Pics & Vid of dash water leak fix on 05+ Mustang

[Sharad]

I've heard about the FORD TSB on the water leak behind the dash on the passenger side of 2005+ Mustangs, but I was hoping it wouldn't happen to me. Yeah right! (I'm not so lucky...)

Wednesday night on the way to church to drop off the kids for VBS, we got hit by one of those South Florida torrential downpours. When I pulled into the church driveway, I noticed some water dripping under the glove box... after I recovered from the initial shock, I flipped the BlackBerry to video mode and recorded the water leak. This was from mild acceleration in second gear: 2006 Mustang water leak :: VID00022-20110623-1757.mp4 video by sraldiris - Photobucket (http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/?action=view&current=VID00022-20110623-1757.mp4) That is CRAZY crap right there! I was freakin' out!!!

So I dropped off the kids, walked out to the car, and I just couldn't handle the anxiety. I started taking the car apart right there in the parking lot! (no tools, and no real idea of what I was getting into)

First I pulled off the passenger side windshield cowl panel:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00611-20110623-1835.jpg

It is held on by two of those plastic fasteners with phillips head screws in them. I didn't have a screwdriver, but my pocket knife worked just fine:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00610-20110623-1834.jpg

On the bottom side, it had four or five of those plastic snaps. The one all the way on the right, near the antenna, requires some delicacy... you have to lift it up and away from the windshield, but it's kinda tucked under the fender there. Be gentle:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00609-20110623-1833.jpg

The cabin air filter is in the cavity that the cowl panel was covering. You remove it by lifting up on the top lip of the filter housing:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00608-20110623-1833.jpg

When it's unclipped at the top, just tilt it forward and lift it out:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00606-20110623-1832.jpg

Filter is out, and there's room to work:
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00594-20110623-1819.jpg

Do you think the filter was dirty?

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00595-20110623-1819.jpg

I mean, seriously... this is nasty. Incidentally, these are locating pins on the bottom of the filter. You'll have to line these up with the holes in the housing when you reinstall the filter:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00607-20110623-1832.jpg

Next, I just reached in that cavity and started fishing out the crap by hand. (a lot like cleaning out a gutter on the roof of your house, same stuff inside too) The water was about 3 or 4 inches deep. That's where the water inside the car was coming from. It poured through the cabin air filter and into the interior behind the glove box. Not only can this make your carpet nasty and mildewy, but it can destroy the BCM or whatever it is back there behind the passenger side kick panel. I've heard of people's power windows and dash lights getting messed up from the water leak. Anyway, here's some of the crap I fished outta there:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00596-20110623-1820.jpg

I've never done this before, so I had to feel around to find the rubber drain. Horizontally, it's halfway between the battery box and the passenger side valve cover. When I was feeling around for it, I accidentally pushed it out the bottom of the cowl. It fell out onto the passenger side exhaust manifold. It wasn't hard to reach from the engine compartment though. Here's a picture of me sticking my fingers through the hole where the drain plug was:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00604-20110623-1830.jpg

[Sharad]

This is the drain hole from just in front of the cabin air filter housing:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00602-20110623-1830.jpg

Close up of the opening:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00603-20110623-1830.jpg

Uh, yeah, it was slightly clogged:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00598-20110623-1823.jpg

It was bulging with leaf stems and other crap:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00597-20110623-1823.jpg

I dumped out its contents:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00599-20110623-1823.jpg

Then I washed it out in the restroom sink. God doesn't mind. Besides, I wiped the sink down after I washed off the drain plug.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00600-20110623-1826.jpg

All better!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00601-20110623-1828.jpg

Then I put the cleaned plug back in:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r98/sraldiris/2006%20Mustang%20water%20leak/IMG00605-20110623-1831.jpg

The reassembly process was the opposite of the disassembly process. No problems! The whole thing was maybe 20 minutes total, taking my time, and with no tools. Of course, I didn't have a cabin air filter with me since this deal just sort of hit me with no warning, but Advance Auto Parts sells them for about $21.

Anyway, that's my experience with fixing the water leak problem. It was much easier than I'd thought. I had read about people fixing the problem, but hadn't ever seen pictures of it. My recommendation is to check your drain periodically, maybe once a year, to make sure it doesn't clog up. It's EXTREMELY stressful to see water pouring out on the floor like that. Thankfully, the problem was solved with minimal drama, and I wasn't late for my appointment at the Ford dealership to test drive a new 2011 Mustang GT.

[Buckeye]

dude if that was my car I would disassemble and paint the entire cowl panel with Kbs or por15 before you have a rust issue

[duststang]

great write up thanks for the heads up. I will check mine tonight when I get home.

[Sharad]

No problem. It's very easy to check if yours are clogged. (there's one on the driver's side too, but they usually don't have anything in them on that side. Mine wasn't clogged) From the engine compartment (without removing the cowl panel) you can just reach down between the battery tray and pass side valve cover and pull the drain plug out. If it's plugged like mine, it'll be solid and you should remove the cowl panel and clear out the contents. If it's not plugged, you can put it right back in, no tools required. It's really easy.