The passenger side floorboard has a decent amount of water on it... and its been raining quite a bit... so that has to be related somehow...

 

Had a few ideas:

-Windshield seal leaking? - Could I source one or just replace the windshield and get a new gasket installed too? I dont have any cracks that I know of.

-Heater core busted? - This is hopefully not the case.

 

Anything else? - Just appears to be on the passenger floorboard. Car is a 1986 Subaru GL Sedan (EA82)

Pretty obvious.... you need to find the source of the leak in order to fix it.

 

I cannot crawl under the dash of your car from behind my computer

The passenger side floorboard has a decent amount of water on it... and its been raining quite a bit... so that has to be related somehow...

 

Had a few ideas:

-Windshield seal leaking? - Could I source one or just replace the windshield and get a new gasket installed too? I dont have any cracks that I know of.

-Heater core busted? - This is hopefully not the case.

 

Anything else? - Just appears to be on the passenger floorboard. Car is a 1986 Subaru GL Sedan (EA82)

The windshield is glued in-no rubber gasket.look around the windshield frame and look for the paint bubbling-rust?The trim around the windshield holds dirt in and makes it rust so it could be leaking there..Heater core would be antifreeze!

I dont SEE it leaking unfortunately, I just get to hear about the puddle on the floor and when I saw it I was like, whoa thats not just from someones wet feet... guess Ill crawl under there with a flashlight... PLEASE NO RUST

1. A/C

2. Heater core

3. Sunroof drain

4. Windshield leak

 

Does your car have A/C and are you using it? (it's often used when raining outside to defog the windshield).

 

The A/C system condenses water and that water flows out through a drain tube under the car - right around the passengers side area. If that drain gets clogged it backs up and spill over into the passengers side footwell area.

 

And it will flow like crazy, creating a pond very quickly in humid situations. I fixed my in-laws 2009 Legacy which was doing this. Pulled the hose, ran a coat hanger through it to make sure it was passable and reinstalled - all is good.

 

Does your car have a sunroof - those have similar drains as well that need inspected.

 

Heater core leaking - smell any coolant smell?

 

And of course windshield. On a dry day you can try isolating the water via a garden hose around the windshield edges and let it run and see if that brings water into the cabin.

The 2 air intakes are below the windshield trough and below the joint in the exposed plastic base trim on each side. Water can run through the base trim side joint and drip straight into the air intake. Also if you have a functioning air conditioner, the defrost will pump air through the air conditioner and cool it down to dehumidify it before it warms it back up and blows it on the windshield. When it cools down it drops water to the bottom of the ducts and it drips out of the duct joint on the driver side of the A/C cooling section. If you don't turn on the defroster, you probably won't have water on the rug. If you caulk the joint in the plastic trim, you can help keep water out that way. If you remove the plastic T edge trim at the base of the windshield, and caulk the plastic base trim directly to the windshield, you can help keep water from dropping into the air intake.

may be off but hows your heater working? if your heater core goes out sometimes it will push water out the floor vents. ^^^^ it would also fog you windows up a lot.. could be a the window gasket leaking down the door by the hinge.

 

Good luck! its also oregon rain hast stopped for the last could days over here...

PLEASE NO RUST

did that just happen - Oregon and crying about rust?

 

Doesn't sound like rust related to me.

I dont have A/C but my sister uses the heater and defroster...

 

This "maybe" will tie into my other problem... The car dies randomly... It like, sucks excess air into the air filter and dies... because I hear it suck the air loudly as it dies, but it ONLY does it when its not warmed up over the 2nd line on the temp gauge when the defroster/heater is on....

it really cant suck "excess" air. its an air pump, it fills, it empties, it fills. my guess would be the sound is the air getting blocked off and you hear the "whistle" of it trying to suck air through a smaller opening.

 

whether or not its tied to the heater (i doubt it) is another matter. I would expect its choke related more than anything else. I guess it could also be sucking in a huge gulp of air through the vaccuum system and killing it, but it seems unlikely to get that much air all at once through that tiny vacuum line.

 

pull off the air cleaner and see if there is anything that can randomly block the air or is loose. if you cover up the opening with your hand I bet you will hear the same noise and it will die. make sure the choke and/or any bafles and such are secure and tight with little play. if ones loose maybe its sucking closed. you can also disconnect the vacuum line for the heater and see if it still does it. doesnt matter to the engine if its vent or defrost.

