Leaking water by passenger floor

[w0by]

Everyone that has had or still has leaking water by their passenger floor due to the cowl vent leaking please email me @ wobby@wobby.net with your name, city and state if you wouldn't mind. I want Ford to do something about the problem.

Thanks.
Robert

[nailfoot]

How bad is yours/ was yours leaking? I have heard tells of some of them so bad that the rear floor board area was saturated when the carpet was removed.

[w0by]

mine was dripping a lot...and the passengers side was pretty wet...but I went and did that fix on this site which took about an hour to do a good job...and it doesnt leak anymore. But now the carpeting is dirty and I can't get it clean and the carpeting doesnt sit right anymore because it was wet for so long.

[waldbaro]

I'll email you contact info but the fix was easier than the paper hassles you have with the laywers.

[megaforcer]

For God’s sake stop your complaining, you people are such a whiners. You have a used car, its going to need maintenance. You can’t just blame everything on Ford. If you want all the stuff to work on your car then get a fucking Toyota and sell your Lincoln!!!

[w0by]

I'm not really looking to contact a lawyer I'm just trying to figure out how many people have the same problem. Ford Motor Co. told me that they are unaware of any leak problems, ha.

[98TC-Cartier]

If you were really lucky, they might tell you there might be a problem if there was a TSB published about it. But don't hold your breath, this is Ford you are talking about.

[waldbaro]

I really believe I got such a good deal (KBB trade-in price) at a FLM dealer because the previous owner got rid of because of the leak. The sales manager said he was going to eBay it.

[T.C. aka Town Car]

I bought a 99 TC Sig last week, and mine has that damn leak. Woby helped me out, and I tried the sealer thing. I don't know if it's fixed yet because the RTV is still drying. Mine wasn't too wet, but the entire right floor board and carpet padding is soaked. I have the carpet in my basement drying. My 99 only has 54k on it. I bought it for 6,000 dollars. The title is clean, but I wonder if the guy selling it knew about the leak? I wondered why it was go cheap. The carfax I ordered was clean too. I am the 3rd owner. Anyway, before I sealed the drain area, I took a 32oz glass of water and poured it along the lower lip of the windsheild. I could see water leaking in on the right side of the cowl vent/ a/c drain. Then I watched it trail down the RH front floor board. Hopefully this will fix my problem. I called the dealer, they wouldn't know there asses from holes in the ground. "There's no problems that we know of" Ya right. Then I called an automotive water leak specialist in my area. He told me the same thing you all did, and how to fix it. He says that he has done several of these repairs. He didn't even want to charge me for the advise. Hopefully I got it fixed now. Man, was I T'd off when i found it was I was vacuuming my "new" car.

[nailfoot]

I bought a 99 TC Sig last week, and mine has that damn leak. Woby helped me out, and I tried the sealer thing. I don't know if it's fixed yet because the RTV is still drying. Mine wasn't too wet, but the entire right floor board and carpet padding is soaked. I have the carpet in my basement drying. My 99 only has 54k on it. I bought it for 6,000 dollars. The title is clean, but I wonder if the guy selling it knew about the leak? I wondered why it was go cheap. The carfax I ordered was clean too. I am the 3rd owner. Anyway, before I sealed the drain area, I took a 32oz glass of water and poured it along the lower lip of the windsheild. I could see water leaking in on the right side of the cowl vent/ a/c drain. Then I watched it trail down the RH front floor board. Hopefully this will fix my problem. I called the dealer, they wouldn't know there asses from holes in the ground. "There's no problems that we know of" Ya right. Then I called an automotive water leak specialist in my area. He told me the same thing you all did, and how to fix it. He says that he has done several of these repairs. He didn't even want to charge me for the advise. Hopefully I got it fixed now. Man, was I T'd off when i found it was I was vacuuming my "new" car.

Good thing you pulled the carpet. If I am not mistaken, the 1998+ carpet has a vinal backing that would hold the moisture for a long time, rotting out your floor boards. Did you also remove the carpet for the rear floor board?

[T.C. aka Town Car]

Good thing you pulled the carpet. If I am not mistaken, the 1998+ carpet has a vinal backing that would hold the moisture for a long time, rotting out your floor boards. Did you also remove the carpet for the rear floor board?

