New twist... This past week we had over 12 hours of heavy rain. The Dakota was parked in its usual spot once again, but this time the interior was dry. The only thing I can that was markedly different was the temperature. During the past two heavy rains the temperature was in the 40°F range. This time the temperature was close to 70°F when the rain began and remained in that general range for most of the rainfall. Anyone got a clue as to what gives here?

 

when cold seals shrink a little so maybe?

 

Man.. if you dont start pulling pannels off during a heavy rain or have someone soak tht truck with you inside wiht a flash light looking for drips, wet spots and stuff like that I don't think youll find it..

It was not till i got in my truck with an LED flash light doing just this i found my leaks.. both half windows was leaking.. couldnt see it till i shined light on it during a heavy rain i could see the wet spots from top and even after replacing seals i can see wetness around the seal but its not enough to come in anymore..

Then i traced yet another leak i thought was fixed to the back glass seal I thought was coming from 3rd brake light.. but i couldn't see with all the panels on.. and i really had to look for it..but was there if you shine the light tiny tiny leaks was allowing enough water to accumulate and the flow would push it forward into the front floor board..

Maybee next time it drops temps get someone out with a hose and start soaking the truck.. sure your water bill will be higher when doing so (or you can wait for rain) but pull the pannels out of the truck and start searching for the leaks.

 

2000 dakota opened the driver door and a inch of water in driver floor the wetness went back toward the rear extra cab part under the seat area sealed rear window as I did on my 1500 ram that fixed it on it I'm going to seal the brake light as well pass side dry

 

I had an inch of water myself. I knew there was a leak wasn't sure where. Luckily for me I was in the middle of a stereo install when I discovered where. I had my seats, rear panels out running amp wires & replacing all the factory speakers and it started pouring that day. Because the insulation that was glued to metal in my dak is gray and when wet turns much darker after an hour of downpours I quickly spotted the culprit. The rear window in the top corners where it curves the seal allowed water to enter. It then ran down the rest of the seal dripping straight down through the insulation and then slowly collecting in floorboards. Even when carpet was dry on top the padding absorbed so much it just collected. Again luckily for me interior was pulled already because I had to remove headliner to properly caulk up there with my caulking gun. It's probably possible to seal it up without removing headliner but I'm messy and didn't want to do job twice.

 

Thats exactly where mine was coming from Bizarro ; i went back in with a solid window being the center was leaking too and i really dont like ghetto rigging the Dak.

Also the mirros has that same foam crap seal they liked to use.. i siliconed it up since they make youbuy a whole new one.. that took care of all the leaks.. my carpet is nice and dry now..

 

Since the weather has warmed I don't have the front floor problem anymore, but I am still getting water dripping down my back (it's a standard cab) every time it rains. With all else I've got going on (doctors, doctors and more doctors with a lawyer and real estate deal thrown in for good measure) I haven't had time to tear the interior down to find where it's all coming from. Hopefully that will change by the middle of May.