Rain leaking onto floor mats / interior from under / off to the side of the door pockets

[Cloaked_TJ06]

Anyone know where I can start with the leaky seals in the interior of my 2006 TJ ? I live in Missouri and has been raining non stop for all week and I've found that by the interior door pockets I have a small constant drip on the floor mats and under it too . Before I spend the money on seals I'd like to know if anyone else have had the same issue as me . I don't know if its the the actual door seals or what but its getting real annoying every time it rains . i did a temporary fix by moving the door latch in more towards the seats which helped a bit but its getting worse . Before I did that a few months ago I had a huge river of water on the floor boards it was a pain to clean up .

 

[MikekiM]

So you think it's coming from around the door seals and not under the dash?

I would just replace the seals.

I had a set of half doors on one of my JKs that leaked from the bottom front corners. New seals weren't available. I cut a small slit in the factory seal and threaded a greased up length of vacuum line through the entire factory seal. Beefed up the strength of the seal. No more leaks.

 

[5TTTj]

I don't know if you have the same situation as my 97, but I found that the seam sealer in the cowl had become dried and cracked, I cleaned out the old stuff and caulked in some new autobody seam sealer and that solved 99 % of my water problem. Pull off the wipers and the panel & have a look.

 

[pbeach]

FWIW: Had the same issue — after a rainstorm, I'd have a puddle in the passenger side floor mat.

A month or so ago I finally removed the cowl panel and cleaned/flushed the drain under the cowl screen (I pride myself on preventative maintenance — I'm embarrassed to say it had never been done. I know. WTF.) The drain was dead clogged. Secondarily, my blower motor failed after less than a year (common for all of us — often enough when the resistor fails) — I'm now convinced that the water leaking in on the passenger side caused it (photo: rusted screws on the motor case bottom — they don't rust like that... that quickly).

When was the last time you cleaned the cowl drain?

 

[MikekiM]

OP said at the door pockets. Sounds more like a faulty door gasket or misaligned door.
Clogged cowl would likely leak under the passenger dash into the footwell.

Well, water is water... it could be coming from anywhere..

 

[DuckNut]

Door pockets???
Are there drain holes in the bottom of the doors that are clogged and the inside of the door is flooded.

 

[chili_pepper]

OP said at the door pockets. Sounds more like a faulty door gasket or misaligned door.
Clogged cowl would likely leak under the passenger dash into the footwell.

Well, water is water... it could be coming from anywhere..

I think I had this with one of the many replacement door gaskets I've tried. The water would leak in at the upper forward edge of the door, run down and around the tub lip to the low point of the opening, then drip/run off forming a puddle on the floor at the door pocket.

Important to note that, depending on how hard the rain was, the leak could actually manifest under the dash, with the water getting in around the plastic A pillar trim and ending up on the floor below the dash.

 

[MikekiM]

I think I had this with one of the many replacement door gaskets I've tried. The water would leak in at the upper forward edge of the door, run down and around the tub lip to the low point of the opening, then drip/run off forming a puddle on the floor at the door pocket.

Important to note that, depending on how hard the rain was, the leak could actually manifest under the dash, with the water getting in around the plastic A pillar trim and ending up on the floor below the dash.

Water can travel all over. Path of least resistance. I could be entering at the top of the door and exiting at the bottom. A little baby powder would reveal this.

Door pockets???
Are there drain holes in the bottom of the doors that are clogged and the inside of the door is flooded.

There are drain holes on the bottom of the half doors. Never looked at full doors.
If there are and they are clogged there would be quite a pool inside the doors.

 

[chili_pepper]

Water can travel all over. Path of least resistance. I could be entering at the top of the door and exiting at the bottom. A little baby powder would reveal this.


There are drain holes on the bottom of the half doors. Never looked at full doors.
If there are and they are clogged there would be quite a pool inside the doors.

BTW, I didn't forget about hitting you up on those door card refurbs, I just have too many project going at the moment...

 

[Cloaked_TJ06]

OP said at the door pockets. Sounds more like a faulty door gasket or misaligned door.
Clogged cowl would likely leak under the passenger dash into the footwell.

Well, water is water... it could be coming from anywhere..

I think I had this with one of the many replacement door gaskets I've tried. The water would leak in at the upper forward edge of the door, run down and around the tub lip to the low point of the opening, then drip/run off forming a puddle on the floor at the door pocket.

Important to note that, depending on how hard the rain was, the leak could actually manifest under the dash, with the water getting in around the plastic A pillar trim and ending up on the floor below the dash.

 

[Cloaked_TJ06]

I think I had this with one of the many replacement door gaskets I've tried. The water would leak in at the upper forward edge of the door, run down and around the tub lip to the low point of the opening, then drip/run off forming a puddle on the floor at the door pocket.

Important to note that, depending on how hard the rain was, the leak could actually manifest under the dash, with the water getting in around the plastic A pillar trim and ending up on the floor below the dash.

With the door seals you tried did they work at all ? There is some up on quadratec for $90 for both the driver and passenger doors . I do have full doors sorry I didn’t mention it .

heres the part link to those seals
https://www.quadratec.com/p/accupart/front-door-seals-wrangler-tj

 

[chili_pepper]

With the door seals you tried did they work at all ? There is some up on quadratec for $90 for both the driver and passenger doors . I do have full doors sorry I didn’t mention it .

heres the part link to those seals
https://www.quadratec.com/p/accupart/front-door-seals-wrangler-tj

As seals? No!

