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XF body water leak to drivers foot well

25K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  351cid 
#1 ·
Rain water is getting in. It wets the carpet and drips on my right foot when driving. I think I've found the culprit. One of the settings for the ventilation system on the driver console is a vertical vent that comes from above the firewall beneath the wiper motor panel into the passenger compartment. There's a opening with an upstand in sheetmetal and a plastic vent bolted below it which leads to the foot well with a butterfly near the bottom (vacuum operated as usual......). The bolts for the plastic part of the vent are only accessible from the drivers foot well - and even then they're damn near impossible to get off. It seem the gasket/seal between the metal & plastic is what's leaking. Does anyone have and ideas on how to fix this without removing the dash?
 
#2 ·
in the XD to XF falcons, the fire wall around that vent rusts out as leaves and dirt get stuck there due to inadequate drainage, It has happened to me with two XE's. The only way to fix it is to remove the dash and weld it up or cut the panel between the windscreen and bonnet off and do it from the top. Or sell the car in summer and get a new one...
 
#4 ·
yeah i have the SAME troubles as you. i pulled off the grill that is under the wipers and managed to see that the 'walls' around the holes that let the air into the cabin has rusted away. the 'proper' fix is to rip out the dash and weld new metal in. MY fix is to get some sealent or spandafoam (heard sikaflex is good too) and get in under the wipers and make a new wall with sealent, gradually building it up so its high enough to keep the water out. will be doing this tomorrow if it doesnt rain.
 
#5 ·
mums car was really bad, so we removed the dash, and cut a hole in the firewall.... she fabricated a new part, out of metal meand, and fixed the lean, and rewelded the firewall......

easiest thing, is drive with a towel on ur feet (i had to in my old old car) and sell it in summer
 
#6 ·
Ahhh, yes!!! Someone else in my boat, although it seems you now have an amphibious Falcon too!! ;) I FREAKIN' HATE FLOOR PAN LEAKS!

Check out this link to my gallery! A gutted cannibalised view of how to fix a Falcon leak!! It's not an easy job.....but now I enjoy wet days.

http://www.fordgallery.com/showphot...977edbc973596dee89fa54d/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

The water comes in the from the outside air-vent where the wipers are. It then flows into channels on each side of the car exiting via little 5 cent piece holes just infront of each front door, behind the front fender. The drivers side is a very NARROW channel and is easily blocked. It may look like it comes from where you described, but mine was leaking from up under my pedal box - the MOST inaccessible place on the car. My passenger side had a fist size rust hole in the water channel.

25 years of leaves, dirt, mud, gravel and RUST blocks these small pi$$ant holes. You have to CLEAN IT OUT and then block the rust holes somehow.

Take your front right fender off (5-10 min job), remember the small nut inside the door hinge area up near your side rear vision mirror. You will now see the small water drain hole. Get a LONG coat hanger wire, bend a small loop/hook in the end and start fishing for mud! Pour a big glass(es) of water down your vent to assist in flushing it out.

I used selastic/silicone sealant and glued in a big plastic patch. On the drivers side I had to mould in some small fibreglass sheets to rebuilt the rusted out water channel.

Driz'a'bone :)

ps: I couldn't put the damn dash back in, so built a new one!
 
#10 ·
didnt get to do the silicon thing i said as i couldnt get my hand in far enough to build a wall so now my idea is to remove the grill under the wipers and fabricate from metal or plastic a solid sheet to go where the grill did to stop the water getting in. i know itll stop airflow too but thats what windows are for. Daves green beast has the same thing which is where i got the idea from.
 
#11 ·
But if you dam the water where will it get out of the well under the wiper grill - you'll have to put a drain tube in won't you?.

I'm going to try taking the guards off & seeing if I can get to the leak with some silastic/silicone of maybe do it from the inside of the car up the inside of the plastic duct.
 
#12 ·
Can't the original holes be unblocked and then the rusted holes filled?
Sorry if this sounds stupid....haven't checked mine yet as I am at work, weekend job so come on everyone! find me a solution before morning :)
I am a backpacker so I have limited tools and work space.....so taking the dash out is a bit too much for me. :-(
 
#13 ·
Can't the original holes be unblocked and then the rusted holes filled?
Sorry if this sounds stupid....haven't checked mine yet as I am at work, weekend job so come on everyone! find me a solution before morning :)
I am a backpacker so I have limited tools and work space.....so taking the dash out is a bit too much for me. :-(
 
#14 ·
yeah right said:
But if you dam the water where will it get out of the well under the wiper grill - you'll have to put a drain tube in won't you?.

