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That mat will hold water. Water could have got in there a month ago. I noticed that one day when I pulled my mat up. I used to hose out the inside. In even the warm Summer weather, a month or two since I washed the inside... it was soaking wet. So from then on I stopped washing the inside, even carefully. Good luck.
My advice is the same as the others. Check the door and window seals first. The caulking is factory, nothing wrong with it if bonds properly and works. You might just be parking at just the right angle somewhere for a leak in the body to be a problem. The worst part is.. you have no idea when or where that is. The hose trick using the positive pressure and soap makes sense, as does just emptying it out to look carefully inside.
Last edited by dberladyn; November 30th, 2018 at 5:10 PM.
Could be. I thought the same at first. I think it's just dirt and mildew. It doesn't get physically cleaned there. Of course you had the same problem from ladder racks so maybe you know better.
I thought I would update my progress, if you want to call it that. On Sunday we had a nice sunny warm day, I took out a couple of things in the very back of the van and folded back the mat and vacuumed it out as good as I could and let it get the sun on it through out the day. I also discovered that in the very corners right next to the C pillars that the floor drops down about an inch or more and they were both completely filled with water. I dried those up and stuffed rags in them to get completely dry. The following morning, backed down the same driveway I have been for the job I'm on and later noticed water dripping again so I felt the padding and it was soaked again and found those 2 corners filled with water again. No rain, no dew. I am totally stumped. Somehow water has to be trapped and gets moved when I drive and park on a hill but that still doesn't tell me how the water is getting in in the first place. It might be a while before I can figure this out if I even can. I took off the back weather stripping and redid it, caulked any seams that looked a little open, took off lights and third brake light along with plastic trim piece. I did discover that vent behind the passenger tail light that someone had mentioned and will be trying the pressure test with soapy water after when I get the next chance. Very frustrating
The other day I civcove up the vent behind the tail light and did the soapy water test with the vents on full blast. I did have some places where bubbles were showing but like the front windows where I have in channel vent visors and at the bottom of the where 2 doors meet, none of which will let water get under the cargo mat. I do have a lot of air blowing out about halfway down on the small barn door on the side but the way it is designed any water should run right past there and down to the bottom and out the bottom. Today I took out a bunch of stuff out of the back, unbolted shelving in the driver's side and folded back the mat and padding as much as possible and there are literally probably at least 2 gallons of water in the pad. I ran water on top of the van and looked everywhere and didn't see any water coming in. There is a splice in the mat at the bulkhead with a small gap in the padding and it seems pretty dry on the front side of the mat. I even unbolted the storage/ filing cabinet in the front and checked under it and it seems pretty dry also. I see no holes on the floor of the van other than where the shelving was bolted in and the original place the were when I got the van ( I rearranged a little). I had all the old holes caulked in. I have never been so stumped by anything before. I plan on taking out the shelves from the other side tomorrow and folding the mat back all the way. I have been under the van about 5 times investigating and seen nothing. It looks like new and most of it is covered with an aluminum heat shield so I don't see how water could really splash up and get in. The wheel wells are solid and most of the water from the tires would stay in the wheel wells. I keep thinking that I may still have a windshield leak and it is somehow getting to the back but have seen no evidence of that.😠
At this point, I wonder if it's worth taking the rubber mat completely out for a while, in an attempt to see anything as it happens Maybe even the front as well. If you're right about a windshield leak, .it'll be wet there too.
I would do that but I am in the remodeling business and I have a lot of heavy tools and boxes etc that would be sliding and falling. The front is completely dry up by the foot wells but very slightly damo where it meets the rear. There is also a booked that is holding down the mat and I am hoping not to cut it. HipHopefu tomorrow I can get some kind of idea what's going on.
You need to find out where water is hitting the floor. Stripping the interior might be the only way to do that. And not just the floor. I was convinced the problem was the back floor/doors until I noticed through a hole with a flashlight that water trickling down through the inside of a pillar. It's tricky because the sheet metal is double or even triple layered in some places.
Where the water is pooling inside does not have to be anywhere near where it is actually penetrating the exterior, but it will still help to know.
Originally Posted by Iamchevyvanman
I ran water on top of the van and looked everywhere and didn't see any water coming in.
Did you try with the van parked at different angles?
Here's how GM does it.
The water pressure at the nozzle should maintain a 155 kPa (22 psi), for at least 4 minutes.
Driving can create pressure differentials that draw water inside places that would not ordinarily leak. Like a house being beaten by the wind.
Post some more pics if you can. Especially this:
Originally Posted by Iamchevyvanman
the very corners right next to the C pillars that the floor drops down about an inch or more and they were both completely filled with water.
Another strategy is to use a bright light or compressed air.
Last edited by mountainmanjoe; December 16th, 2018 at 2:27 AM.
not sure if this was mentioned..but i had water in the rear of the cargo area once too.
mine turned out to be coming from the AC area under the passenger dash
what happens is inside the hood cowl, water gets in there and is supposed to drain from a tube. this tube gets clogged and fills up water and ends up overflowing into the AC air inlet, into the cabin, and down to the rear of the cargo area.
November 30th, 2018, 5:06 PM