Actually the carpet is one piece, and you are correct, there is a sponge thing that holds a ton of moisture in the carpet. Mine hadn't gotten too bad yet, but it is still damp. Hey, Is that your TC in the pic? If so, I could swear I saw it for sale on ebay once.

[nailfoot]

Actually the carpet is one piece, and you are correct, there is a sponge thing that holds a ton of moisture in the carpet. Mine hadn't gotten too bad yet, but it is still damp. Hey, Is that your TC in the pic? If so, I could swear I saw it for sale on ebay once.

Yeah, I bought it off of eBay. Drove 550 miles one way to get it in Indianapolis, and it has been a good car. Certainly turns heads.

[the Andrew]

For God’s sake stop your complaining, you people are such a whiners. You have a used car, its going to need maintenance. You can’t just blame everything on Ford. If you want all the stuff to work on your car then get a fucking Toyota and sell your Lincoln!!!



Actually, no, it is their fault, they designed the friggin car, it should f***ing work, everything should work, if I pay top dollar for the durability and ride of of a lincoln I want it ALL to work. If I wanted to listen to a small engine and feel every pebble in the road AND have to slame the doors THEN I'd get a toy-ota.

Design flaws aren't the fault if the user enless they themselves have modified it.

[T.C. aka Town Car]

I resealed the a/c vent and cowl like I was told too. This helped alot. Also, one of my floor pan plugs was leaking like a sieve, I found this out when I water tested my car. I took a hose and sprayed the windshield area for 10 minutes, no water on the floor. Then I sprayed under the car, and the front floor rear most body plug was letting water in. I seam sealed the piss out of it and now it's dry. I reassembled the carpet and I think I'm good to go. Other than the long drying time, the repair cost me 10 bucks. Thanks fellaz for all the help.

[megaforcer]

Actually, no, it is their fault, they designed the friggin car, it should f***ing work, everything should work, if I pay top dollar for the durability and ride of of a lincoln I want it ALL to work. If I wanted to listen to a small engine and feel every pebble in the road AND have to slame the doors THEN I'd get a toy-ota.

Design flaws aren't the fault if the user enless they themselves have modified it.


You didn’t pay top dollar, you have a 97 Town Car, I am sure you paid a little fraction of a new cars MSRP. So don’t whine. Some of these cars are approaching 10 to 15 years of service and there will be issues that will start to surface. Besides, that leak is an easy fix and there is not much to it. We are talking about cars and not dishwashers here. Manufacturer cannot predict what a car might do 8-10 years down the road. Its not bad engineering on Fords part is the chepo materials that they use and their corner cutting methods.

[Phil_Zulli]

I've read this thread and have two questions.

1. wOby said, "...I went and did that fix on this site which took about an hour to do a good job...and it doesnt leak anymore...".

Where is the instructions for fixing the leak?

2. Mine is soaked in the back seat passenger side only. Any ideas?

Thanks,

PHIL
2000 Signature Town Car - Black Beauty

[davidp2000]

I've read this thread and have two questions.

1. wOby said, "...I went and did that fix on this site which took about an hour to do a good job...and it doesnt leak anymore...".

Where is the instructions for fixing the leak?

2. Mine is soaked in the back seat passenger side only. Any ideas?

Thanks,

PHIL
2000 Signature Town Car - Black Beauty http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech/00117.html Here you go!

[Phil_Zulli]

Thanks for the link!

Any ideas on why the front passenger side is dry and the only the rear gets soaked? Are there channels in the floorboard under the rug that allows the water to go straight to the back?

PHIL

[davidp2000]

No idea:confused: I would pull out seats and carpet and water test;) Good luck!

[ekooke]

If the water shows up in the back seat floor only, suspect a rear window or rear door seal or trunk lid seal. If all those seals are doing the job, suspect rust perforation under the rear window seal bead.

[compucat]

I just bought a '99 Town Car and one of the very few things wrong with it is the water leak. I am very grateful for this site and the technical info on the fix for this. It does not appear that mine was leaking for very long, fortunately. I removed the cowl vent tray and took off the flimsy foam rubber gasket. I don't see how that gasket could have kept out water in the first place. I sealed the area where the cowl vent tray attaches to the body around the fresh air intake and the inside of the fresh air intake where it meets the underside of the steel. I have not had an occasion to test it yet. I want to let the sealant cure thoroughly before I let any water get near it. I hope it works. Does it sound like I sealed the right places?

