interceptor429

thanks,winston427

preppye

I had the same problem too , and , was about to remove the whole dashboard and heater box , but after seeing this post i realized it could be a lot easier to make a hole on top of the cowl than spending 2 days on dashboard , we just took the cowl off and opened the passenger side the way i show on pics and then crushed the rising lid and put some fiberglass to completely seal the annoying thing(sorry no pics dirty hands) then solder the removed piece of cowl just in a few spots because of the glass and put some silicon around , its being raining for about 4 days and have not seen a single drop of water , that simple thing cost me before lots of money couse i though it was from the ac , then buoyed door seals took of the roof mat to seal the frame of the glass even got rattle trap couse though the water came from floor , but now its solved for good , i think this was the quickest way to do it , it took about one hour so its pretty easy and quick!!!

apw5746

I like how you solved the problem, but since this was the fresh air intake, by crushing the rising lid, doesn't that defeat the purpose of it? I have exactly the same issue, and am unable to park it inside the garage for a couple of months, and it's raining like crazy at the moment.

Magiksreal

If the '01 dash is similar to the '94, '95 and '96, I think you'll be surprised how easily it comes apart. I've taken mine completely apart 5 or 6 times in the past 2 years for various projects.

If it's vastly different, no comment.

Seriously though, don't **** around with an interior water leak. Fix it right, pay soneone to do it, or sell it to someone who can. You don't want it to come back and bite you in the *** later with mold or rust.

At the end of the day, you've traded time for education and knowledge, which is infinitely more valueable.

If you can't be good, be good at it!

apw5746

Did you read this entire thread and all the posts? The source of the leak was determined to be water dripping into the fresh air intake. Winston427 shared how they came to this determination, and included great pictures, but said the intake couldn't be reached, without, in their opinion, removing the dash. Preppye made a post on 5-22-2011 indicating they had the same problem, but had a fix without removing the dash, and included pictures of what was done, but looks as though the fresh air intake was destroyed in the process. This problem seems to be quite an issue with most xj owners, and it just might be one of the many reason why this line was discontinued in 01, as a fix would have been too expensive. Rather than give it to someone who can possibly fix it, this forum is dedicated to helping us through difficult times. Ask a Jeep stealership what they would do. At $110 an hour shop rate, they'll mess around, and possibly never fix the problem, or it will cost you the price of a good used vehicle to get it fixed, if they'll do it. Rather than use words, read the darn question thoroughly, then make an informed post. Not trying to be judgmental, just giving my two cent on the subject. I don't think anyone was f***ing around, just trying to save money.

Magiksreal

Apw, clearly you've misunderstood the tone, intent and content of my post.

To clarify, in order to prevent any further misunderstanding.

1) I have read the entire thread.
2) It is my belief that interior water leaks should always be fixed the right way, as water leaks aren't something you want to reoccur. Thus, aren't something you want to cut corners on ie: **** around with.
3) Fixing it the correct way is the best course of action in this case
4) There are other options than paying a dealer (like finding a local member and buying them a 6-pack for their help)

I did not mean to intimate that the OP was ****ing around. The fact that crushing the intake wasn't an option for them, I thought, made my point clear in this regard.

That said, since none of the other advice was agreeable or workable in the OP's opinion, I stand by my previous statement. It leaves only doing it (or getting a friend to help), paying someone else do it, or selling it to someone who will.

If you can't be good, be good at it!

apw5746

Majiksreal,

You're right. It was raining like the dickens last night; I encountered the leak again, searched the forum, overacted to your post, and went off. Accept my apology. Smashing the fresh air intake seemed too drastic a measure. I put a call into a friend at our local jeep service department, he too is a Cherokee owner, and am waiting for a return call. It has to be something Jeep has encountered before and the fix fairly easy. That being said, I still dislike going to the stealership for any repair. Now on knows what Jeep stand for; Just Empty Every Pocket, or Just Expect Every Problem. Will comment when I know more

apw5746

Magiksreal

No problem. I've been there before (we all have).

If you were in Richmond, I'd be glad to help. Anyone on here live near you?

If you can't be good, be good at it!

apw5746

I live in the Colorado Springs Co. area. Lot's of lifted rock crawlers and muder's, and I'm sure they get clogged. I suspect the cowl drain on the passenger side, but can't find a picture anywhere when I Google it. I'm probably not entering the correct words, but there has to be a drain line somewhere. The jeep stealership finally called and nobody was sure where the drain hose ends on my 99. If I could find that, when I would use a coat hanger or other stiff wire to unclog it.

winston427

Here in lies the problem with the fix that preppye provided and the same leak issue on my 01. The fresh air intake is different on the later models (not sure exactly when it changed) which causes the problem. In the last pic of the first post I made you can see that the lip around the fresh air intake is only a small edge around a plastic intake. This is where the water comes into the cab of the jeep. In the first pic of post #2 you see the intake for the older models (an 89 was used for the photo) which is made of metal and is substantially taller helping to block water from entering. So preppye's fix is not an option for mine or later model XJs.

