My 2001 Taurus was had a leak on the driver side which was really causing a wet carpet on the driver side floor. It seem to be caused from rains and I initial thought it was a issue with the weather stripping on the top of the door. I fixed that issue and repaired the floor rot I found when I lifted the carpet. However a few weeks later the floor was wet again. I then thought it was a leaking floor seam. I fixed that, but during the time it took to dry the carpet out, it rained, and flooded the floor pans because it could not leak of anywhere any more. I did more investigation and found out if I placed a hose with full water floor it leaked into the car in the area of the parking brake.
I could see nothing looking up under the dash because it was so crowded with the fuse box and parking brake. I decided to look from the outside of the cabin And found that it was leaking in a confined area of the unibody that cant be reached from inside the car and hardly from the outside. The spot was were the cowl drains into that area and then down to the ground behind the inner fenders.
I ended up removing the inner fenders, the fender and wiper mechanism to get access to what I think was the leak. I used a garden hose and sprayed it in the area of the pictures below. The area is inside the small oval of the unibody behind the front fender. There is a plastic rectangle hidden in that area that was somehow coated with urethane foam and held in in place with two push pins. It is also in this area that there is a small drain trough for the cowling which houses the wiper motor and mechanism. There is a plastic drain tube more towards the center but this one is at the driverside end. This trough empties right in the vicinity of this plastic rectangle.
Well I used a garden hose and sprayed it on the plastic rectangle and water flowed inside the cab right down from above the parking brake area. I did a forum search and found some had leaks below the parking brake under the wiring harness, but sadly this wasn't the leak area.
I decided to fix the area by coating the plastic rectangle with rust proofing or a rubber product and use RTV to stop as much water flowing into that area. I also found a heater hose that had a 90 degree bend formed it which I was able to slip up from below and work the bend into the trough of the cowl. I would then RTV the hose in the trough so all the water had to flow through the hose and away from the area.
I went to the autobody shop to see if they had a solution to what I could spray into that area to seal it up. I ended up with some professional rubberized undercoating and then over coated it with AS SEEN ON TV Flex Seal. I did four coats of undercoat shot through the oval hole and up from below. I blew heated air through that area to cure the coats. I then slid the hose in place and shot on two more coats of Flex Seal. I let that all dry and tested this morning with a hose and no leaks.
I wish I could have found the exact leak area but even with a bore-scope I could not find it. Hopefully this is helpful if someone has a similar leak. Sorry I can't show pics of all the details but the are really can't be seen easily let alone reached or photographed.
I will upload pics next but I am having size issues with my I Phone
I could see nothing looking up under the dash because it was so crowded with the fuse box and parking brake. I decided to look from the outside of the cabin And found that it was leaking in a confined area of the unibody that cant be reached from inside the car and hardly from the outside. The spot was were the cowl drains into that area and then down to the ground behind the inner fenders.
I ended up removing the inner fenders, the fender and wiper mechanism to get access to what I think was the leak. I used a garden hose and sprayed it in the area of the pictures below. The area is inside the small oval of the unibody behind the front fender. There is a plastic rectangle hidden in that area that was somehow coated with urethane foam and held in in place with two push pins. It is also in this area that there is a small drain trough for the cowling which houses the wiper motor and mechanism. There is a plastic drain tube more towards the center but this one is at the driverside end. This trough empties right in the vicinity of this plastic rectangle.
Well I used a garden hose and sprayed it on the plastic rectangle and water flowed inside the cab right down from above the parking brake area. I did a forum search and found some had leaks below the parking brake under the wiring harness, but sadly this wasn't the leak area.
I decided to fix the area by coating the plastic rectangle with rust proofing or a rubber product and use RTV to stop as much water flowing into that area. I also found a heater hose that had a 90 degree bend formed it which I was able to slip up from below and work the bend into the trough of the cowl. I would then RTV the hose in the trough so all the water had to flow through the hose and away from the area.
I went to the autobody shop to see if they had a solution to what I could spray into that area to seal it up. I ended up with some professional rubberized undercoating and then over coated it with AS SEEN ON TV Flex Seal. I did four coats of undercoat shot through the oval hole and up from below. I blew heated air through that area to cure the coats. I then slid the hose in place and shot on two more coats of Flex Seal. I let that all dry and tested this morning with a hose and no leaks.
I wish I could have found the exact leak area but even with a bore-scope I could not find it. Hopefully this is helpful if someone has a similar leak. Sorry I can't show pics of all the details but the are really can't be seen easily let alone reached or photographed.
I will upload pics next but I am having size issues with my I Phone