Just to update my friends here who have given me a lot of good advice and direction in finding a leak that I've been tracking for over a year now. Add about another 5-6 hours of labor to my total, so I'm likely up to about 60 hours. Previous posts have been under the "A-or- B pillar leak found."
First, 2 weeks ago I took out the headliner, and got all excited as the LR sunroof drain was blocked well with a twig and tar, likely mashed in there by the sun roof machinery. There was some staining on the inside of the light fiberglass headliner, and this was right above where the carpet always got wet and mildewed. Waited for a nice long rainstorm to do the acid test. I really thought I finally found the problem with this twig blockage, but after a good over night rain I looked and NO, the sunroof drains were dry, and the puddle of water in the LR foot well, was back.
Knowing I only had the leak issue with the nose down hill, (this was the only thing that wasn't consistent with the sunroof theory) I figured I'd remove the entire rear seat assembly, insulation at the rear of the cab, sub woofer, etc. and see if I could check the flow of the water. The weekend was very wet, complete with melting snow on the sunroof, good conditions to track a leak.
I got all the pieces out of the back of the cab and the next morning I look in at the LR foot well and look down where I've pulled up the rug and the jute, and there is a puddle of water 6" long and 2" wide. There is a trail leading back to the cab rear bulkhead, clearly defined by a rusty trail. I see a small puddle of water by some seam sealer about 1/2 ahead of the rear wall, indicating the water likely came through the bulkhead. To my total frustration, the wall is double spot welded steel, so I can't completely track to the entry point. All that work, and another roadblock.
You can't even tell if it's the rear window seal at this point, as the sheet metal obscures the bottom seal of the window frame. This could be a candidate still. In both rear lower corners of the rear bulkhead wall ("RBW") there is some foam rubber stuffed inside, I guess as sound deadening material. After pulling these out, you could see water in both of these cavities, at the bottom. The wall is about 2.5" thick at this point, between the inner and outer RBW metal walls. There are no other holes to get a look inside this space except a round 2" hole about 20" from the left side of the truck. The sheet metal on the floor there is an inch or so higher then at the 2 corners. Inside this space you can the sheet metal is totally dry and dirt free, indicating no leaks going by this area in the middle.
I almost wonder if the foam rubber in both corners was put there to absorb leaks? I realize that's a real long shot, but how come the hole in the middle doesn't have any foam rubber?
Meanwhile, the front corners of the pick up bed would be about the same height as where we are talking about at the rear of the cab. My drains in the bed are clear, I've checked that several times too.
A month ago I attempted to remove the entire bed, but couldn't get the bed floor out due to it's weight and binding issues, especially at the lower storage bay.
Are there any body men our there who have worked in this area of the truck? Should I pull the rear wheel housing liners to see if I can see a any obvious gaps in there between the bed and the cab?
Any body have leak issues with that rear window?
There has to be a body man out there who has worked in this area of the Ridgeline- 1st generation ("R-1")
I'll try to post a few cell phone pics later today.
HELP!!
Bluemill
First, 2 weeks ago I took out the headliner, and got all excited as the LR sunroof drain was blocked well with a twig and tar, likely mashed in there by the sun roof machinery. There was some staining on the inside of the light fiberglass headliner, and this was right above where the carpet always got wet and mildewed. Waited for a nice long rainstorm to do the acid test. I really thought I finally found the problem with this twig blockage, but after a good over night rain I looked and NO, the sunroof drains were dry, and the puddle of water in the LR foot well, was back.
Knowing I only had the leak issue with the nose down hill, (this was the only thing that wasn't consistent with the sunroof theory) I figured I'd remove the entire rear seat assembly, insulation at the rear of the cab, sub woofer, etc. and see if I could check the flow of the water. The weekend was very wet, complete with melting snow on the sunroof, good conditions to track a leak.
I got all the pieces out of the back of the cab and the next morning I look in at the LR foot well and look down where I've pulled up the rug and the jute, and there is a puddle of water 6" long and 2" wide. There is a trail leading back to the cab rear bulkhead, clearly defined by a rusty trail. I see a small puddle of water by some seam sealer about 1/2 ahead of the rear wall, indicating the water likely came through the bulkhead. To my total frustration, the wall is double spot welded steel, so I can't completely track to the entry point. All that work, and another roadblock.
You can't even tell if it's the rear window seal at this point, as the sheet metal obscures the bottom seal of the window frame. This could be a candidate still. In both rear lower corners of the rear bulkhead wall ("RBW") there is some foam rubber stuffed inside, I guess as sound deadening material. After pulling these out, you could see water in both of these cavities, at the bottom. The wall is about 2.5" thick at this point, between the inner and outer RBW metal walls. There are no other holes to get a look inside this space except a round 2" hole about 20" from the left side of the truck. The sheet metal on the floor there is an inch or so higher then at the 2 corners. Inside this space you can the sheet metal is totally dry and dirt free, indicating no leaks going by this area in the middle.
I almost wonder if the foam rubber in both corners was put there to absorb leaks? I realize that's a real long shot, but how come the hole in the middle doesn't have any foam rubber?
Meanwhile, the front corners of the pick up bed would be about the same height as where we are talking about at the rear of the cab. My drains in the bed are clear, I've checked that several times too.
A month ago I attempted to remove the entire bed, but couldn't get the bed floor out due to it's weight and binding issues, especially at the lower storage bay.
Are there any body men our there who have worked in this area of the truck? Should I pull the rear wheel housing liners to see if I can see a any obvious gaps in there between the bed and the cab?
Any body have leak issues with that rear window?
There has to be a body man out there who has worked in this area of the Ridgeline- 1st generation ("R-1")
I'll try to post a few cell phone pics later today.
HELP!!
Bluemill