I did however notice that it only leaked when the rear of the Jeep was sitting lower than the front causing the water travel toward the fresh air intake. By keeping an eye on the weather forcast and always parking the Jeep with the front end facing down the slope of my driveway, the rain water always runs out of the proper drainage holes and I have not had a wet floor in months.

winston427

There is no "drain hose" for the cowl. There is simply a gap between the cowl and the fender on both sides where the water drains off. In the first pic of the second post you can see a piece of weedeater line coming through the intake on the older model. I fed this through on a stripped body my brother had so I could reach everything and find out for myself where the drainage port was. It helped to have a "completely" stripped and bare shell to use while tracking this issue.

frsmith2

For what it's worth, just spent a lot of hours recently on my 94 Sport finding out how my passenger floor was rusted and carpet soaked. A lot of posts discuss the A/C condensation blowing back in, quickly eliminated that as the source. Happened only when it rained.

So, I pulled the bottom of the dash off, carpet back, kick panels off etc. and had my wife stand outside with the hose while I hung out on the floor looking for the leak.

I had her start in the lowest drainage spots, move high. Spraying around the sides of the fender where it meets the windshield, antenna and door jam (not fresh air intake yet), water started trickling in. Was coming in from what looked like the blower motor housing in the cab, where clean air vent comes in. Was also coming in through antenna grommet and top corner of firewall. Opening the hood, everything looked dry that attaches to the firewall except for what I'll call a "tape weld" that joined the fender to the engine compartment. Natural spot for water on the hood to flow in and drain down the inside of the fender. The "tape weld" was cracked and let water in behind the firewall is my guess. Silicone took care of that after removing the old "tape weld" that was breaking apart.

Water test again in the same spot, antenna grommet still leaked. Silicone took care of that.

Water test again in the same low spot in those corners, bone dry. Thought I was done until it rained again and pooled in the floor boards.

Sprayed water now on the roof and glass letting it run down simulating rain and leaks were coming from the same two spots again (besides antenna grommet) - blower motor housing and top corner of firewall.

Was concerned it could be the clean air vent knowing that wouldn't be an easy fix as has been already suggested, so went the simpler route first and resealed the windshield with black sealant. Let that dry and did the water test again with fingers crossed.

Expected leaks, but dry as a bone and after many recent rains, still dry. Guess the water was getting in behind the windshield trim and running down the firewall through things like blower motor seals and such suggesting it was coming through the firewall or clean air intake...however, fortunately, it was not.

So, I'm not saying its not leaking there in your scenario, you know that better than I, but in my case I was having the same issues and tried the simpler fixes first which ultimately eliminated the leaks that looked like they were coming from the clean air intake - but fortunately weren't (yet).

Hope any of that helps anyone as other posts helped me on a couple of the areas to look out for in a very frustrating situation.

NiM

Hey guys! Im new to the forum and signed up specifically so I can get some info on this particular problem. Awesome pics Winston! Now that thats out of the way. I just figured out that this is the same exact problem I am experiencing. Any solution other than pulling the whole thing apart? Im not experienced enough to put the whole dash assembly apart and dont want to screw anything up.. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

apw5746

Since there is no cowl drain hose, where is the water entering from? I went to the shop that replace my windshield, as it was badly pitted and cracked, and they vehemently denied they caused the problem, and stated the water leak was not coming from the windshield. It was leaking prior to replacing it. I said I wasn't blaming them, only trying to find a solution. They directed to a auto shop nearby whose owner, owned a 99 Cherokee Sport like mine. Went there, and described my problem. His comment was the drain area could be reached by removing the plastic piece under the front passenger wheel well. Haven't done this yet, but do back uphill in driveway and rain does not enter. Like winston427, I'm at a loss to what the solution is , and like him, I'm not interested in guesses, but a real solution. Jeep stealership has no idea as to what's causing this, but will attempt to fix it, at an exorbitant cost. Does anyone know the fix

winston427

Apw, since you have a 99 and it does not leak when parked downhill I can only assume that the water is coming the same way as mine, through the fresh air intake. I will be picking up a new daily driver soon and will then be able to have the 01 down for a while. That way I can pull the dash and try to find a solution to at least the leak on mine.