Mold & Water In Cabin

[fenrisx]

It seems I've got a shittuation on my hands... The past two winters or so I've noticed my driver side carpets were always damp/soaked.. just assumed it was snow getting under/through the mats, even though they're rubber. I think I even posted about it on here before. Well, it's the middle of summer, and my carpets are still damp. We had a heavy ("torrential downpour" some might say) rain about a week ago that I had to drive home through.. so I'm assuming it's from that.

Obviously, I want to get this taken care of soon because it's ruining my carpets, and also my truck is getting rusty from it. Granted the rust you'll see in the below photos have been there since I got the truck, it just seems a bit worse now for sure. My other problem is.. it looks like it's causing mold to grow under my carpets now. What the hell.. that's no bueno!

Looking for advice on how to remedy my problem. I'm thinking maybe there's not a good seal on the two drain holes under the driver side carpet up front. What are your thoughts? Do you concur that I've now got a mold problem too? :(

Where else might water be entering from if it's not the two drain holes?

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7762730398_2dc1f9051e_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7762717826_2d053de721_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7762710024_5d35044c71_b.jpg
mold on truck (near middle of picture between the cb coax hoop)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7762696424_0f2e46fc89_b.jpg
mold on bottom of carpets
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7762698750_c291c5c9fb_b.jpg
dead bug under the carpets.. yum
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7762693786_2c1a84c6c5_b.jpg
discolored carpets from the problem.. looks worse in person
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7762690912_7240aa27d2_b.jpg

[corax]

Only on the driver side correct? Just the front or also the rear?

Has the windshield ever been replaced? Sometimes a poor install or chassis flex will cause a bad seal and water will leak down the firewall.

How easily does water drain out of the sunroof pan? Open the sunroof and pour a bunch of water in the sunroof pan at the driver side front, did it pool up for more than a 1/2 minute without draining down? I've seen, on some vehicles, a clogged or restricted drain hose that allows water to build up and then somehow it makes its way down the a-pillar (kinda common on older Lexus RXs that are consistently parked under/near trees).

It's probably not the drain plugs, but a little bit of silicone around the edges will seal them up if you want.

Ultimately you need to determine where the water is coming from, correct? Time to take out the garden hose and let it run over various parts of the truck to leak check it. Roll the carpet back like you already did while you lie on your back on the floor with a flashlight and watch for water drops to start rolling in. Give it 10 minutes or more in each hose location, this can take some patience. Also look for tell-tale signs like dried water trails or areas where the dust was washed away by rolling droplets.

You can also take it to the dealership, they have the experience with this chassis and if it's a reputable place should only charge 1-2 hours to find you an answer. Ask ahead of time how they handle water leaks. They may actually farm out the work to a specialist. In Virginia we used a company called Leak Doctors (or some-such) and they were fairly adept at getting to the source of it - maybe you have something similar in your area?

[corax]

for the mold/mildew, check out Sean's thread from awhile back: Cleaning Mold/Mildew from Carpet (http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=9466.msg92979)

While I was looking for Sean's thread, I found your old one: smelly car (http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=9756.msg97398)

[fenrisx]

Yep, just the driver side front. No new windshield. As far as the sunroof drain pan goes.. I have no idea. Didn't even realize there was one. I'll have to check that out next weekend... and yes my main goal now is determining where it's coming from. Once I get that figured out I'm going to try to take care of that rust and eventually get new carpets.

I'll leave the dealership as a last resort.. even @ 2 hours of labor that's a good $200 or more right there.. :(

Gracias for the reply.

[4x4mike]

I don't have any pictures on me right now but from what I've seen there are 2 different "pans" in 3rd gens. I have an actual pocket that the glass goes into. Others don't. I found this out when I was looking to drill a hole in the roof for an antenna. Some can drill away where I have a pan.

If you remove the center dome light and see black you've got what I have. If you see body color paint you've got something else. I'll dig through some pictures to show you what I'm talking about. In the corners there are drain hoses that could be blocked.

[4x4mike]

Here you go.

This is the pan I have. This is not my 4runner but something I found a while ago.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yehSYzfiyuI/T1ZbvxYx86I/AAAAAAAAtjU/PnTHqSuNguU/s800/IMAG0296.jpg

The bottom of the picture is the front of the vehicle. See the 2 ribs about midway through the image? That's what I see when I remove my dome light.

Here is a drain tube.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vpV8i0Vfg1c/T1Zbu-FPRDI/AAAAAAAAtjI/nmTcWRk7r2k/s800/IMAG0289.jpg

I believe that to be the C pillar.

[CJM]

Seeing where the rust is, it might be the sunroof.

However I would also check to see if the seal around the steering column rag joint is good. Mine was bad on the T100 and I stuffed some pipe insulation in there and it worked. Before if I went over deep puddles, wheeling or it rained/snowed it would get in and soak my mats.

Also check where the molding meets the body and that general area. Looks to me like it could also be from here.

As for the rust. Clean it off with a brush in a drill or grinder. Then spray with rustoleum rust converter (it works trust me). Then Id spray black rustoleum professional (dries faster) over it.

[fenrisx]

Thanks for the pics and info guys. I hope to have time to check this out over the weekend.

