Water in the Jeep

[cowtime]

Is it ok that I ripped all the carpet out of the floor of my Jeep? Can I just leave it out?

I was gone for 5 days, came back and got in the thing to take it for a brake job and oil change only to be met with mold growing on the carpet and water standing in the floors-almost an inch deep on the right side front floor. The thing leaks because the T top on it doesn't seal properly.It's a design flaw I guess since everyone I know that has this hardtop has the same problem in some fashion. So, I took all the carpet out this evening, opened all the drain plugs in the floor and sopped out the water that didn't go out the drains. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I suppose it's little things like these that make folks NOT want to buy Chrysler/Jeep vehicles. My old Jeep had the same problem but not on this scale.

[s1m0n]

It's fine with me.

~~

I dunno what winter weather is like where you are, but up here I've seen replacement mats that contain a bit of a reservoir to catch the meltwater run-off from snowy boots. Every so often, you just dump it and put the mat back. If the leak is dripping directly onto your mats, you can try to see if these work better than going matless.

[cowtime]

Yeah, I've got those mats. If the water leaked onto them I'd be ok. The almost inch of water in the front was under the rubber floor mat.The water leaks onto the carpet in various spots. The carpet then wicks the water up and over and under and all around.

[s1m0n]

Well, the mat's not doing anything essential. If removing it helps, go for it.

[mutepointe]

Heck, I would even drill holes through the floor so the water drains out. I hear there is some off road vehicles that actually has a floor plug to make hosing down the inside of a car easier. I work out of my car too and I would love to just be able to hose down the inside of my car every so often.

[fearfaoin]

The carpet's mainly for noise reduction.
Lots of people who race rallies rip it out
to shed weight. No problems.

[cowtime]

Heck, I would even drill holes through the floor so the water drains out. I hear there is some off road vehicles that actually has a floor plug to make hosing down the inside of a car easier. I work out of my car too and I would love to just be able to hose down the inside of my car every so often.

My Jeep has a bunch of those drain holes. That's the first thing I did after getting the carpet out of there- remove the plugs and a lot of the standing water went out so I didn't have too much to sop out.

Thanks fearfaoin. I wasn't sure if the carpet served any real purpose-heat reduction/heat loss in winter or if it was just for looks. There's some thick spots where the carpet had some stuff stuck to it on the underside. Wonder if that was because the floor gets hot or if it'll be louder? I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I hit the trail again.

One thing my dh mentioned that makes sense- I am often very stopped up with headaches and stuffy nose when I get home. I bet it was all that mold/mildew etc that was in that carpet. I just didn't realize it with the window down all day. I'll test this theory tomorrow.

Of course none of this really solves the problem of the leaky top. Hmm wonder if this is a job for caulk?

[dubhlinn]

Meself and a friend of mine were having a drink or three in Dublin some years back and we met this Texan type of fella...

Where is Glendolough sez yer man...

Two hours or so, depending on what yer driving..sez me buddy.

Two Hours..sez Tex.

The Roads aint the best..sez me buddy.

Jeez sez Tex...I can spend three days driving around Texas and still be at home...

I had a car like that once ..sez me buddy...heap of sh*t.

The bus stop is second on the left.

Slan,
D.

[cowtime]

I spend an average of 5 hours a day driving around and am never more than about 30 miles from home....yeh mine is a heap too...a leaking heap..

But- no stuffy nose or feeling lousy at the end of the day today, minus carpet

[Innocent Bystander]

We used to have a "leak" on the Renault Laguna. In fact it was one of the rear doors not shutting properly. The kids would get out and let the door swing to (we think) and because it swings-to flush with the rest of the bodywork, it looks as if it is shut. But it isn't, and if you push the thing, it clicks and shuts properly. It's a real, well-documented design problem on this model. If it's not shut, the door modelling channels rainwater inside the car. Lovely.

[Paul]

Yes, Jeep Wranglers are toys. (albeit expensive ones) Despite being worked over to resemble family SUVs in appearance, Leaks, squeaks and the like are only to be expected from time to time. Hence the floor drains. There is a good chance that the leak is condensation from an air condition system whose drain is clogged or from a clogged and backed up drain channel and not from the roof panels at all. Locating and repairing the leak will be a challenge. If your dealer is any good he will have a vendor who is a mobile leak specialist that can help find the exact source. He would come to the dealership with his specific tools and such to work on your leaky Jeep. Some dealers try and do this themselves with some success but in some cases one of these specialists is required. I'm sure the right person will be able to correct your problem.

[cowtime]

Believe me my Jeep is not my idea of a toy- unless a toy for satan's spawn. Mine is my work vehicle.
I've driven one since 2003 and I honestly don't know why anyone who is not like me, with no choice, would ever buy one. A guy on my mail route has the same model- he loves them and has always had at least one for many years. He says his, a rag top, never leaks. This hard top is the problem, but my job requires the hard top for "security".

Unfortunately the Wrangler is the only thing available in factory Right Hand Drive or I'd have something else.

I know exactly what you are talking about Paul, with the leak from the air conditioner. I had that little problem on my first RHD Wrangler. It was a pain to get fixed.

This truly is a leaky top. The 2008 hard top is a "T" top. Some " genius" thought that would be a great idea.....NO- it must be a design flaw because I've found the leaky top to be a common complaint on Jeep boards with this model. We had a hard rain while I was gone and it just poured in obviously. I've seen it leak before but nothing like this.

Here's what I found-
first under the deep rubber mat- (the white stuff other than one scrap of paper is MOLD-Yuck


then under the carpet mat-


then under the carpet before I pulled the handy plugs-


the back had not quite as much water-

[mutepointe]

I'm the opposite of a motorhead, so let me say that I don't know what I'm talking about right up front. Have you considered covering the top of the roof with something to prevent the leak? I once had a neighbor who was putting some sheets of sticky detailing plastic type stuff specially designed for carss (think giant stickers) so that his car would look like a HotWheels car. There are also large magnetic advertising signs that you could stick and remove from the roof of the Jeep. Then of course, there is the ever popular duct/duck tape. I don't quite know how a T top and a door work together and that's why I'm claiming ignorance upfront.

[Denny]

well I don't think that it would be a good idea to duct tape a duck to her T top

[anniemcu]

Well... to lighten the load, perhaps, here's a different take on 'water in the jeep'.... Tapping water to make hydrogen to double mileage in any old car http://www.easthamptonstar.com/dnn/Home ... fault.aspx

Not that it rids you of mold or leakage, but might make the mileage and power more of a compensation than pain in the neck.