I am working on my daughter OT 4x4. These things are notorious for leaking up under the dash. The cowl vent is seam sealed on both sides but after 40 years, no longer holding water. The area is extremely hard to reach even with the access plugs out and wiper motor removed. So here's the query. She furnished a gallon of POR15 bed liner for me to spray in the bed. My Schutz gun has a 36" flex hose attachment for shooting inside frame rails. What if I hosed that POR15 bed liner inside the cowl area that is leaking water into the cab? Do you think it will seal it? I don't want to make a bigger mess in an area I cannot easily access. Yea or Nea!
We had a 1 ton van with a man lift bucket on top of it. The roof got badly corroded from acid on a site. After we got that cleaned we didn’t think paint was going to stick. Pinholes, especially around the gutters. We sprayed it with bed liner and it sealed up and lasted for years. But it was an exposed visible surface, we could see what we were doing. Hard to say in your case how big the gaps are.
If you hose that stuff in and then it don't work and you have to go in there and weld, wouldn't that be a bigger problem? That said, if it were me I would hose it in, and I mean hose it in!
I am going to run my scope in there and see what I am dealing with before plunging in. If it looks like hair line fractures this ought to work. If it is bigger, I'll need a better strategy.
One problem is there is probably lots of surface rust and nothing you spray in there to try to seal it up will have anything to substantially adhere itself to.
If it is a Jeep the cowl vent should have a drain. These can easily get clogged and cause the water to enter the cab and spill into the floors. I have to clean them out once or twice a year on the Jeeps I own. Some models don't have the best design for the cowl drain and need a little re-engineering.
According to POR-15......it ADHERES to rust. In fact they recommend you just lightly brush the flaky stuff off and apply their product to the rusty area. Billy.....on older Mustangs with a leaky cowl a lotta guys use a removable plastic cover over the cowl grill. When outside or rainy conditions (like PNW !) Remove it when traveling...install when ya park it ! 6sally6
I have a buddy who's 64 1/2 rag top has a rusted out cowl. I'll mention the cowl condom to him, cheaper than chopping out the cowl, welding and paint work. No, since this is now in the OT forum it is a 81 SR5 short bed, short cab 4x4 PU. I have spoken to guys that are into these trucks and they say it is most common to have the seam sealer shrunk up inside the vent area and no longer sealing. They talk of making a s**** tool to reach in there and apply new sealer. I was just thinking my fix my be easier, cover better and faster. POR15 seems to like rust and humidity. I hope so because her truck bed is covered in surface rust. I plan to wire brush and apply this stuff per the instructions.
The website says the POR15 bedliner is applicable over rusted surfaces once scales and loose bits are removed. I won't be able to clean down in that vent area tho.
That's what I was afraid of. If the rust flakes off, the POR flakes off with it. If you could s****e the loose stuff off, it would probably adhere for a while.
My thought is that the seam sealer works between two surfaces and where it shrunk is rusty. If the Por doesn't get between the seams, it can't neutralize the rust in there. You may coat it with a blanket of Por and prevent water from coming in, but the rust will still exist and continue to work. I like the Por idea, but I think it depends on whether you can make a spray tube that can shoot into the seam before coating everything around the seam. Does the seam allow water to rise upward into the cowl or is it a downward flow? I got a new neighbor thats only about 5 feet tall and maybe 100 lbs. Made friends with him and remove the snow off his steep drive with my tractor. He's real limber (young) and great for tight spots. Maybe you need a friend like that....... (Oh, I bought one of those 4 post disconnect switches like you recommended......thanks)
Funny you should mention this. My dad and I built my youngest sister a 66 Mustang, which are notorious for the cowls rusting out. We didn't know that until later. Dad chased leaks like that that forever. He went as far as building a Plexiglas cover with weather stripping and quick turn fasteners, for rainy days. It was sold and the cover was still in the trunk....problem never solved.
The only correct fix on a stang is cutting wheel, welding, painting. I thought I had the same issue on the little PU but they thought to add drains and clean out holes in the firewall so you can get to the leaves and debris. My daughter lives on Mt Hood and this truck sees the elements with no indoor storage. I have to seal it up even if it means cutting and welding. I think the bed liner is worth a go first.
You can get spray on leak sealer for house roofs and gutters no idea if it’ll work but might be a better option than bed coatings.
And I have used Flex Seal before and it works great but what they don't seem to make is a spray can with a hose like Eastwood sells for undercoating inside frames. I can't get a can or a paint brush in there. If I bought liquid flex seal, I wonder if it would spray through my schutz gun and hose? Can it be thinned? Hmmm
You can buy them off Amazon eBay etc. Just need to decide if youve a male or female connection on the spray can
Rust needs oxygen to continue to grow and POR15 seals it so no oxygen gets to the metal, hence no more rusting, ***uming that you get it covered completely. Edit; Clarification on what POR15 does and doesn't do.........it does not neutralize rust, it encapsulates it to prevent any further rusting!
You would think by now I would have shoved my inspection camera in there and taken some pics but it like 100 degrees in my garages this week by the time I get home from work. I am not expecting rust though, I am expecting hard , dried up seam sealer that is no longer sealing anything.
Before you slather a sealant (think roofing tar, bed liner, etc.) around the trouble spot hoping to cure the problem, give a think to what your next step will be if that doesn't solve the problem. Removing the "solution" material and doing a "cut out and weld-in new" might become a bigger project than if you just take that approach from the get-go. It doesn't sound like your daughter is likely to give up her pride and joy just for a leak, so you can rest ***ured she'll be after to perform a second repair if bedliner (et al) doesn't work. Good luck!
What I'm picturing may not be what Bandit Billys problem actually is. I'm thinking that there is an external point that allows moisture to seep into the seam and work its way out the other side of the seam into the vehicle. Sealing it on the inside may prevent it from continuing to the inside, but would not prevent it from entering the pocket in the seam from the outside. So, the moisture would continue to collect inside the seam if the Por is not forced into the seam as well. I converted a "job box" into a large parts cleaning tank with diesel fuel in it. Try as I might, I could not get a minor leak to stop by welding a seam in the bottom. Finally, I got some Por tank sealer and put it around the "inside" bottom seam. Wala.......no more leak. In my case it sealed the origin of the leak rather than the result of the leak, but basically the same thing as what you are saying.
Jeff, your dog is posting again! I'd try to bottle brush, rag on a rope or something to at least knock down the dirt and leaves in there before spraying, but I don't know the details of access. If this is a family heirloom, I'd even consider pulling the HVAC to access, but I know Toys tend to be right in the middle and a lot of work.
There's no way to cut out an "inspection hole" in the firewall? Get in there and brush and re-seal and then weld up the said hole ? (go ahead....somebody comment about my said hole !!!!!) 6sally6
What you just said gave me an idea............This may not be possible, and since I can't picture the shapes involved, all I can do is toss it out and see if it might be adaptable. Could a heavy bag or some type of enclosure be taped to the "outer" surface with some type of small frame inside to prevent collapse. I'm thinking a small wire thingy like a french fry basket or whatever. Then hook a shop vac to the bag and create a vacuum to **** air thru the seam. Spray whatever thin sealing material on the inside of the seam and see if any ****s thru to the outside. Kind of similar to using a smoke machine to find a vacuum leak. It might get the stuff into the seam. Then coat around the inside area to finish sealing it. Will it work......????????
That is a feasible idea. If I can't reach it why not make a better access? I can bolt it in for that matter for the next guy. I thought he was swearing at me.
The Jalopy Journal
