water under driver legs: '01 Taurus Vulcan

I have 2001 Taurus SE (with Vulcan engine), and there the carpet under driver's legs gets wet (actually very much soaked with water) during rainy weather. I could not find the leak, everything seems to be dry in the area of the steering wheel column. the slightly elevated sides of the carpet seem to be dry as well. Could anybody suggest where the leak could be located? I would not like to remove the carpet because I am not sure if it is under the carpet... But where else can it be?

Thanks in advance.

heres what you do turn your blower motor on high close up the car and spray soapy water around the outside near window edges, mirros, etc it should bubble up where there are air gaps.

also check the cabin air filter if the a splash sheild out of place or damaged.

Also try to determine that this is in fact water and not some other substance. You could take a white papertowel, allow it to soak up some of the liquid, then set the towel on a shelf to evaporate. Is the liquid clear in color on the white papertowel? After sitting for an hour or two is the papertowel dry? Does it have an odor to it, other than maybe a slight musty smell?

Do you know the history of your car to know if the windshield has ever been replaced? Does the car have a sunroof? Have you checked the passenger floor for similar wetness?

-Rod

Also try to determine that this is in fact water and not some other substance. You could take a white papertowel, allow it to soak up some of the liquid, then set the towel on a shelf to evaporate. Is the liquid clear in color on the white papertowel? After sitting for an hour or two is the papertowel dry? Does it have an odor to it, other than maybe a slight musty smell?

Do you know the history of your car to know if the windshield has ever been replaced? Does the car have a sunroof? Have you checked the passenger floor for similar wetness?

-Rod

Thanks for the replies. Ok. I did what you suggested, Rod, and it seems to be water, - no color, no smell. The passenger side is completely dry. The windshield was never replaced and the car does not have a sunroof. The car is in a relatively good condition for 2001, about 85000 miles.

Somewhere I read that there may be a plugged, or rather misplaced/unplugged A/C drain hose. However, the weather here in Western NY has been consistently cool recently, below 50 F, so the A/C has not been working for about a month. Thus, this can be excluded.
On some other web-site I read that it may be the cowling water drain that is plugged somewhere at the bottom of the car, so water that flows down the windshield (in-between where it meets the hood) instead of being dumped outside it penetrates inside somehow. Does anybody know where that "cowling water drain" goes and where its outlet is located? I assume it is somewhere on the bottom of the car, but may be it is somewhere behind the front wheel plastic cover...?

Somewhere I read that there may be a plugged, or rather misplaced/unplugged A/C drain hose. However, the weather here in Western NY has been consistently cool recently, below 50 F, so the A/C has not been working for about a month. Thus, this can be excluded.
On some other web-site I read that it may be the cowling water drain that is plugged somewhere at the bottom of the car, so water that flows down the windshield (in-between where it meets the hood) instead of being dumped outside it penetrates inside somehow. Does anybody know where that "cowling water drain" goes and where its outlet is located? I assume it is somewhere on the bottom of the car, but may be it is somewhere behind the front wheel plastic cover...?

If the A/C evaporator core drain were plugged the water would accumulate on the passenger side rather than the driver's side. Just because you haven't turned on the A/C since the temp is below 50F though doesn't mean the A/C compressor doesn't and won't run. The compressor will engage when the windshield defroster is used to remove humidity from the air. Once the ambient air temperature reaches near freezing though the compressor will be prevented from engaging though, mostly to keep the drain and evaporator core from freezing up.

Other than suggesting you search this forum for keywords "cowl" or "drain" I don't have much to offer you regarding the cowl drain.

-Rod

I tried a forum search for both words, "cowl drain" and there are several threads (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=2674175) that may be of interest to you.

-Rod