I'm going to try taking the guards off & seeing if I can get to the leak with some silastic/silicone of maybe do it from the inside of the car up the inside of the plastic duct.
if your talking about my idea where the wiper grill was will be sealed so no water can get in. any other water that will get in wont be enough to get past the walls and go on my floor. they will just drain how theyre sposed to.
 
#15 ·
Can't the original holes be unblocked and then the rusted holes filled?
Sorry if this sounds stupid....haven't checked mine yet as I am at work, weekend job so come on everyone! find me a solution before morning :)
I am a backpacker so I have limited tools and work space.....so taking the dash out is a bit too much for me. :-(
 
#17 ·
My parents had the same prob with our XE....... dad went around a few places and he could not get anyone to touch it as it was such a major job...... there was a hole heap of rust (behind the pillar on the drivers side) and they wanted to take out the windshield to get it out......
when they got rid of it they took the mags off and the jack went right through the bottom of the car lol.... lucky it was only going straight to the crushers anyway
 
#18 ·
davway said:
if your talking about my idea where the wiper grill was will be sealed so no water can get in. any other water that will get in wont be enough to get past the walls and go on my floor. they will just drain how theyre sposed to.
I didn't realise you were going to replace the grill with a cover cos I didn't read your post properly. That's not a bad idea. I may do that myself.
 
#19 ·
yeah right said:
I didn't realise you were going to replace the grill with a cover cos I didn't read your post properly. That's not a bad idea. I may do that myself.
just gotta figure out if im gonna use plastic or metal. it will have a rubber seal around the base along with rubber seals where the screws and wiper arm are. hopefully itll work.
what do you guys reckon for a backyard job...metal or plastic?
 
#22 ·
thats not a bad idea, i got same problem like u davway... had water leaking to the accelerator and ur foot... got the panel beaters to fix it for me.. and it still had a small hole that they cant reach... so we need to ask xf6250 as he is our GREEN XF TURBO MESSENGER :p to ask dave wat he used
 
#23 ·
be good to hear what he used. im thinking plastic because of the length that needs to be covered. how much did the panelbeater cost? i thought i could get away with making a 'wall' of silicon or something but as you would know if youve pulled that grill off there isnt much room for your hand. even if you get it in there you cant see what your doing.
mine comes down the accelerator as well. after a good rain and the floors not wet you think good! but as soon as you put some power into it when your driving your foot quickly gets very wet!
 
#24 ·
Here's the bad news - these rain leaks caused by rust holes can be a huge fix job for a small 5c size hole! :bang:

This is my first DRY winter in the XD! I'm loving it, so it was worth the weeks of pain to fix it. As you can see, EVERYTHING had to go so I could access the holes. MAJOR pain in the ass. I had no other option than to gut it out to do a proper fix job.

1st: up behind the heater - fist hole size. (selasticked in a bottom corner from a 5L plastic radiator coolant bottle!!, you can see the white selastic)

2nd: up behind brake/clutch pedal box (fiberglassed hole)

I can understand why the panel beaters said get stuffed! unless you were willing to pay mega bucks - ironically for a 5c hole.
 
#25 ·
davway said:
be good to hear what he used. im thinking plastic because of the length that needs to be covered. how much did the panelbeater cost? i thought i could get away with making a 'wall' of silicon or something but as you would know if youve pulled that grill off there isnt much room for your hand. even if you get it in there you cant see what your doing.
mine comes down the accelerator as well. after a good rain and the floors not wet you think good! but as soon as you put some power into it when your driving your foot quickly gets very wet!
the panel beater is my uncle's mate, and the car was there to fix some rust for RWC.... and he put some silicon stuff for free
 
#26 ·
silicon is fine to use if u wanna keep the car for a year.. if you wanna keep it for a long time, take the time, and do it properly, fab new parts and weld... or fiberglass.... mine just started, the firewall... and i fixed that, mum had fab'd new parts for hers, and another car... her car is now 2 years, and no rain gets through...
 
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