Water Leak
 

I have a 1989 Chevy Blazer, 4x4, 4.3Lt V6, A/C, automatic, with 111,260 original miles on it. I am the third owner. The second owner was my father and he gave it to me when he could no longer drive. The vehicle was in Oregon up until it came to Michigan, so the body is in great shape. I am starting to get a little rust bubbling under the paint in the front left fender at the wheel opening under the bright trim. The vehicle was painted dark blue in November 2005. It was originally cream/navy two-tone. The vehicle is regularly serviced and I just put new P235 Goodyear tires on it. We even drove it home to Oregon this summer, putting nearly 6K miles on it. It performed like a champ.

I've been experiencing a water leak for a couple of years now. Where ever it is, the water tends to pool under the driver's side carpeting right under my feet. With the heavy rains of the last several days I was able to suck out nearly 2 cups with my shop vac. I had had my local Chevy dealer look at it. He performed a water test. No definitive leak point could be determined. I was wondering if anyone might have any ideas or some prior experience as to where it might be originating from. I do have new door seals on both doors. I recently had the truck repainted. I know that water can travel quite far from it's original entry point to where it pools and becomes noticable. Are there any "tricks" to finding where it could be entering? I'm beginning to think it's somewhere in the firewall. Is there some sort of flourescent dye that can be put on the outside of the vehicle, spray water on it and then look for the point of entry with an ultraviolet light, similar to tracing an oil leak with special dye. I've been told to spray the firewall area in the engine compartment with very soapy water and then pressurize the inside of the vehicle with positive air pressure and watch for bubbles. Not quite sure how to apply positive pressure to the passenger compartment.

Would appreciate any tried and true remedies to find water leaks in the front half of the vehicle.

Thanks!

ghenton

RE: Water Leak
 

Might be the weatherstripping for the front windshield, my last car had the same problem but passenger side.

RE: Water Leak
 

Air Hose Test

Use liquid detergent diluted with water in a squirt bottle.
Use a helper inside the cab with an air hose.
Begin at the bottom window and gradually move up the window edges across the top, and squirt soap solution on the window moldings and the glass on the outside of the vehicle.
Important
Do NOT exceed the air pressure of 205 kPa (30 psi).
Use a helper to aim the compressed air at the same locations from the inside of the vehicle. Bubbles will form in the soap solution at the location of the leak.
This might work, if you have access to an air compressor.
Also, I'm not sure where they are, but there are drain holes under the air intake grill (in front of the windshield under the wipers) and you can check that they are clear.