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Water Leak in 1997 Toyoto 4Runner

We purchased this SUV new in 1997 and have had no problems until now.

The SUV has been left outside a couple of times in heavy rains. When we open it up in the morning the driver side carpet is wet. It seems to start in the little gutter right by the door and spreads a little toward the middle of the driver's carpet. There is no water anywhere else.

I have pulled the carpet and under it all is dry. I have run a lots of water through a hose over the driver side window, and windshield and can not see a leak.

Anyone have any ideas before I spend lots of money with a dealer?

Reply to
Robert Brennan
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See the question above (rotting underneath?) and check the door seals well.

Reply to
Hachiroku

Check the condition of the door seals. When you close the door on a piece of paper, there should be resistance when pulling the paper out. Check the drain holes on the bottom of the door. If you look up at the bottom of the door from underneath, you will see several holes - poke a wire through to make sure they are not clogged.

Check the condition of the weatherstrip on the outside of the window to make sure there is not a large gap between the weatherstrip and the window.

If you have a sunroof, make sure that the drain on the driver's side is not clogged and exits under the car.

Reply to
Ray O

Thank you very much.

Reply to
Robert Brennan

Do you own a dog? ;)

mike hunt

Reply to
Mike Hunter

You're welcome!

Let us know what you find.

Reply to
Ray O

Hi all,

I too have found this leak in my 97' 4runner. It is exactly the same as the original post.

Has anyone figured out the root cause? I saw the drain hole on either side of the sunroof, but it wasn't plugged. I don't know where it drains out on the bottom though. I was thinking of blowing it out with my air compressor???

The drain holes on the bottom of the door do not seem to be plugged, and looking at the configuration it would drain below the door frame anyway.

does anyone know where the sunroof hole drains?

Everything is dry behind the dash and firewall.

Regards,

J.D.

Reply to
opqual

The original post was long enough ago that I do not remember it or the solution.

Yes, you can blow out the sunroof drain holes with your compressor. If your pour water down the drain, you should be able to see where it comes out.

It may be difficult to find 10 year old TSB's, but I think the fix may be covered in one of them.

Reply to
Ray O

Thanks for the reply. I ended up plugging the one hole with an earplug from work. The other holes seem to be picking up the slack ok. I think the tube came disconnected, and although the car is in good shape, the cost to fix this at the dealer isn't worth the effort.

Regards,

Op Vancouver,Wa:D

Reply to
opqual

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