Water leak in passenger footwell

Water leak in passenger footwell:

Tried clearing/cleaning trough under hood louvers that drain water away, cleared/cleaned those drains on either side of truck, sealed antenna cable entrance, does not appear to be windshield related, water persists at passenger feet, considering sump pump!

Any suggestions?

does it happen while the truck sits or only when moving? Has the windshield ever been replaced? What year is the truck? Was the vehicle ever in an accident? Have you checked the firewall?

My '96 suburban has done this alot mostly on long trips where I use the air conditioner for hours at the time. The air conditioner drain line needs to be blown out. I connect my vacuum cleaner to it then blow and vacuum. Its so hard to reach that this is the easiest way for me to do this.

It is a 97 1500 LS.

Have not noticed while driving, just notice puddle on floor mat and drips from heater box area when we go out to truck in morning or later in day after truck has been sitting all day.

We just bought the truck, and past owner said windshield was not replaced. We asked him about the black area under the glass (which is part of the normal glass/seal) because it looks funny, like light colored ribbed areas. He said it had not had any problems (I think he is correct as to the windshield because we also took the truck to an auto glass shop, and that person said it definitely was not the windshield because of where the leak was appearing inside the truck).

The truck shows no signs of being in an accident, unless it was repaired VERY well (usually you can tell from slightly mismatched paint color or texture, misalligned body panels, paint overspray, etc. (any other good indicators of accident???))

Our mechanic has been all over the area, I assume including the firewall. He has removed things, cleaned things, sealed the antenna cable boot. He says he doesn't know what else to do, but he might take the heater box out and take a bunch of other stuff out. I don't think I want him to do that because it doesn't seem right, and we called a local Chevy dealer service department who said it definitely was not the heater box.

We live in Washington State and it is December so we have never used the AC other than when we bought the truck in October to make sure it worked.

Sorry to be so long winded. I appreciate your response and help.

Looking for a good deal on an automotive version of a sump pump.

Are you loosing engine coolant?

I wish it was coolant!

No, it is definitely water from outdoors...Mother Nature flexes her muscle.

Thanks, though.

Get inside, have someone run a water hose slowly around on the outside. Look for the leak.

Did the hose thing several times already, water never leaks in when using hose.

I think there is a Suburban gremlin that sneaks in when we aren't looking and pours water on the floor.

Thanks to DD for continued suggestions!

I assume you've checked the condensate drain from the evaporator. It is a hose which will be on the firewall and is very hard to reach. It is almost closed at the end, and sometimes heat, dirt, etc... causes the end to seal closed. This hose should drain any moisture going through your plenum.

That sounds like something my mechanic already tried, but I will ask him to be sure.

Thanks DD.

I had this problem on my used 1999 Suburban. It soaked the entire carpet. Took to dealer after several attempts to unblock (supposedly) blocked a/c drain line. Turns out drain line was cracked. Cost about $70.00 to get (dealer) fixed. Had 38,000 miles on it. Chevy dealer said tough. I hadda pay. Also (I, not the dealer) had to strip entire interior out to allow to dry. The carpeting has a rubber mat under it, with a cotton batting under that as a sound deadener. If you don't get it dried out, it will stink really bad, like something died in your vehicle. GOOD LUCK!

Pop the hood. Closely examine the screw holes in the plastic cowl on the passenger side. One of them over the air box is probably cracked. Silicone is a temporary fix, replace the cowl for a better fix, but it will probably crack again. Good luck.

We have the same problem water leaking underfeet floor mat, on the passenger side. It happened whenever we use air conditionor for long peroid. I really love this fourms that makes my day. I'll have take into the shop have them fix the issuse with air conditionor lines.. since it makes really awful smell like a humidity smell specially when it happens during the summer time and if we dont keep the floor dry!

jasonandangie I have a 1996 K1500 LT and have exactly the same problem. I mean EXACTLY. It leaks while setting in the driveway after a rain, sometimes significant amounts of water. I have tried to replicate the leak using a hose, no success. I don't feel it has anything to do with the AC because like you it will leak when the AC hasn't been used for monthes. Let me know if you find a good sump pump.

If you have had no success with the condensation drain or loss of coolant,try this.Remove the inner pillar trim on the windeshield post.Have someone spray water across the top of the winshield while you sit inside.I have seen leaks in the top of the winshield that will run down the post behind the trim and into the floor.GoodLuck

I have the exact same problem with my 86. I agree with Rick_M that it's not the AC because the problem is worse for me during the rainy winter when I'm not using the AC. Unless, the AC drain is both cracked (like bakovac2000) and clogged so that rain water can get into it then can only get out into the cab?
Thanks SANDY78. I'm first going to try what you suggested.
Thanks to you too, blazin88. If I can't find a crack or leak in the cowling, my next course of action will follow your recommendation.
Once I get a chance to attend to this, I'll report back with my findings.
jasonandangie, did you every find and exterminate the Suburban gremlin that was causing this?

I had exactly the same problem with my 97 Sub years ago. Neither I nor the Dealer was able to find the source of the water.

One day while driving on the freeway, an 18 wheeler kicked up some gravel, which cracked my windshield top to bottom. Insurance paid to replace the windshield. There has been no "passenger side" leak ever since. My conclusion was that the original windshield must not have been completely/correctly sealed somewhere.

BTW, I did the "hose" thing, as did the dealer -- no problem found. After replacing the windshield fixerd the problem, I guessed that either the leak must have been up high (on top or high right side, with the water, once inside, running around & down the right side of the windshield and dripping down into the passenger footwell) or that the force of water from the hose tests we did simply was not enough, while driving through rain at highway speeds was.

Whatever -- windshield replacement fixed it.

- Paul

Have this same problem. The leak is in the passenger footwell, behind the A/C box. If you squeeze your hand up behind the box, between the box and the firewall, you will feel hose or line coming through the firewall. If you pull back the carpet in that area, you can see the hose/line. In my truck I saw water dripping down that hose/line. I pushed around on the box, the hose/line and the insulation in that area and was able to temporarily stop the water. However, any time the A/C is running, basically water is dripping/running down that location. I pulled the bottom of the box, but without pulling out everything (very long process) there was no way to fix the problem so I just gave up and have removed the rubber-backed floor mat. If the rubber-backed mat is left in place, the water eventually soaks the carpet. If I lift up the mat, it is all wet on the back. So I gave up and just use no mat there. That way at least the water is drying whenever I'm not running the A/C.

Thanks for letting me know what you discovered on this.