Definitive 2000-2006 cab-area rain water leak thread

Very carefully....

While there are 1st Gen glass removal youtubes out there, struck out on fixed glass removal.
Not knowing what year your AC is, I have attached the removal/installation instructions from a 2004 FSM, which should be close or exact for whatever year you have.
They combined fixed/sliding/power steps, so I highlighted all steps associated with AC.

 

Good point on checking the FSM! It’s for a 2003 AC so I reckon it’s the same steps as well.
Thank you!!

good news is the bed is going to have a camper shell on so if I do a shoddy job on the paint job, no one will see

 

Nice!

 

Hey all - 2001 access cab w/ the dreaded back seat corner leaks. I sprayed a targeted hose stream into those drainage channels and definitely had water entering the cab. caveat - I have the camper shell on now so can't see the bottom of those drain holes. (camper shell window is fixed, can't slider or pop it down to try to inspect the bottom drain holes). I tried threading weed eater line down and haven't been able to fix it yet. any other ideas on how to clean those channels? cleaning products I should shoot down the hole before trying more weed whacker line? hopefully the rains are almost over in California but don't want this to be an ongoing forever issue.

I tried to tape of the third brake light while doing this test, but with the shell on, I can only get it ~90% covered from above, not sure if it's somehow contiguous with that drainage/gutter system

 

Brake light (at least on my '06 AC) is not integrated with the roof rack channels, and isn't attached to the window surround on my power slider window. Separate housing for that brake light totally, but it does have a foam gasket you can't buy OEM (only aftermarket) to re-seal the 3rd brake light.

Good question on 'any good way to clean the channel', the best possible way to clean the channel would be with an extra long Burette brush sorta like this, in the smallest diameter you can get that'll fit into the channel, maybe 1/4" ? Then hit it with a jet of water after to flush it, making sure you have a towel in the cab for drips.

Look at reply # 27 of this thread. See that water streak? Is that roughly where your water is coming in, from the top of the frame? Or is it along the side, or only visible at the bottom corner?

 

interestingly I don't see any water streaking on the glass (ie reply 27), it's just collecting in the bottom corners in the cab, and if I fold down the armrest and open the velcro flap, can see a few drops coming down the middle. I cleaned the track and rubber all along the base of the sliding window and those drain holes seem to be functioning well... maybe I'll try getting one of those wire brushes and see if it's sturdier than the weed eater line

 

Wait - it's dripping from the bottom edge of the window, and at the middle, like, below the sliding middle window portion?

If accurate, thinking about the path water must take to reach the middle of the underside of the window, I can't fathom it's anything up top like the 3rd brake light. That doesn't make any sense.

Am I correctly reading that you cleaned the slider drains, there's more than one, all the way to the window bottom like this?

PS - I found the post where @NickB_01TRD did his 3rd brake light leak fix which shows you the guts of that hole since you asked. I feel like he also took some pics when he cleaned the slider drains out for the rear window, but I can't find that. Maybe he can give more details.

 

I honestly don't even see the water leaking from the window/glass, I see it collecting in the bottom corners of the cab by the carpet, as well as through the center back seat/armrest hole/flap thing. when I directed a jet from the hose into the drainage holes from the roof rails, it pretty quickly accumulates inside the cab. so agreed, it's probably not the third brake light. I think it's a clog in the back window surround, I'm just having trouble getting it cleaned/ flushed with the weed wacker line. I ordered some brushes on Amazon and will see if they can do the job any better... meanwhile in California it keeps on raining

 

Ah - so you're not seeing it coming down the cab wall, then.

The cab wall is a sandwich, IIRC.

The 3rd brake light opens up to the inside of that cab wall sandwich, up at the top of the window, and water leaking in there will usually either hit the headliner, or work its way to one or both sides of the cab.

The cab wall sandwich is crimped where the rear window gets installed, so any leaks there, I believe, can only go to either the cab interior, or outside of the body, but not inside that cab wall sandwich.

If you can manage to pull back the carpet and trace whether water is coming down the interior cab wall, or weeping out from inside that cab wall sandwich, it may give you a better idea of the origin.

I don't recommend spraying water directly down into the channel. The window isn't water-tight. You're going to get water inside if you force high powered water into that channel.

 

I was hoping to solve this without taking out the back bench seat so hard to say exactly but does appear to be weeping in along the inside of the cab wall (via peaking through the armrest flap). I sprayed in the channel hole assuming it would test if it was clogged or draining to the exterior as designed. When trying to thread with the weedwacker cord, it didn’t pass enough length to get to the exit drain hole at the bottom of the window so I assumed it was jammed along the way. Or the weed walker cord was too floppy (tried 0.65 blue and 0.8 green). If I need to pull the bench I will, but may try threading the recommended brush first. Thanks for all the feedback! The mystery is baffling

 

Yeah, when I did mine in post #27, I was able to get finagle weedeater line all the way out and down the bottom hole.

 

While not as prone for water penetration as the 3rd light and window, the back wall air exhauster vents can be a source of penetration. Been awhile but do recall a member post describing their find.

this is from a 2003 Tundra SR5....

 

appreciate all the ideas! without pulling out the back seat, I suppose I can't say w/ 100% certainty, but pretty sure I'm seeing some water come in straight down the middle (around where that bronze bolt is between the vents, and then it seems to drain to the lower places (both back corners). I'm going to park it "nose down" in the driveway to try to mitigate wherever happens w/ the rain where I'm at on the coast as a temporary solution.
long wire brushes should be here in a few days to try to cannulate the whole drainage system open. if that fails, I guess I'll pull the seat and investigate further. next step I guess would be take off the canopy/camper shell and check from the outside? or just give up and bring it to an auto glass place while I go to work... to pay for the auto glass folks to do it.

 

Now that summer is here and days are longer\warmer, I can take the shell off. It is leaky and looking nasty where it meets the cab. You can see the water patterns along the rear window. and tackle this problem once and for all. Thanks for the photos.

 

Based on what I'm seeing, it may be that the entire rear window needs to be popped out and resealed, honestly.

 

Drip rails also will be redone. Driver's side rear is lifted a good 1/4 inch from its seat. Going to say this is the main source of the water leak. Noticed these tuck under the windshield seal up front. No issue with peeling that back a bit to allow installation? I may be overthinking it just a touch.

 

I replaced these cowl clips about 2 and a half years ago and they have already failed. These were Toyota OEM clips. (Yes I cleaned this area thoroughly after these pics)

Beware the new clips as the foam seal is junk, every one of the ones I replaced had foam that crumbled when I touched it. You've got to use some type of sealant when redoing these unless someone has found a better, higher quality source for these.

@shifty` can you update original posting on cowl clips with info to reflect the quality of the new ones?