2007 water leak NOT from the A/C drain

[04shadowvibe]

07 base vibe, no sunroof, original factory windshield
first owner rarely washed the car and it was garage kept
now it lives outside and I was it regularly

Well was detailing the 07 the other day and noticed the passenger side carpet was soaked. So after a few days of having it pulled back and drying I decided to check everything. A/c drain was connected has the factory zip tie on it and it was clear and working. Then had someone run water outside on the car and im getting a slow leak traveling in behind the firewall insulation pad and pooling in the right front corner of the passenger floorpan.

Going to pull the lower windshield cowl plastic and see if I can see a problem there. I know the HVAC ducting above the cabin filter was stuffed full with leaves when we first got the car so maybe there is more debris somewhere backing water up into the cabin.

Anyone have this problem before? What did you find wrong?

[04shadowvibe]

pretty sure the windshield is not leaking. removed the plastic windshield cowl and flushed water down the lower cowling and felt a slow leak behind the right hand inside structure under the dash behind the insulation pad. im thinking a seam isn't sealed fully on he firewall in the area behind the inner wheel liner. Thinking im going to have to remove the wheel liner and maybe even fender to inspect everything behind it.

[Salsa Guy]

Thanks for the update!

[Derf]

Possibly damaged cabin air intake assembly, or mischievous critters building a dam diverting water into cabin?

[04shadowvibe]

it doesn't seem to be a damaged air intake as the water is on the far right side of the body structure. its in a place really hard o explain and it seems to be entering about 4 inches above the floor....at least that's the first place I can feel it wet when theres water being run down the rain tray. didn't have time to look at it today but hope to have time tomorrow to dig deeper. it may be debris jammed up in that area causing a backup because when I got the car the air intake above the cabin filter was completely clogged with leaves and junk.

anyone know how to remove the wheel liner or the fender? removal of both would make this a lot easier.

[lannvouivre]

anyone know how to remove the wheel liner or the fender? removal of both would make this a lot easier.

I'd have to do a lookup on the fender, but for the liner...you've got a lot of the push-pins; use a flathead screwdriver to pop the middle part up, then pull from the outter/bottom part out. The push-pins are all over the inside of the wheel arch. Next, remove the screws from the front of the liner (10 MM socket); there are two, and they are between the wheel arch and the front of the bumper. They thread through some plastic clips; remember the orientation of these for when you reinstall the lining, because I uh...have no idea how they are supposed to be positioned.

Lastly, on the side of the liner that's most towards the rear of the car, you have some more screws (2 or 3) (10 MM as well); the screws thread into some more plastic clips that cost $3-4 apiece, so don't break them! The clips have a plastic part like a washer on the outside of the thin metal bracket they go on, and the square part that goes around the threads of the screws goes through the metal bracket. There are 1 or 2 more of the square clips that are under the rocker panel; they hold the tail of the liner in a couple of inches farther behind the wheel arch right near where the underhanging trim collects gravel and leaves and stuff. I may be wrong with their exact layout, but if you are patient and careful, you should be able to see how they're set up. The main point is that they are hard to find replacements for.

[04shadowvibe]

thanks for the info. im not sure when ill have a chance to look at it now, I put the interior trim back in today and had to put this project on hold. we got some snow now and its going to get really really cold here so got to wait for a warmer day or a heated garage to take the liner out. I hope that's all I need to take out to find the issue, really don't wanna take the fender off. ill post back with my findings once I get a better look at it.