I was wondering about the final idea of AustenF? That would keep water away from the suspect area and not affect Fresh Air. If not permanent, it does seem like it would work in most cases as long as water is able to drain out from Driver side drain.

 

Hi and welcome Bill! Took me a bit to find post #75! (Of course you didn't know the page would flip).

I hadn't seen Austins idea till just now. Seems viable! If nothing else it might help trace it. If is seems dry past the damn, and is still leaking, then you could suspect the heater blower gasket, body putty or other places, (the hinge hole I think Oh and a plugged AC drain.

Thanks for bring this back up. Do please fill out your info. Nobody wants to need to search around to see what you have.

 

Sorry for the late update rain in California is rare and the good news is I actually forgot about the leak! It rained yesterday and I remembered to take some pics. So far so good no matter how my jeep is parked the interior remains dry! As for as the dam being a viable option to stop water from leaking from the cowl; YES!!! If you have a normal life and a job and cant spend an entire day to pull the dash to fix a shotty build design then this is an option you should consider. If you don't like the idea of cutting a hole into your uni body then this is an option to consider. I have noticed no adverse affects. There is no noticeable reduction of air flow through the air vents. As for longevity, I used a General Electric brand silicone with a life time guarantee that it wont crack, break, or wash away so im not worried about a dam collapse. I couldn't be happier with how it works. Now if you want to be a "negative Nancy" about it then no this is not the way the "dealer" would fix it. But hey I had water in the floor and now I dont so good enough for me!
Please note the only water you see in the floor is from my girlfriends shoes!

 

Post #75 by AustenF is a brilliant solution. It took me forever to pin down the leak and once I searched for a solution I could not see myself cutting the metal for access.

Instead I used some pink foam insulation and cut it to size and used some RTV silicone to seal it in. It works! Living in Vancouver it does rain.

 

, thanks!

 

I tried the Dam and it seems to keep water out, but unfortunately for me, water is coming in somehow else. Water slowly runs down the far upper right corner of firewall up under dash.
Got an Endoscope Camera and did more sealing above and around windshield. I am cutting an access hole for Camera first before I do anything else. My leak isn't real bad...30" of snow and I was able to keep it completely dry as it melted.

 

Have you checked the panel seams in rear corners of engine bay? The factory uses a putty to seal them, but it can chip or fall off.
Post #64 for description and picture. Direct link; https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/wat...5/#post2651170

 

Check out Post #64. (&62-63)

 

Sorry to revive an old thread but I have the same short air intake as yours (mine is a 1994) with the taller lip and not like the late models.
Rain water is dripping form the screws/deflector and I have leaks into the cabin.
The question is, the fix for this air intake model is the same as the late model ones? If I cut the metal under the screen and seal around the intake with rtv and foam will it be fixed?
On this model some water might drip right inside the air intake then into the cabin is this correct or I'm mistaken. If yes, from where please.
Thank you

 

Hello winston427 sorry for coming after 5 years of your post, i have a 1994 and water leaks from the air intake inside passenger floor. i opened and took some photos and seems my xj has the old air intake with the taller lip (pic attached).

I couldn't tell if its made of plastic or metal, but i think there is also a rubber/foam seal around it. Do i have to cut the metal sheet above the plastic screen and re-seal that area with stronger sealant to stop the leak or should i find other solution?

You mentioned that leaks from the windshield drops inside the air intake, can you please explain how if the metal surrounding the air intake/cowl area is 1 block/box with no gaps/holes between the windshield and the cowl?

Thank you

 

Hey there Tony. Slow on the holiday I suppose. Could be most of what people have found is in this thread somewhere!

I take it you were able to look across and see water dipping into the vent? I might seal the cowling screws, check. Seal something farther op maybe if needed. Of course if it's dripping directly onto the vent sealing the lip better won't stop it.

Anyway part of my strategy was to run a garden hose slow on lower stuff, (blower gasket), then move the hose to higher places until it leaked. I was able to feed the hose in from the right and run water right around the lip. Big mistake was to not let it go long enough to leak through, causing me to miss lower leaks. (then I hacked my cowl for nothing!)

 

Merry Christmas thank you for taking time to answer.
My blower gasket was sealed last year, i also changed my floor pans due to a bad heater core. No leaks from the firewall. its definitely the cowl air intake.

My question is the air intake model that i have (shown in the pic) metal? is it welded to the bottom of the cowl or it has a lip going under the cowl to meet the HVAC like the plastic air intakes on newer XJs.

I parked the jeep nose down and no leaks at all now but im planing to fix it when rain stops

 

I found something. If you stop my video in post #63 at about 37 seconds you can see the "lip" is a separate piece with a flange at the bottom. I see black tar looken stuff, so I doubt there are any welds. Likely it's screwed down.

I'd say the upper drip is designed. That flap is there for just that, to divert water from dripping in.

You might park level and feed a hose right to the duct lip, then let it run slow for a good while. If it leaks you could assume it's probably the lip leaking.

Just thinking...that dam idea..If sealing the screws above that flap stopped that upper drip, the dam night do ya. At least until better weather.

 

Leak Update. The dam worked but I found it a temporary solution. I sprayed rubberized undercoating using a hose extension and coated the entire area. To ensure it was uniform I used a fiber optic camera for visual confirmation. I tested and no leaks.

However, all is not perfect as I discovered a very small leak involving the blower fan cooling tube. I created a new thread on the topic.

 

Winston427, did you ever get this fixed? Has anyone else?