Water Coming from Behind the Door Panel and onto the Sill

[Big Brian]

did the dealer pull the door panel off and have a look inside?

thats what I would do if I was servicing your vehicle

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

did the dealer pull the door panel off and have a look inside?

thats what I would do if I was servicing your vehicle

They didn't. That was on of the questions that I asked. It's what I would have done first to check for evidence of a leak. They spent from about 9:30 to 4:00 pouring water on it )shower head) and not finding a leak. After that they didn't want to take the panel off because it was getting late in the day. They said that I could take it up to their body shop in another part of town and they might have a better way of checking. I told him I would keep an eye on it to see when happened next. Oddly enough when I picked it up the sill was wet and so was the bottom of the door where the panel meets the metal door frame. but there was no way to tell where the water came from at the point so I just took it home.

 

[Big Brian]

when I worked at a Ford dealer we had a RF transmitter that we would put in the car and then would run a receiver with a small flexible end on it (like a AC leak sniffer) around all the seams, this would pick up leaks by beeping.

Was not perfect but it was what we had at the time, this was 20 years ago.

Not sure if they still use something like this or not

there is also the dollar bill test, take a dollar bill and lay it between the sealing surfaces of the door and pull it out, feel how much drag is on it, compare that to other areas.

We would use that to adjust doors, etc

your leak if I am understand this correctly sounds like its between the window felt and and window or in an area like that

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

when I worked at a Ford dealer we had a RF transmitter that we would put in the car and then would run a receiver with a small flexible end on it (like a AC leak sniffer) around all the seams, this would pick up leaks by beeping.

Was not perfect but it was what we had at the time, this was 20 years ago.

Not sure if they still use something like this or not

there is also the dollar bill test, take a dollar bill and lay it between the sealing surfaces of the door and pull it out, feel how much drag is on it, compare that to other areas.

We would use that to adjust doors, etc

your leak if I am understand this correctly sounds like its between the window felt and and window or in an area like that

That's my thought Brian. Water us following the glass down and then some how dripping against the inner door panel and dripping on to the sill.

 

[jeff kushner]

I had SO many issues with H2O infiltration on my '03EB that I'm quite happy I've seen no water so far in this truck. On the '03 it was so bad that I pulled the rocker panels and drilled 9/16" holes in the bollom of the panels to allow the water to drain out. There is no feeling like pulling that plastic panel and seeing the "channel" underneath FILLED with water....yes, all the bundles of wires fully submerged....that's why I drilled the holes!

I poured tube after tube of silicone caulk into the roof & window trims and never stopped the leaks completely....slowed them but never stopped them.

jeff

 

[Kurtyg2020]

Question @ExpeditionAndy Have you had any more issue with water and your door? I seem to have an excessive amount of water in my passenger side door, when I open and close it I can hear water "swishing" around in there. I know there are drains, but mine must be clogged. My kids looked out the other day and said your car is peeing daddy. I have been checking it the past few days and there seems to be less and less water in there, but I don't think there should be any water at all. I haven't had the time to exam the door, but where are the drains located?
Thanks

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Question @ExpeditionAndy Have you had any more issue with water and your door? I seem to have an excessive amount of water in my passenger side door, when I open and close it I can hear water "swishing" around in there. I know there are drains, but mine must be clogged. My kids looked out the other day and said your car is peeing daddy. I have been checking it the past few days and there seems to be less and less water in there, but I don't think there should be any water at all. I haven't had the time to exam the door, but where are the drains located?
Thanks

Hi Kurtyg2020, welcome to the forum.

I have water when it rains very heavily and it's only a couple of drops.

I see two. One on the front edge of the door at the very bottom where the sheet metal folds up and one at the back which makes sense because as you accelerate water will be pushed toward the back and out. You might try sticking a pipe cleaner or thin wire in the openings to make sure they are clear.

 

[Kurtyg2020]

Hi Kurtyg2020, welcome to the forum.

I have water when it rains very heavily and it's only a couple of drops.

I see two. One on the front edge of the door at the very bottom where the sheet metal folds up and one at the back which makes sense because as you accelerate water will be pushed toward the back and out. You might try sticking a pipe cleaner or thin wire in the openings to make sure they are clear.

Thanks Andy, I will try that this weekend and see what happens. I was just surprised to hear that much water in the door.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Thanks Andy, I will try that this weekend and see what happens. I was just surprised to hear that much water in the door.

If the drains get blocked the door will fill up with water and come out any place it can find an opening. I think that's what's happening with mine I think on a heavy rain the door fills up faster than the drains can handle.

 

[Kurtyg2020]

I am guessing so...maybe a leaf or something go down there and plugged the hole. Thanks for the help.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

I am guessing so...maybe a leaf or something go down there and plugged the hole. Thanks for the help.

Or it could be paper or something from inside the door. You know all of the labels they put on individual components, as they get wet or the adhesive fails they fall down into the bottom of the door. It can even be dirt that washes down from the window and finds its way into the bottom of the door.

 

[Hiloc]

I just had the same thing happen with my left rear door on mine but it could have happened to any of the doors. I found the two drains sandwiched between the bottom edge of the door and the weather strip. I pulled the weather strip down a little without removing it and rubbed my finger across the drains which are next to the attach points of the weather strip (about a 1/4”X1” slot) and water started pouring out. Hope that helps.

 

[AIDAH]

The same here

 

[star-art]

My 2009 has been doing this for years. Water in the exact same spot. I have Weathertech mats and the water pools on there until it eventually evaporates, but in a downpour it gets so bad it soaks the carpet below. I could find no evidence of leaks coming from around the door. We get stink bugs here and they cram themselves into crevices to keep warm in Winter. I found several around my door weatherstrip and thought maybe that was the cause (creating a gap and allowing water in).

Today I FINALLY found out where the water is coming from! Well, sort of anyway. It's coming from the dash! I saw water dripping from the bottom of the dash to the left of the parking brake release! Still don't know if water is entering from the windshield, door weatherstrip, or somewhere like a cowl vent. When I pulled the dash in our 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis I discovered two hidden rubber plugs under the windshield and one of them had popped out, so who knows if there's something like that hidden under the dash in our trucks.

 

[marlinpruett]

May have not been the right thing to do but....The rear doors on my 07 Exp El always collected water and I could find no drain holes so I drilled some, no more sloshing!
No problem with front doors.