winston427

Ok it's my turn to ask for help. I don't need backyard diagnostics or guesses as to where the leak is coming from. I know where the leak is and I am just looking for options to fixing it rather than pulling out the entire dash and heater box. This is on my wifes 01 XJ and it is leaking in through the heater box from the cowl. It is not the windshield or the firewall.

This is what I get in the passenger side floor board every time it rains.


It can watch it dripping off of the bottom of the heater box.


I removed the cowl cover and got the camera in there to find the leak source.


I know the water is coming in around the fresh air intake inside the cowl on the passenger side.


I have spent hours searching this and other forums and all I have read is the same stupid response that it just needs some sealant on the firewall. This is not an accessible location for sealant without removing the dash and the heater box. What I need to know is if anyone has any honest solutions to being able to reseal this location without having to disassemble the interior of the Jeep.

winston427

As a reference for anyone else having this issue, the older models have a larger lip around the fresh air intake that helps to prevent water from entering the passenger compartment.

This pic is from inside the cowl on Bigomudders' Bare Necessity project which is a 89 model. You can see how tall the lip is around the intake hole.

OverlandZJ

Cut out an access panel from the top? Maybe you get access using a caulk gun afterwords..

winston427

I have considered that option but would rather go through the headache of pulling the dash to do it right than to start cutting holes that could cause more leaks. I would have to cut directly above the fresh air intake and if that was not sealed properly then water could leak directly down into it. I have to pull the seats and center console so I can get the carpet out an let it hang to dry so I might as well pull the dash. It has been leaking for quite a while so I have to do rust inspection on the floor pans as well.

89Laredo

Can you get your arm in there? Sorry if thats a stupid question, I dont know how far in the air intake is..
If you can get your arm in there maybe you can use a thick bead of plumbers putty as a temporary fix?

huntingman2706217

maybe build up some kind of barrier around it so that water never even makes it to the seal in the first place... itll run off the front instead... wouldnt have to be but like a 16thin high... so a bead of rtv not on the seal but like an inch away from it... making sence?

mike albo

can you get to it from inside the cab with a long tube to shoot sealant into the gap?

winston427

If my arm was a foot longer and skinny, then maybe. Otherwise not physically possible.

Again not physically able to get in there.

I pulled the golve box door off and can see a small section of where the air intake goes through the cowl. Still not enough to seal it properly.

I have been putting this repair off for a while because her other vehicle needs an alternator and we have been financially strapped. She now has a job so the Corolla gets fixed tomorrow and the XJ gets done shortly after. Just had to wait until the other car was driveable before I took this one apart.

mike albo

Dashes suck, I took my gadge cluster out and that was a PITA,I feel for you Winston.

huntingman2706217

hmm... just trashbag the cowl till u can get to it... lol

winston427

It's been leaking for over a year so it's not like I'm freaking out trying to get it down. I just know that having to remove the dash, heater box, seats, console, and carpet will keep it down for a while. Especially if I have to do rust repair on the floor pan.

huntingman2706217

yeah man... think your screwed... mine leaks and im not sure if its from the windshield or what... but my plugs are pulled and my floors herculined so i dont really care... lol... my cummins heater core was leaking and i had to pull it... the shop wanted $900 to do it all... and u know what? i should have let them... now it rattles like crazy deep down in there and i cant blame anyone and make them fix it... sucks... lol

CAL172

Winston - Excellent write up of the leak & this was exactly what what I needed to pinpoint the leak in my '99 XJ. Thank you! I was somewhat disappointed to see that there was no follow up on your fix. Did you end up pulling the dash to fix this leak?

Appreciate any help you can provide as the soggy floors in my Jeep are becoming a nuisance.

interceptor429

i'm having the same problem in pass side floor on my 94 cherokee sport,any real solution to this problem ,besides cutting another hole .....

winston427

Unfortunately I have done nothing to resolve this issue yet. The Jeep still sits in the driveway with expired tags due to a CEL from a heat soak misfire issue that also needs to be addressed. One of these days... one of thes days.

I am not sure if this would be the same cause on a 94. The 2 different pics from inside the cowl are from my wifes 01 and a scrapped 89 project my brother was doing. Therefore I do not know what style of lip is around the fresh air intake inside the cowl on a 94. If it is the tall lip then I would start looking for a leak around the windshield or around the door seal.