I've not had much luck finding decent full door seals for my '05 LJ (chronicled here in few other threads). Passenger door is on new seal #3 and it leaks due to the seal being improperly made, just like the others before it. All of them have fit the door perfectly, but none of them seem to properly replicate the features of the factory seal or use the correct rubber types for particular features. And I've had to slam the door to get it to latch ever since, none of them have "broken in" over time.

 

[chili_pepper]

I suppose I can't blame everything on the seals, though. I currently have my hardtop off for repairs and notice the seals leak less with the soft top surrounds. I think the surrounds sit slightly lower (likely hardtop seal and muckets) which helps in sealing up better. I also believe that Chrysler did a half-assed job of aligning the doors on the assembly line. My passenger door (the one that leaks the worst) would appear to be adjusted slightly lower based on body lines, but this is magnified at the top of the door. Once my top is refinished, I plan on aligning the doors to it with the hopes of clearing up at least some of the issue.

 

[Cloaked_TJ06]

I suppose I can't blame everything on the seals, though. I currently have my hardtop off for repairs and notice the seals leak less with the soft top surrounds. I think the surrounds sit slightly lower (likely hardtop seal and muckets) which helps in sealing up better. I also believe that Chrysler did a half-assed job of aligning the doors on the assembly line. My passenger door (the one that leaks the worst) would appear to be adjust slightly lower based on body lines, but this is magnified at the top of the door. Once my top is refinished, I plan on aligning the doors to it with the hopes of clearing up at least some of the issue.

This is what I’m having is your exact issue . Iva got full doors and a full hardtop . What can I do to stop this mess it’s getting annoying every rainfall and ridiculous

 

[chili_pepper]

This is what I’m having is your exact issue . Iva got full doors and a full hardtop . What can I do to stop this mess it’s getting annoying every rainfall and ridiculous

I suspect maybe your doors need some adjusting, and adjustment with some new (crappy) seals might get you there. That's my eventual hope as well, because I don't see anyone making better door seals for these moving forward.

Currently with the soft top, mine's only an issue on the passenger side. I pulled the floor mat, pulled the footwell drain plug and folded the carpet back on the drivetrain hump. For now, it runs in, it runs out. Gotta love a Jeep!

 

[Cloaked_TJ06]

I suspect maybe your doors need some adjusting, and adjustment with some new (crappy) seals might get you there. That's my eventual hope as well, because I don't see anyone making better door seals for these moving forward.

Currently with the soft top, mine's only an issue on the passenger side. I pulled the floor mat, pulled the footwell drain plug and folded the carpet back on the drivetrain hump. For now, it runs in, it runs out.

How do you adjust the doors ? Also should I buy those seals for $90 ? I want to do it but at the same time I just don’t want to waste $90 and it not fix my issue .

 

[Cloaked_TJ06]

I suspect maybe your doors need some adjusting, and adjustment with some new (crappy) seals might get you there. That's my eventual hope as well, because I don't see anyone making better door seals for these moving forward.

Currently with the soft top, mine's only an issue on the passenger side. I pulled the floor mat, pulled the footwell drain plug and folded the carpet back on the drivetrain hump. For now, it runs in, it runs out. Gotta love a Jeep!

I’ve got the same issue on my driver and passanger floor boards and lifted it up and it’s on the carpet wet as well. I put some photos up above to show where it’s leaking from and getting in at

 

[chili_pepper]

How do you adjust the doors ?

There's some finesse to it and an extra set of hands might serve you well, but Section 23 - "Body/Full Door/Door" and "Body/Full Door/Hinge" of the Service Manual should get you started. In case you weren't aware, downloadable PDF parts lists and service manuals are available in the resource section of WTF:

STICKY Thread 'Jeep Wrangler TJ Factory Service Manuals (FSM) & Technical Documentation'

Apr 9, 2017

This post is for TJ documentation like Factory Service Manuals Etc..
A while back I was able to find the FSM for my 2006 TJ. I decided to look at the same website I have used to download FMS to see if I can find others. I hit the jackpot so I am sharing :beer-toast1:

Please if there are any issues or they are inaccurate let me know.

Thanks @UpperMI for the additional 2002 manuals

• JeepNWilly
• fsm maintenance manual owners manual pdf service manual shop manual
• Replies: 269
• Forum: TJ Resources

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Also should I buy those seals for $90 ?

That's an excellent question, but I'd only be guessing at the correct answer, if you get my drift. I now need a driver's side seal as I notice a tear in the factory original and I'm balking at making a decision based on what's happened thus far.

I just don’t want to waste $90 and it not fix my issue .

I know exactly what you mean. Considering what I've spent on seals thus far, you'd think I threw enough money at the problem for some kind of solution...

 

[txbemis69]

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/anyone-have-a-lead-on-decent-front-door-seals.73545/

this is where i found the solution to my leaking jeep door seals.
@emedlin post about the weatherstripping from amazon was the fix and a cheap, quick and easy fix.

 

[chili_pepper]

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/anyone-have-a-lead-on-decent-front-door-seals.73545/

this is where i found the solution to my leaking jeep door seals.
@emedlin post about the weatherstripping from amazon was the fix and a cheap, quick and easy fix.

Strange, I'm the OP on that thread and never got notification that anyone posted after my last...

While the posted solution won't fix one issue I have with the latest seal, it might just solve an issue I've had with ever replacement thus far. That and probably a minor door adjustment.