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Help with Water Leak on '96 K1500


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I have a '96 Silverado K1500 that has a leak where water seems to coming in thru the firewall above or near the heater/blower housing on the passenger side. I thought it might be the windshield so I had that replaced and I replaced the weather stripping around the doors as well. Last weekend it was raining and I noticed a steady drip coming off the bottom of a hose next to the heat blower housing but I can't see the source of the leak. Any ideas on this?

 

Thanks, Bill

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On the outside of the passenger side firewall, right next to where the heater hoses pass through the firewall, you can see/feel a rubber elbow.  Most likely it's plugged.  If you can stick a wire up past the elbow and see if you can clear any debris.  It's a common probIem .  I can't remember if the rubber elbow can be easily removed.  The rubber elbow is an outlet for condensation for the AC and heater core. It seems to be worse in wet weather. It plugs up, condensation accumulates and then overflows onto your passenger's feet.......

The elbow is hard to see and a royal PIA to get to.

Edited by alpinecrick
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  • 2 weeks later...

I have the same problem on a '97 and it was explained to me on another forum that the most common culprit is the seal on a little removable panel in the top of the firewall, under the plastic cowl cover.  It was said the best way to repair it is "flowable silicone" sealant.  I'm guessing it had some sort of sealant/adhesive applied at the factory and then was painted over, and that there isn't any sort of gasket for a seal.

 

It is supposedly very easy to do (requires removing the cowl cover).

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I can't locate a rubber elbow near the heater hoses or anywhere on that side of the truck near the firewall. It only leaks when it rains so I'm thinking it probably is the seal under the plastic cowl. I'll have to remove the wiper arms to get the cowl off. Is there a set screw or something that locks them on them stem?

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I'm pretty sure the rubber elbow is inside the cab, under the dash, at the far right end.  I think that's what he meant by "outside of the passenger firewall".  It drains condensation from the plastic evaporator housing out through the steel body panel.  When you're running the A/C and see water dripping out underneath in front of the passenger door, that's where it is coming from, through this rubber hose and out.  I know my Grand Cherokee has one like that, from inside down and out through the body.

 

The wipers probably have a little pivoting doohicky which has a little tab bent up vertically on the side of the wiper arm base.  You pry / pull the tab away from the wiper arm (to the side) and it pivots on a rivet at the far end and comes out of a groove around the wiper stem.  That's the way most OEM wipers work, at least from that era.  I haven't messed with them on my current '97 I got back in June, and the '98 I had for years has been 6+ years ago.  I'm 99+% sure that's how they were though.

 

If the little doohicky doesn't want to pivot, push the wiper arm down further on the shaft, or try to work it up & down, on & off the shaft in case the doohicky is bound in the shaft groove.

Edited by TW97C1500
added last paragraph
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The dirty gray body sealant below is what can sometimes crack and let water in.

7b794763160d6a151e8e792eb1e9658d.jpg

See the screw in the black trim on the right? Remove that and pull up, apply caulk or maybe RTV to that screw hole and any others that you can get to.

I didn’t have to remove the wiper arms when I did mine.


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