Edited December 3, 201213 yr by djellum

I had a leak where the water would drip right through the fresh air vent under the windshield. The source of the problem was the plastic cowling below the windshield was not sealed anymore to the body at the end. It would especially be worse when parked slightly uphill.

Last time I had a leak, it was due to the drain tube for the sunroof being clogged. But that leak location was obvious!

There is a drain from the windshield that goes through the front passenger footwell, in the corner next to the tranny tunnel and firewall. It looks like a black rubber hose and is visible under the dash on top of the carpet. If someone has big feet or stretches out too far it will disconnect it and let water in.

The only leak I have is a small one. When it's pouring rain and the car is parked, water will get in through the windshield right behind the rear view mirror and will drip all over my gear stick. Not a big leak; just a slow trickle. Doesn't help you much in this case though. :-p

If it is the heater core you can smell the anti freeze also you could take a hose and have an assistant run water around the windshield gasket to find out if it is a windshield leak

i just discovered a leak on the passenger side of my interior. it ended up being a rusted out whole in the fresh air intake in between the windshield and hood, behind where the wiper arm mounts. i blew out a bunch of old leaves and crap, but don't see how i am going to patch it from the outside. the whole middle section which is up behind my heater case has visible rust. might be able to just take out the case and get in there to weld.

There is a drain from the windshield that goes through the front passenger footwell, in the corner next to the tranny tunnel and firewall. It looks like a black rubber hose and is visible under the dash on top of the carpet. If someone has big feet or stretches out too far it will disconnect it and let water in.

 

 

thats the air conditioner condensor drain. Not his issue as he stated no ac on the car.

I have the same leak. The water drips out of the bottom of the heater core box thing where the fan is.

It turns out that around the bottom of the windshield and all under there is completely rusted to nothing.

Fortunately there's also a rust hole in the floor, so the water drains back out again.

If you can get to it with a stick or something ,scrap off what you can and then get some J/B liquid weld.I have patched a few things doing just that.Put some J/B on the end of the stick and do what you can.Necessity is the Mother of Invention.Always remember that !! Good luck OSF

i went ahead and removed everything out of the dash. heater box, control consule etc. what a pain. it was worth it for i found another section directly behind the heater box that is rusted through. gonna try the jb weld patch and then try and put everything back in. all of the metal dash supports are covered with surface rust, and my heater box vent flaps are pretty corroded. this is gonna be fun...

i went ahead and removed everything out of the dash. heater box, control consule etc. what a pain. it was worth it for i found another section directly behind the heater box that is rusted through. gonna try the jb weld patch and then try and put everything back in. all of the metal dash supports are covered with surface rust, and my heater box vent flaps are pretty corroded. this is gonna be fun...

 

If you have it all taken apart, don't half-rump roast it. Weld in a patch and seal it properly.

95 Legacy 2.2 w/216k miles near Houston,Tx

 

I came out from running an errand to find dampness on the passenger side and a sweet smell. I immediately suspected a heater core failure. I found one for ~$50 online but it sounds like a big hassle to pull and replace the dash. I likely don't have the patience so I'll just plumb the core out and burn sterno. The leak appears coming from the between the plastic housing halves.

 

Based on the post discussions, I'm gonna try the stop leak. I read of no downside to using an additive other than fouling up the part that I now know is already fouled up. 

 

Coolant is dripping from a rubber hose coming out of the heater core/firewall interface into the engine compartment. Is this hose a tattletale for a leaking heater core?

 

In a jam, is it possible to crimp the heater core inlet hose from the engine compartment side to stop a significant flow/loss?

Do not block the coolant flow.through the core.

Stop leak is a temporary fix at best, not a good idea.

The cooling system must be in very good condition to avoid problems with these engines.

Any leaks should be fixed asap.

95 Legacy Lsi  223k

 

 

I have successfully removed the dash and the crossbar and gained access to the heater box and removed the two stud nuts at the top of the box housing and loosened the ac box housing screw immediately below. I can't get it to move much. The housing is still tight to the studs. I can pull the housing top off the studs with effort, and rock it a bit. The core in/out pipes are free to move.

 

I hate to roughneck it now, having gotten this far somewhat successfully. It seems to be held at the bottom of the heater box somehow, It looks like the box will clear the hump ductwork but me not know.

 

Can you advise on best way to get to the heater core? I'm pretty close...

I can't, I never had a Legacy.  Never took one apart.  Probably better to start a new thread.