Water in my Doors!!!

Cloudsplitter · December 18, 2011

So, I've noticed that there is water sloshing around inside of all 4 of my 2009 Ext cab doors....

How could this happen you ask? Well, it's totally my fault but I had no idea this could be a side-effect of my "stereo project".

I just recently installed new speakers in all four doors. Since I had to take the doors apart anyway I decided to put DynaMatt (actually Fat Matt, same idea) on the sheet metal while I was at it. (see pics below). I used expanding foam to fill the crevice where the outer and inner sheet metal at the bottom.

So obviously I have blocked off the channel for the water to escape. What I don't understand is where the water is coming from? Yes, I know, from the sky when it rains.... I had no idea water ever actually got between the door panels in the first place. All my weather stripping for the doors and windows is in place and in good condition, I was careful to make sure it was seated properly when putting the door panels back on...

So where does the water get in? What path does it follow inside the doors? Where is it designed to exit?

If you guys can give me some tips on this I can then take a wire coat hanger and heat it up with a torch, then melt the foam away from where the water needs to travel. Hopefully this will be a simple fix and I won't have to make a mess digging out all the foam....

Here are the pics, had to resize;

=v8-only= · December 18, 2011

So where does the water get in? What path does it follow inside the doors? Where is it designed to exit?

water gets in from the window jamb they are not water tight and are not meant to be water tight, water is designed to exit from the weep holes at the bottom of the doors

2010LTZ4x4 · December 18, 2011

exactly^^^^

joe04 · December 19, 2011

exactly^^^^

Start digging!!!!!!!!!!

txab · December 19, 2011

Get some fish for your 4 aquariums.

jblakeney · December 23, 2011

Yup window seals. And you should have slots or holes in the bottom of the door. What kind of fish, are you gonna get????

Jbo

Turbo810 · December 23, 2011

Sounds like you put some of the matting over the holes in the bottoms of the doors.

tesnoboy · December 23, 2011

_{Oops! Not designed to be a U-Boat! ;-) You better get a lot of that matting out or it's going to trap water and rot your doors from the inside out.}

BlackZ71Silverado · December 24, 2011

Why and the heck would you use that foam in your truck? It is nearly impossible to get rid of once it hardens. Hopefully you can get most of it out and won't have any problems or destroy your truck where you sprayed it..............Maybe next time ask before using spray insulation on your truck?.............Good Luck!

Cloudsplitter · January 27, 2012

Why and the heck would you use that foam in your truck? It is nearly impossible to get rid of once it hardens. Hopefully you can get most of it out and won't have any problems or destroy your truck where you sprayed it..............Maybe next time ask before using spray insulation on your truck?.............Good Luck!

I appreciate the commenets, constructive criticism is the only way to bounce around ideas, BUT, I'm pretty darn good at what I do when I decide to do it... Obviously I do make mistakes, this is part of the learning process. I only mention this to address why I didn't 'ask' anyone before I used the foam. BTW, I did plenty of research, and many people who participate in stereo competitions use foam in certain areas where the matt doesn't work or fit.

Long and short, I identified the weep hole locations at the bottom of the doors and used a wire to push back through the foam. the water quickly drained out. I made sure the flow path was clear in all the doors, used a little more fresh water to check it, then wet vac'd everything clean and dry and put the door panels back on. Problem solved and lesson learned.

nickvrebel · January 27, 2012

I'm just glad you figured this out before you had even worse problems and it's not corrected.

You live and you learn, at least this mistake didn't cause too much pain and was fairly easy to fix

"Cloudsplitter" - suitable... I couldn't resist lol

tesnoboy · January 27, 2012

Why and the heck would you use that foam in your truck? It is nearly impossible to get rid of once it hardens. Hopefully you can get most of it out and won't have any problems or destroy your truck where you sprayed it..............Maybe next time ask before using spray insulation on your truck?.............Good Luck!

I appreciate the commenets, constructive criticism is the only way to bounce around ideas, BUT, I'm pretty darn good at what I do when I decide to do it... Obviously I do make mistakes, this is part of the learning process. I only mention this to address why I didn't 'ask' anyone before I used the foam. BTW, I did plenty of research, and many people who participate in stereo competitions use foam in certain areas where the matt doesn't work or fit.

Long and short, I identified the weep hole locations at the bottom of the doors and used a wire to push back through the foam. the water quickly drained out. I made sure the flow path was clear in all the doors, used a little more fresh water to check it, then wet vac'd everything clean and dry and put the door panels back on. Problem solved and lesson learned.

Those stereo competition guys are just like custom car builders. They do stuff for optimum performance and looks. Not so much for everyday function. Especially in the real world of rain!