[fenrisx]

I didn't get a chance to check it today, but I did buy some Rust-O-Leum rust reformer and Rust-O-Leum gloss black enamel. I did some more searching today, and it seems a few people with the same situation that I have fixed their issue by sealing the grommet coming from the firewall. They said their sunroof drained just fine. I'm going to get up tomorrow morning and dump water into the sunroof drain, and if that's draining fine my next step will be checking that grommet.

-update-
Sunroof is draining just fine on both sides. There was some piece of dried rubber, looked like an old chunk of a grommet from somewhere, that was on the driver side. When I dumped water onto the driver side it picked that up and blocked the drain hole. So, I removed that just in case.

I then poured water onto the windshield and watched it drain down onto the driverside firewall grommet... which needs to be sealed. Almost 100% sure that's the issue. I'll take pics later today before I seal it up. Looks like the dealer may have ran an extra set of wires through for something.

[CJM]

RTV. I know the spot your talking about, its where your left foot rests roughly-right?

[Seanz0rz]

alarm installers love that spot for running wires. i love that spot too, as most of my wires run through that grommet. i usually make a hole with an awl, and push the wire through so it stays tight. mine leaks a tiny bit when nearly submerged (ask me how i know! lol) so it needs to be sealed up as well, but not really a problem down here in the southwest.

[DHC6twinotter]

My 2nd gen used to leak a bit where the grommet for the hood release wire was.

[fenrisx]

On second look it looks like it may just be factory stuff. The grommet doesn't look 'cut' more so formed to accept to two different wire sets running through.

It's in an awkward spot though, so it's hard getting the silicon on the bottom and side. I did the best I could.. hopefully it sealed.. Hopefully that actually was the leak. I'll verify next weekend when I sand down/paint over the rust & take care of the mold.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7818079656_4e02f1183a_c.jpg

[fenrisx]

... it ain't pretty, but hopefully it worked. Like I said before, the bottom and right side were hard to get to.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7819223018_93bfeecf42_c.jpg

[Bob98SR5]

fenrisx,

betcha its related to the sunroof or your roof rack. many years ago i recall on the other forum that many people experienced water leakage from loose bolts the roof rack. T29 star hex thingamajibbas i recall. anyways, it'd be worth a shot to remove your rack system, clean, seal w/ clear silicone and re-seat the star hex bolts.

[Seanz0rz]

torx is the word bob was searching so desperately for.

[fenrisx]

fenrisx,

betcha its related to the sunroof or your roof rack. many years ago i recall on the other forum that many people experienced water leakage from loose bolts the roof rack. T29 star hex thingamajibbas i recall. anyways, it'd be worth a shot to remove your rack system, clean, seal w/ clear silicone and re-seat the star hex bolts.



I may give this a shot. I took them off and cleaned/painted/reinstalled them about 2 years ago, but this problem is far older than that. I've already begun the tear down and clean up of the floor. I sanded it with a heavy grit, and washed it out. I've just laid down a coat of Rust-O-Leum Rust Reformer. Going to paint over it with gloss enamel soon... which I may actually skip this step. It doesn't have to be pretty under the carpet.. just rust and mold free. :)

Also just cleaned the mold off with bleach/water mix.

The one part that sucked was the thick black rubber pad that you can see in the pictures. That was stuck to the flooring (assuming there was an adhesive to make it stick), but now it's old and brittle, so it broke into pieces as I was trying to remove it in one piece. I'm not sure what the purpose of that was... assuming it may have been for sound deadening? If so, it'll be a little louder in the cabin until I can get some more of that to lay down. I'd seen a thread where someone bought some that has a silver backing and you just (essentially) peel and stick it to your flooring for sound deadening.. I might go that route.

[fenrisx]

With all of that said.. I think I'm going to be in the market for new carpets soon. I remember seeing carpet on eBay years ago for around $200. Just pick that and some padding/sound deadening material up and go to town. The 12" Borla XR-1 is actually kinda loud in the cabin anyways.. so that should help with that as well.

[fenrisx]

Here's something I just noticed...

On the passenger side there's a drain tube that's coming from the behind the dash, down behind the kick panel, and follows along the floor boards.. then up into the rear cargo area to I don't know where (didn't remove all of that).

From just behind the kick panel back to just behind the front door, the tube is filled with water (looks dirty). Basically there's a piece connecting the tube to another tube where the front and rear door meets. The water isn't making its way through that. What's this drain tube from/where does it go? Is there and evaporation area in the rear cargo passenger side like on the driver side?

behind the kick panel:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7867399130_6e985f2528_c.jpg

where the front/rear door meet:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7277/7867430924_f3641cdd06_c.jpg]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7277/7867430924_f3641cdd06_c.jpg

Also - the driver side sear belt:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7867386640_18708ae92e_c.jpg
Weird that only the bolt and bracket have rust, but nothing surrounding. Must be the paint keeping it at bay.

[Obi..]

That tube's the fluid transfer tube for the rear window sprayer. When was the last time you used it? It's a pretty easy procedure to pull open things and just let it hang and push a bunch of water through. Don't leave it attached b/c you'll clog the squirt nozzle.

[YotaFun]

That tube is your rear window washer tube, turn the key an activate, you should see water go through...