Aside from that minor disapointment, I really love this car. The build quality, ride, looks and performance are great. Mine is a Signature Series with the premium sound system. I just love all the bells and whistles, especially the message center onboard computer.

[nailfoot]

Welcome Compucat!

Sounds to me like you hit it dead on! Have you removed the carpet so the accumulated water can evaporate out? The carpet has a rubberized type backing that will hold the water and rust the floorboard.

[Mr Wiggl3s]

You didn’t pay top dollar, you have a 97 Town Car, I am sure you paid a little fraction of a new cars MSRP. So don’t whine. Some of these cars are approaching 10 to 15 years of service and there will be issues that will start to surface. Besides, that leak is an easy fix and there is not much to it. We are talking about cars and not dishwashers here. Manufacturer cannot predict what a car might do 8-10 years down the road. Its not bad engineering on Fords part is the chepo materials that they use and their corner cutting methods.
You need some tampons man damn.

You may forget that some people arent made of money, and a $8000 97 lincoln town car IS top money.

No manufatures cant prodict whats going to happen 10 years down the road thats why they go ahead and put some good quality parts in there, so they wont have to worry about it.
My 88 right now is starting to go, the oil pump + pan is rusted, the Y-Pipe + muffler needed replace, but nothing MAJOR like a valve leaks, or gaskets, or anything like that.

Hell if i pay $8000 for a luxery car i'd expect that to last for a little more than 10 years, i'd expect it to see 15 years. I dont want to replace the carpet as soon as i get it, and find leaks like this, and spend another $1500 to fix it

[DB]

For God’s sake stop your complaining, you people are such a whiners. You have a used car, its going to need maintenance. You can’t just blame everything on Ford. If you want all the stuff to work on your car then get a fucking Toyota and sell your Lincoln!!!


Ooohh! Are we having a bad hair day? Or perhaps it is a no nair day!

[compucat]

Welcome Compucat!

Sounds to me like you hit it dead on! Have you removed the carpet so the accumulated water can evaporate out? The carpet has a rubberized type backing that will hold the water and rust the floorboard.

When I first discovered the leak, the rubber backing was wet like a sponge. After I sealed the leak, I put my hand under the carpet as far as I could reach and everything felt dry. We have had some really hot weather this past week (100 degrees) and I think it all evaporated.

[compucat]

Hell if i pay $8000 for a luxery car i'd expect that to last for a little more than 10 years, i'd expect it to see 15 years. I dont want to replace the carpet as soon as i get it, and find leaks like this, and spend another $1500 to fix it

That's about what my wife said when I told her that the car was leaking. She said "A six thousand dollar car should not leak."

You know what? She's right.

[Mr Wiggl3s]

She sounds like a keeper already ;)

[redpony]

is the repair the same for a 97? just a question here what if the passenger floor pan is only wet right were it dips from the front seat i cannot detect any dampness in the front 1/2 of the floor area but that little 1'x2' area is staying soaked.

[w0by]

I wrote Ford at their corporate headquarters and complained about the cowl vent that leaked and ruined my carpeting...Ford called me back and agreed to pay for new carpeting on my 01 Town Car...had it installed last week at my local Ford dealership....instead of $1,020.00 I only paid $260 of it.

[Mr Wiggl3s]

Wow epic bump

Mega that was a long time ago lol

[ElectraJim]

TTT

I've had a that same leak in my 98 TC.
Thanks to this forum (except megaforcer's advice :rolleyes:), I now have a guideline on how to fix it.

Those who did the repair, how successful was the repair, and did anyone have to re-do it.

Thanks,
ElectraJim

[ElectraJim]

TTT

I've had a that same leak in my 98 TC.
Thanks to this forum (except megaforcer's advice :rolleyes:), I now have a guideline on how to fix it.

Thanks,
ElectraJim

Photo credits in repair link due to megaforcer. ;)
It's really nice that people submit repair articles and photos that many, many need.
You just can't find that stuff in an off the shelf repair book.

Thanks,
ElectraJim

[bigltc]

I did this repair 2 years ago and its still going strong!

Thanks again to all for the repair guides!

[preston]

Had that leak on my 00 with 36K on the clock. Used the Tech article here to have a friend fix it (handicapped myself). it's dry, but I haven't tried to have the carpet cleaned, I hope I can get it out.