dash leak help

Ok i have redone the seal on the cowl and firewall and also the small seal behind the kicker panel but im still getting water on my floor. I know it cant be the rain gutter its solid it has to be somewhere in the firewall. Has anyone had this problem?

 

Yup.

 

front windshield is done too lol

 

I had a Nova years ago that leaked water on the floor. In fact, it dripped on my ankles when it rained. I re-sealed the windshield and that didn't help. I also looked at the seams under the lower windshield molding, which is a place you should look as well. These cars tend to rust in that area but even if it isn't rusty the seam sealer can dry up over the years and not do it's job anymore. Anyway, what I finally found on the Nova was a defective spot weld in the area under the cowl screen that should have been covered with seam sealer from the factory but they missed that spot. I would look at it real close in that area, you never know what you might find.

 

Any smell to it? Heater core?

 

nah no smell to it. I have done the front windshield seals, the seal where the cowl meets the firewall and all cowl seals. golden oldie 65 where would that weld be? I have sprayed water into the rain gutter (as i call it) on the cowl and i get no leaks inside. thanks 4 everyones help btw

 

Water drains from the windshield channel to the lower corners...take a real good look there. You might have to have the front fenders off to see all potential leak areas.
Did you seal inside the cowl? Lots of air flow (and water) there.
BTW, what year and model of car is it?

 

yup i did the inside. to be honest it seems like it is coming from the center part of the firewall. its a 72 buick skylark 2 door

 

There aren't actually any spot welds on an A-body in that area. I was using the Nova as an example of finding flaws and leaks where you least expect them. Sorry, I should have been more clear on that. I think you should try to pinpoint the exactly area where the water is coming in by pouring water around the lower windshield area (i.e. center, right, left, closer to the windshield or further forward, etc.) Look for seam sealer that has gaps. Much of the time there are rust holes under them.

You didn't really mention exactly when the water comes in. When you wash the car? Run the hose over it? When it rains? We all know that things like this can be really frustrating to find sometimes. We've all probably been through that sinking "ou: I should have thought of that in the first place" feeling

 

Pull the lower windshield stainless trim. There are a few factory holes on the firewall + 1 up a bit higher. It's used for the antenna lead-in cable, right in the middle..
Factory grommet might not be up to the job anymore.

 

You could also have some serious rust in this area. Almost certain to be some at this point in time.

 

Ok ill def check there then. i might have a trick for that. thanks

 

well i found out what was causing the leak. i had to get a new cowl to hood seal and when i replaced it the leak stopped. is that normal?

 

Fixing this cowl to hood seal should have nothing to do with a leak like you describe. I suspect you will see water inside again soon.

 

Jim's right, that's just a dirt seal and will have no effect at all in stopping a water leak.