Water leakage into passenger side of car

[VBlue]

There has been some significant water leakage into the passenger side of the car, and has completely drenched most of the carpeting on that side, the rest of the car is dry. I removed some of the inside trim and pulled aside some of the carpeting and started to get rid of the water. I initially thought it was because of the rain in the last few days, but I couldn't find a leak anywhere (no water dripping from anywhere that I could see), upon googling I see that it could be some A/C drain hose leaking, I can't really find where it is. Do I have to remove the front seat to access this? Apparently it leads into the passenger side of the car. My car is a '90 Toyota Corolla SECA. Though I did find some kind of black rubber stopper looking thing under the carpet in the front passenger side, but I haven't fiddled with it as I don't know what it is, but it looks like a drain stop of some sort.

Please help, as this is causing some major problems and I'm afraid to drive around and park the car outside as I'm not sure if it's from the rain or from the A/C, and I did notice that my A/C has stopped cooling in the last day or two it only heats, perhaps some refrigeration fluid has leaked? There's no weird smell yet, and I assume it's just water.

Everytime I fix one problem with my car, another one starts!

[P_T]

Same thing with my old 98 camry conquest, my suggestion is to just sell it and get a new car.

[CHA54]

AC drain goes through the firewall on the passenger side, from the middle box of the 3 boxes bottled to the firewall. On the far passenger side there's the blower fan box, then the AC box is in the middle, then the heater core is in the center behind your center console. The AC box has a hose coming out of the firewall-side near the bottom. Reach up under it along the firewall and you should be able to feel the hose.

If the drain hose has come off the box then you will get a bit of dampness in the passenger footwell, more likely to be a leaking windscreen if you've only noticed it during the rain periods and the carpet is quite wet. When the windscreen develops a leak, the water goes down the A pillar, drains down behind the kick panel trim and accumulates in the footwell. Its more of a pain when the windscreen develops a leak on the drivers side, as you usually end up with a wet main fuse/relay panel which then plays havoc with the main electrical system (random hazzard lights etc)

The other thing that provides wet carpet is a leaking heater core. Check the coolant level, if it's low you may have a leaking heater core (caused by internal corrosion of the core, and it's a complete bitch to replace as the whole dash has to basically come out.)

If the heater core is leaking the easiest fix is to bypass the core by looping the heater lines on the engine in the bay, then you end up with no heater in the car and a slightly less efficient cooling system.

Edited July 21, 2011 by CHA54

[VBlue]

Same thing with my old 98 camry conquest, my suggestion is to just sell it and get a new car.

Only just bought it a few weeks ago :P was hoping to keep it a bit longer...

I did see a hose like thing earlier at the bottom left-hand side of the panel area, it was taped up a bit but there was no water on it, nor was it loose, that must have been the drain pipe.

Based on what you say, it must be the rainwater, not only is the carpet quite wet, there was 1 inch of water in the passenger's side today in the morning and it annoyed the hell out of me. However where the slope and panel area is on the passenger side was dry...that entire area had no dampness. What is wet are the flat bits of the footwell, so I'm confused as to how water is getting in, it's obviously not running down the slope. Could water entering from the A pillar side be routed somewhere else and be seeping in from the where the shifter is?

I tried removing the cowl earlier because some people seemed to have had similar problems with water leaking through the windshield area there and getting into the A/C lines or something and I ended up snapping something in the windscreen wiper trying to remove it on the passenger side, and that's not working now <_<

I think I may just try and seal up that cowl area with something, the water can go drip from the side and get the hell out from wherever it pleases, but not through the inside

Thanks a lot for your suggestions and insight though...

Edited July 21, 2011 by VBlue

[CHA54]

It wont be the cowell. Water leaking and filling the footwell is a common problem on any AE92 that has ever had the windsceen replaced. If the windcreen is ever removed you will also find a ton of rust under the sealant.

When the windscreen guys cut the old screen out, they usually dig into the metal with the removal tool, which then gives a perfect spot for rust to start developing. I've repaired a lot of AE92's with rusty windscreen channels.

Edited July 21, 2011 by CHA54

[VBlue]

It wont be the cowell. Water leaking and filling the footwell is a common problem on any AE92 that has ever had the windsceen replaced. If the windcreen is ever removed you will also find a ton of rust under the sealant.

When the windscreen guys cut the old screen out, they usually dig into the metal with the removal tool, which then gives a perfect spot for rust to start developing. I've repaired a lot of AE92's with rusty windscreen channels.

Damn, what must I do then to fix that?

[CHA54]

some people pull the outside windscreen trims off and pack as much sikaflex into the gap that they can to try and seal it off, some do it properly and have the windscreen cut out, channel cleaned up, new metal welded in where it's rusty, resprayed and then new screen fitted with new trim. That will probably cost you more than the car is worth though.

[VBlue]

some people pull the outside windscreen trims off and pack as much sikaflex into the gap that they can to try and seal it off, some do it properly and have the windscreen cut out, channel cleaned up, new metal welded in where it's rusty, resprayed and then new screen fitted with new trim. That will probably cost you more than the car is worth though.

That first option sounds like something within my budget to do lol, I'll try that. Thanks a lot for your help by the way!

[maxiemee]

I also had water leakage into the passenger side of my 94 Corolla hatch. Checked the airco drain but it was open. Did a test with water hose while sitting in the car. Found water ingress at the passenger side in the boot which runs forward if parked downhill. Found three holes just under the rubber sealing of the hatch(rear left pillar). Closed them off with 2 component bog and so far it is ok. Time to sell the old girl I think. Note if parked uphill the water would collect under the spare tyre in the boot. Hope this helps somebody and thanks for all your posts regarding water ingress into the car.