YJ Rain leak

Check the air input box, which is right under the grille in front of the windshield, and its drain, to make sure that it is draining properly. If this area fills up with water it will come right into the cab. The drain terminates in a rubber hose under the hood, that can be blocked by leaves or other trash that might get in there.

If the joint between the windshield frame and the bulkhead is rusted through enough to leak water, you have some serious problems. It wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the weather stripping, on a vehicle this old. I agree that you should not overlook this problem any longer!

Earle

Thanks for the advise.

I checked the air box and the water drains properly. I tried taking the dash apart to try to see where it was coming through. Unfortunately I got stuck around the glove compartment and ran out of time. It appears that once the water comes through, it runs along the lower lip if the dashboard frame. Depending on level of the road, it either poors out on the driver's feet or under the passenger side speaker.

I've googled the topic and had several people say the hinges leak. Would that much water come through the hinge? Are there any common areas that will let in up to 1 cup of water in a hard rain without any obvious trace? I thought about taping the spongy weather stripping between the windshield and the frame just to see if the leak stops. If the water was coming through the weather stripping, where would it go?

I suppose that the windshield hinges could leak at the bolt holes, but mine had a kind of gasket or a piece of tape, apparently to prevent this, when I took them off. They had a gob of silicon on each hole when I put the new hinges in. Why not just replace the weather stripping? It looks like an easy enough job. A rust through is certainly a possibility. Taking off the hinges, as indicated elsewhere in this group, is a S. O. B., but flipping the windshield forward is pretty easy, unless the torx screws for the "sports bars" are stripped or rusted. If the hinges give any resistance, hit them with some penetrating oil and wait a bit before the second attempt.

Earle

Fold your windshield down. It will show you right where the leak is. Takes about 10 minutes if everything is in good shape.

Just be carefull and make sure the hinges aren't siezed. Bending or breaking the hinges can be a real pain to deal with

yjarray wrote:

Having never folded the windshield down, is it just a matter of removing the torx bolts on roll bars and the plates above the speakers? Is there anything special about the weather stripping below the windshield? Can I use any closed cell foam?

Thx

You just remove those bolts, and fold down. If there is resistance, do not force things. Maybe some penetrating oil will loosen things up. The weather stripping has a cross section, that you won't easily duplicate with "any closed cell foam". Mine has gone for eleven years without leaking. If I get another eleven years out of the part that I install next summer, I won't mind too much paying whatever exorbitant price they want.

Earle