How would rain water accumulate on the passenger floorboard of my 2002 Dodge Dakota? Where is this water coming from and how do I stop the leak?

Asked by Prospero Nov 11, 2012 at 11:43 AM about the 2002 Dodge Dakota

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

9 Answers

1,870

It's probably not rain water. I'm guessing the A/C drain tube is the problem. Here's some info from a Chrysler technical Bulletin: :SYMPTOM/CONDITION: Water may enter the passenger compartment between the HVAC housing and the bulkhead. A foam seal is used to seal the heater housing to the bulkhead. Condensation from the A/C evaporator can run along the evaporator drain tube and enter the passenger compartment if the seal between the HVAC housing and the bulkhead is not sealed properly. This will result in wet passenger compartment carpet when the air conditioning is operating. REPAIR PROCEDURE: Locate the evaporator hose and drain tube opening in bulkhead at the rear of the engine compartment. Apply a bead of RTV sealer, p/n 04467708 or equivalent, to the perimeter of the opening to seal the joint between the bulkhead and the HVAC gasket and the joint between the drain tube and the HVAC gasket."

11 people found this helpful.
1,870

Here's a post from another site that should work too: "Alrighty folks. I have corrected this issue and I'm making this post to help anyone in my position about 2 months ago ready to pull their hair out because of the puddle sitting in front of the passenger seat. Some notice that it only happens when it's raining which could be indicative of another problem, but for the low cost, this is worth a shot. The rain is increasing the humidity and therefore the amount of water a cold a/c system is producing via condensation which is why you may only notice it when it rains. Or your problem could be like mine was where the floor is always wet to some degree, but gets MUCH worse when it rains. I had water leaking into the cabin from under the passenger side dash for a long time. A Google search delivered me to a forum thread suggesting I take a look for a clogged up drain. I'm not sure where I found this thread, and I can't find anything related on a forum search here, but anyway... I checked that and the drain was clear of obstructions but still it was leaking water in the cab. Frustration lead to frustration. I even tried hooking an industrial shopvac to the drain and sucking it clean of pretty much anything. I'm kinda sure I might have even created a small black hole inside the blower housing with all the negative pressure that vac was creating. But still... no dice and lots of water. The drain is the whole problem come to find out. It protrudes about 1 inch out on the passenger side of the fire wall behind the accumulator. Someone at the Dodge design house needs to be shot over this one because, like I mentioned, it sticks out only about 1 inch and it is horizontal and parallel to the ground. Anyone that owns a 2nd Generation Ram knows how roomy that engine compartment is. And when you're driving down the highway, or main roads, there's a lot of air moving around in there. I'd even go so far as to say the pressure increases inside the engine compartment to about 1.1 atmospheres. As a result, that tiny little drain bears the brunt of a lot of air pressure and blows what water is trying to drain out back into the system. So here's your fix: Go to a auto parts store of your choice and ask for about 6 inches of 1/2" hose. Doesn't have to be heat resistant or anything, just some plain old rubber hose. It will take some effort and some working, but push one end of the hose on to that pesky undersized, ill-placed drain. Take the other end and run it downward. The chunk I got was long enough to reach the frame of the pickup. Now you've reversed the pressure effect on that drain. Instead of an overpressure pushing the draining water back into the system, the end of that hose is at a 90 degree angle to the passing air beneath the truck. This creates a vacuum effect and encourages the water to drain out of the system. I've included pics (below) so that you can see what the final product looks like. Does it work? Yes. My carpet was dry in 2 days. The system doesn't gurgle anymore, and (finally) there's a wetspot (on the ground) under the truck on humid days. I hope this solution helps someone somewhere. I know I spent like 3 months trying to find a fix for it. Total Cost: $1.25 Total Time: 10 minutes... if you can't find the drain pipe right off."

128 people found this helpful.
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240

My truck does the same thing and it is FOR SURE from rain....it leaks if the truck is not started for weeks.

24 people found this helpful.
270

Looks like its been a while but my 2004 dodge ram was doing the same thing, I noticed that it leaked more when truck was parked up hill, dove me crazy, found it, under the cowl passenger side is a tab that holds windshield in place, I guess used when replacing it, under the tab a strip of rubber, if you pull it out and look down it is right above the vent to the a/c vent, if the rubber is bad it will leak right into the vent and come out by the screws in the blower motor, I pulled the tab, clean tab, silicone and replace, it fixed mine. Hope this helps somebody.

27 people found this helpful.
80

I have the same problem, but my passenger side floor gets hotter then hell and you can't have bare feet on the carpet. Ideas?

8 people found this helpful.
70

snidely's pictures he mentioned are not attached. I'm not sure what the drain is that is referred to...the AC drain tube? Any way for the pictures to show up?

7 people found this helpful.
30

My 2007 Dakota leaks when parked facing uphill and it rains. It puddles on front passenger side floorboard. Service manager was aware of customer complaints about the same problem but said Dodge hasn't issued a remedy or recall. He had seem several complaints just like mine but could do nothing about it.

3 people found this helpful.
90

My 1994 dodge Dakota super sport v6 leaks when it rain got any ideas where it leaks from

9 people found this helpful.
10

Had the same problem on a 88 Dakota. Was definitely rain water since truck was not driven often. I noticed the door weatherstripping had holes on top of rubber and was full of water. Took a knife and cut slits on bottom of weatherstripping allowing water to drain. It fixed the problem for me.

1 people found this helpful.

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