Water in passenger footwell - where's the leak?

Update----Pulled my carpet out, and it rained today. Pulled the sound deadening back right behind the blower motor. I am seeing water run down the firewall right behind the blower motor and box.

Does anyone know if this could be a windshield issue? Or is there something on the firewall/windshield cowl that could be leaking?
 
Update----Pulled my carpet out, and it rained today. Pulled the sound deadening back right behind the blower motor. I am seeing water run down the firewall right behind the blower motor and box.

Does anyone know if this could be a windshield issue? Or is there something on the firewall/windshield cowl that could be leaking?

See the link in my previous post, that is EXACTLY where my leak came from. Take off the passenger splash guard and you will find a vertical seam running up the firewall side of the the wheel well. That is your leak location. The windshield is an unlikely culprit. That seam fails and needs to be resealed from the inside.

I added a picture to my original post. Hope it helps.
 
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See the link in my previous post, that is EXACTLY where my leak came from. Take off the passenger splash guard and you will find a vertical seam running up the firewall side of the the wheel well. That is your leak location. The windshield is an unlikely culprit. That seam fails and needs to be resealed from the inside.

I added a picture to my original post. Hope it helps.

Thanks....I saw your pic and have since taken my fenderliner out again. However, it seems to me that the leak is coming inside the car higher up. I can look up behind the blower motor about another 6 inches higher and see the water dripping and running down the body.

Did you seal from just the inside?
 
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That is what I saw. That seam goes up pretty high but I only had a picture of the bottom portion. I only sealed it from the inside and as far up as I could get my hand. It could be coming from another spot, but the way that the drains for the HVAC intake under the windshield are set up cause water to flow right down that seam.

I took everything out, dried the area, and took it to a car wash. I used a mirror and a flashlight to find exactly where it was coming from as the water got blasted onto my car.
 
The leak in the passenger footwell from my experience in my car is coming from up in the very most right corner up under the blower motor. Theres a seam there that splits. if you pour enough water down the drain under the wipers youll see it come in at this spot. I remove some of the sound deadening because of it getting moldy. This is the only real way to see the split seam. I sealed it and havnt had any leak since.
 
Seems like i have joined the club now. I have had my MSP for 7yrs with no leaking issues. Today i was moving and went to set something down in the rear passenger footwell and got splashed with water. Guess i will be searching for a leak tomorrow. My passengers will have to bring their Galoshes and Rain Coats to ride in my car now.
 
I had this problem in my old MSP... I used Vulkem - a construction caulk that sealed up my problem nicely. I didn't think to pull the fender liner... instead I found some puddles that I could drive through at speed and then I puled over right away to see where the water was coming in. Great fun if you have time to kill. It was right along the seam you are all talking about. It was touch to get to the top of it where I needed to seal it from the inside.
 
New Update******** My leak is not coming from the fenderwell. I took the windshield wiper cowl off and filled it with water. Water is coming in from the cowl.

Does anyone know if there is a special drain in the cowl or how the water is suppose to run through it and out???
 
New Update******** My leak is not coming from the fenderwell. I took the windshield wiper cowl off and filled it with water. Water is coming in from the cowl.

Does anyone know if there is a special drain in the cowl or how the water is suppose to run through it and out???

There are two drains inside the cowl, one on either side of the car. Check to be sure there aren't leaves or other junk stuck in there. You can probably feel where the holes are, they are the lowest points on either side of the cowl and drain into the quarter panels and then out. I was able to see them when I took off the splash guard.

Also, the intake for cabin fresh air is in that cowl on the passenger side, if it filled up with water higher than the intake, that's where the water is getting in. And it is probably going through your blower.

I'll see if I can get some pictures tonight if no one else gets to it first.
 
I just wanna stop in here and thank you for chasing down these leaks... This is a problem that has plagued these cars for nearly 10 years. My 01 MP3 has water issues that Ive let go for a LONG time, but now I have the confidence to tear her down and seal her all up.

Keep us posted what you find about the cowl. Thanks again
 
As promised here are some pictures. The first picture is looking at the passenger side towards the rear of the car. The cowl drain is circled in red. Also note, the wonderful Wisconsin rust on the seam running up and down in the picture. That is where my leaking occurred. The second picture is a close up of the cowl drain, it may be small, but that should be clear of debris.

I also found a picture of the original carnage in the passenger foot well, attached just for fun. The sound deadening/cushioning has been removed and it is no longer leaking.
 

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As promised here are some pictures. The first picture is looking at the passenger side towards the rear of the car. The cowl drain is circled in red. Also note, the wonderful Wisconsin rust on the seam running up and down in the picture. That is where my leaking occurred. The second picture is a close up of the cowl drain, it may be small, but that should be clear of debris.

I also found a picture of the original carnage in the passenger foot well, attached just for fun. The sound deadening/cushioning has been removed and it is no longer leaking.

holy s*** thats bad man seal that b**** up!(dance)
 
Just an FYI....

Ive had this water problem for YEARS. Never had any idea where it was coming from. I pulled everything out over the weekend and sure enough, there was a hairline crack along that same problematic body seam. I cleared out all the stock "sealer" and filled it with a high strength sealer. I also used a deadblow hammer to close up the seam a bit from the outside, with some sealer as well.
 
Just an FYI....

Ive had this water problem for YEARS. Never had any idea where it was coming from. I pulled everything out over the weekend and sure enough, there was a hairline crack along that same problematic body seam. I cleared out all the stock "sealer" and filled it with a high strength sealer. I also used a deadblow hammer to close up the seam a bit from the outside, with some sealer as well.

You pulled the dash?
 
You pulled the dash?

Nope, not needed. The body seam on the passender side footwell, to the right of the ECU.. Once you crack some of that "sealer" away from behind the black pad on the firewall, youll see that the sealer wasnt even pushed all the way into the corner. Thats where there was a hairline crack that went probably half way up the dash. I just reached up as far as I could with the sealer.
 
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