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Water Leak When It Rains
- Thread starter jweakley
- Start date
Top LEFT pic is the bladder exposed after partially pulling the wheel well lining out of the way. I did not remove the tire, I just put the ST on a jackstand and turned the wheel to the left. Had to remove a couple of retention pop pins, a small retaining screw, a nut-washer in order to deform and lift up the cloth-like lining.
Top RIGHT pic is where the leaves are landing on the window and exiting down and into the relief bladder and the wheel well. The bladder is about the size of a pack of cigarettes.
Very poor design IMHO
(1) the accumulation of leaves fills the rubber relief bladder
You MUST clean out the rubber relief bladder, it pops out and pops back in. This is where the water is accumulating.
(2) Leaves can also fills up the void behind the wheel well splash shield, creating greater moisture issues, like mold/rust. That "gap" between the cloth splash shield and the metal wheel well should also be cleaned out when you clean out the bladder.
Top RIGHT pic is where the leaves are landing on the window and exiting down and into the relief bladder and the wheel well. The bladder is about the size of a pack of cigarettes.
Very poor design IMHO
(1) the accumulation of leaves fills the rubber relief bladder
You MUST clean out the rubber relief bladder, it pops out and pops back in. This is where the water is accumulating.
(2) Leaves can also fills up the void behind the wheel well splash shield, creating greater moisture issues, like mold/rust. That "gap" between the cloth splash shield and the metal wheel well should also be cleaned out when you clean out the bladder.
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CONFIRMED- You have to clean the bladder out: I went to a far NW Chicago suburb (that my BIL works at) and spoke to the FORD service manager and asked about the wet floors and that drain relief bladder behind the wheel well liner on the firewall. He stated: "Of course, IT HAS TO BE CLEANED OUT!!"
Such poor design.
Such poor design.
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There are no front window cowl grates to keep leaves and debris out of this location. The potential for soaked floors in the vehicle is very high if the black rubber drains are not cleaned regularly and you park under trees.
If you have wet floors in your Explorer, and you have ALREADY attempted to clean your sunroof drains be clogged or confirm the roof drain line is connected, you will probably need to clean out the rubber rainwater drain bladders. I confirm this last detail with a Ford service manager.
I did not remove the tire, just turned it and I only removed 2 of the push pins and a bolt/screw because I knew the location of the rubber drains. Both sides are secured in the same manner, along with the location of the drains. Good luck.
If you have wet floors in your Explorer, and you have ALREADY attempted to clean your sunroof drains be clogged or confirm the roof drain line is connected, you will probably need to clean out the rubber rainwater drain bladders. I confirm this last detail with a Ford service manager.
I did not remove the tire, just turned it and I only removed 2 of the push pins and a bolt/screw because I knew the location of the rubber drains. Both sides are secured in the same manner, along with the location of the drains. Good luck.
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I just tackled this problem in our 2020 XLT. We were cleaning the car and pulled our weathertech mats out and discovered our driver carpet soaking wet clear back to the rear seats. I unbolted the seat and remove the gas pedal, removed the front carpet sections for both the driver and passenger sides. I verified the cowl seal to the windshield was snapped in (as I've had that issue before on the passenger side and it filled the passenger front floorboard). I took the cowl out and cleaned everything, even the track that the cowl snaps into with an old toothbrush. Last night I pulled the inner fender shields down and pulled the drain bladders out and thoroughly cleaned them and cleared out any debris that was behind the shields. After reassembling everything I grabbed the hose and proceeded to soak the car while my wife was inside the car looking for leaks. We discovered that there were no leaks coming from under the dash but about 6-8" back from the front of the front door opening, there was water trickling in over the sill plate.......
I'm completely lost at this point.
I'm completely lost at this point.
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I am having this exact same issue. All winter I thought my factory tray was leaking through the anchor grommets. I used my carpet extractor to dry it all out and once dry had left some baking soda on the carpet to make sure any smell got absorbed. The next morning when I went out there was a quarter sized wet spot in the middle of the footwell right where the floor pan drops down. I haven't pulled the carpet back yet but it sounds like the same spot you're seeing water.
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I am going to the closest dealer tomorrow for a front axle seal that they replaced a few months ago. I am leaving the carpets out and they are going to try some things to atleast figure out exactly where the water is coming from. I ordered some 1/4" OD and 3/8" OD Silicone Surgical Tubing off Amazon that I'm going to sleeve the weatherstripping on the doors with. I have a sneaking suspicion that the seals are just weak and have flattened out over the last 5 years and are now letting water trickle in and we just didn't notice it since it was soaking under the Weathertech mats.
Likewise, no drip from the headliner (had that in the back because they forgot to install one of the moonroof drains 
).
Rereading ecordell's post though, maybe mine is slightly different. There is a lip a few inches back from the pedals and that seems to be where mine is coming from. I'm wondering if there is a drain that goes into the covered area on the underside and I need to take that "tray" down and clean something from below.
).Rereading ecordell's post though, maybe mine is slightly different. There is a lip a few inches back from the pedals and that seems to be where mine is coming from. I'm wondering if there is a drain that goes into the covered area on the underside and I need to take that "tray" down and clean something from below.
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From my research, the drain for the A/C system is above the transmission on the driver's side. When testing, we had the A/C on full blast and noticed under the car that it was dripping right above the trans crossmember. I haven't been able to actually get eyes on the drain, but mine is draining and nothing dripping inside while it's on so I think I'm good there.
