similar from a windshield leak or maybe the door weatherstripping. I have checked every grommet on the firewall and found them all to be sealed tightly, so I am kinda at a loss.

Don't have time this weekend, but going to tear out the duct work under the passenger side next weekend and then have the g/f stand outside with the water running over the windshiled, door and cowl. Hopefully will be able to find something and report back, but if anyone comes up with anythign else, please let me know.

bandera · November 9, 2002

Check where the heater core or the A/C lines go through the firewall. My son's 90 GMC had a leak that took us forever to finally find. It was not the heater core per se, but the black putty around the lines where they went through the firewall. After we cleaned it up real good and let dry, put silicone sealant around it (specially around the top part) and it quit. Hope that is your problem. A quick and easy fix.

Zembonez · November 12, 2002

I agree with the idea of checking the drain hose. My 96 GMC was bad about clogging... BUT... I really just had to chime in and say WAY TO GO AGGIES on your excellent OU game! As A LONGHORN fan, I must say I was impressed... Sorry guys about the "OFF TOPIC" post.

Hookem!

TexasAggie · November 29, 2002

Well, I finally found where the water was coming from and thought that I would post back...

At some point in time, the previous owner had the windshield replaced and to get to the screws holding the bottom support, you have to remove the plastic leaf guards over the top of the firewall...that covers the windshield wiper arms.

Anyway, I found this by yanking out the blower motor and running water over the top of the truck while getting inside and watching for the water to start dripping in. Well, it turned out that it was coming from directly above the recirculation control door/flap...I had to use a small mirror and a flashlight to see up inside the housing, but noticed that there was some type of hole up there...so I removed the plastic mentioned above and found that the front screw hole had been stripped out and it happens to be directly over the air inlet. When it would rain, water would run down the channel and drip through the stripped threads and right into the blower housing...

Went to O'Reilleys...got som 3M strip caulk (black sticky stuff similar to what you find on seat bracket bolts) and some oversize screws and sealed up around the hole and reinstalled everything and voilà :thumb:

Anyway, just thought I would post back in case any one ever had the same problem...this was on a 97 Z-71 and I imagine it is a unique problem, but just in case...

Gig Em...AGGIES...