Mopar Muscle Association UK

Hi, went out to car to fix a wire under dash and ended up stripping the interior, how do 5 min jobs usually end up as 4 hours.
kneeled on carpet and realised the drivers footwell and drivers rear footwell were soaking. Took out back seat, seatbelts etc etc and removed carpet and underlay. Checked boot and window seals, didnt find where it is coming from. Left everything out of car and will jump in when it rains and hopefully find where the waters coming from.
Anyone have any ideas where it might be leaking from.
72 satellite.

Windscreen wiper pivot seals are often the culprit.

Favourite spot on most yanks is the scuttle panel- the air vent inlet grill between the bonnet & windshield. The cavity below it collects leaves etc, this retains water & slowly rots through the metal beneath, at whatever is the lowest point.
I hope it's not that- it's a pig to fix but worth checking while you're under the dash.
Good luck

db wrote:Favourite spot on most yanks is the scuttle panel- the air vent inlet grill between the bonnet & windshield. The cavity below it collects leaves etc, this retains water & slowly rots through the metal beneath, at whatever is the lowest point.
I hope it's not that- it's a pig to fix but worth checking while you're under the dash.
Good luck

thanks for the replys, checked this out and drain hole is ok, metal seems good too.

Water comes in through the tops of doors & runs down into footwell, new seals don't help either.

Check for rot along the bottom edge of the windscreen as well.

mine had a perfect scuttle and no problems with wipers

but the screen sits in a gap between to bent over and spot welded edges that join scutlle panel to the top of the outer bulkhead and inner bulkhead.
i don't know what thjis area is called but its like a well for the screen and rubber to sit in

mine rusted out between the two a 1/2 inch gap with small welded in tangs for the windscreen glass to sit on that is usually coverd by the screen seal on both the inside (membrane across back of dash top) and outside as you would expect with a screen rubber

we took out the screen and the rubber chopped out a 4 inch by 1/4 inch section with a stone

tack welded in a few patches in quick zaps to avoid knacking the external paint.
seam sealer all over the shop
then hammerite

then new screen seal and window back in

if i'd left it longer the full dash would have had to come out and 2 new flanges with the screen well inbetween would have had to be made up


Anyway screw that. I'm sure mine was just and odd one off

get under the dash on the drivers side

up by the door is a big black plastic bucket with an air vent slot in the front

undo to two little screws in its base and take it out

swearing fags tea coffee and beer is optional at this point but helps immensely

it should have a foam seal round the top
if it does not that ya problem make a new one from cork tile
work out the two diamters
tie a stanley knife to a bit of string

put your cork tile on a bit of old wood
bang a six inch nail into its middle
tie your stanley knife to it so its point is at the outer diameter
cut a nice circle
adjust for inner
cut again

mark it with a felt pen and compas first if ya like....i didn't bother cos i live on the edge man...
nice cork seal

or bodge it with draught excluder

and put it back in

the other side is harder because its connected to you heater box and ya don't wanna be taking that out iof you can help it


also open the hood

at either side by the springs for the hood is the side of the airbox/plenum scuttle

the big area under the grill in front of the windscreen

there should be at least two holes in each end

1 big one possibly inteded to have a rubber ghromet in it at one time.

the other is right on the seam it lets out water. its usually full of leaves and long-dead flys.
Have a dig with a bit o wood and clean em out


Dave

Oh yeah

manual or auto
if the rubber boot on the clutch z bar is burst

or is the gasket at the bottom of the steering column in place(do you drive through big puddles??#)

anything windscreen or wiper related results in water falling into the dash
it runs along the bottom lip and drips on ya trousers

a trip out in a storm is probably necessary

Dave

Or car wash

Or get someone with a hose pipe to spray the car.

A nasty sounding but effective bodge if you can't fix the leak is to bash a nail through your floorpans, at the lowest point when parked in your usual spot. (or 2 or even 4 holes if you have to...) A smudge of underseal will stop the holes rusting and the fact that you smack the nail through the floor with a hammer means the hole is naturally shaped to encourage water out
You can insert a small grommet if you ever manage to cure the leak in the future

db wrote:Favourite spot on most yanks is the scuttle panel- the air vent inlet grill between the bonnet & windshield. The cavity below it collects leaves etc, this retains water & slowly rots through the metal beneath, at whatever is the lowest point.
I hope it's not that- it's a pig to fix but worth checking while you're under the dash.
Good luck

That's what happens to early Mustangs. It can be a major problem on an otherwise nice car. I've never heard of it as a Mopar problem.

On a Mopar it's nearly always the windscreen or the windscreen wiper seals.

Stay out of the rain.

Are you incontinent?

mitchdublin wrote:Hi, went out to car to fix a wire under dash and ended up stripping the interior, how do 5 min jobs usually end up as 4 hours.
kneeled on carpet and realised the drivers footwell and drivers rear footwell were soaking. Took out back seat, seatbelts etc etc and removed carpet and underlay. Checked boot and window seals, didnt find where it is coming from. Left everything out of car and will jump in when it rains and hopefully find where the waters coming from.
Anyone have any ideas where it might be leaking from.
72 satellite.

prob still wet from when it was in that flood