Whelp, I have a water leak

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

smithwessn

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Posts
458
Reaction score
770
Ram Year
2012
Engine
5.7L Hemi
It was time to rotate the ole KO2's. I keep the splined socket for the lug nuts in the under seat storage bin. I flip up the left rear seat and the under seat storage lid, move some gloves and ratchet straps to find the socket. The carpet in the bin is wet. WTF? We've had rain here for the last 3 days. A lot of it. The carpet is wet all the way to the back of the cab. My first thought was the damn 3rd brake light is leaking. Again. But the headliner is dry, which is usually wet with a 3rd brake light leak. Not sure how long its been leaking, but I have noticed a bit of a musty odor in the truck lately. I guess that would explain that.

I removed the rear seat as well as the upper and lower C pillar trim on that side and had my kid hose down the area while I looked for the leak inside. A river proceeded to flow across the bottom of the back window and down into the corner of the cab. I double checked to make sure the rear slider was fully closed. It was. Crap... That isn't good. I ran out of day light but tomorrow I think I'll remove and reseal the brake light on the off chance that it's the source of the leak and the water is somehow running down to the bottom of the rear window. I highly doubt that's the case. I have a feeling I'm going to have to take it to a stealership or body shop. I guess the good news is the cost to repair it should be significantly less since I already have the interior removed.

I guess there is one other good thing. I've been thinking about doing the rear seat fold down mod since I bought the truck new. 8 years ago. Lol. I may as well go ahead and do that while the seats are out of it.
 

crash68

ACME product engineer
Staff member
Administrator
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2016
Posts
10,698
Reaction score
16,704
Ram Year
2015
Engine
3.0 EcoDiesel
Some people have reported that the cabin pressure relief vent(s) leaking. Those are on the back wall of the cab accessable by removing the back seats
 
OP
OP
smithwessn

smithwessn

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Posts
458
Reaction score
770
Ram Year
2012
Engine
5.7L Hemi
Definitely not the vents. I completely removed the rear seat and pulled back the padding. The water is running along the bottom of the rear window, down the channel where the cables run for the slider.
 

ajs3

Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Posts
79
Reaction score
99
Location
Long island, ny
Ram Year
2014
Engine
5.7 Hemi
Check your third brake light. Notorious for leaking. They loosen up, the gasket, if you want to call it that, rots and falls apart. Happened to me.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 
OP
OP
smithwessn

smithwessn

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Posts
458
Reaction score
770
Ram Year
2012
Engine
5.7L Hemi
Is the frame cracked on the rear slider, usually on the upper frame, check the drains on the track.

I'll have to check for cracks and clogged drains. I didn't notice drains in the track when I was looking for the leak. Clogged drain would definitely be best case scenario but there's an awful lot of water flowing in which would seem to indicate something else is going on.
 

bigdodge

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2014
Posts
523
Reaction score
310
It's a clogged drain home most likely. They are very hard to see. Just use compressed air front and back until it quits. It to me a few tries to get mine flowing.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
OP
OP
smithwessn

smithwessn

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Posts
458
Reaction score
770
Ram Year
2012
Engine
5.7L Hemi
The far left side drain holes were so full of crud that I couldn't even see them. I had to run a pick along the track to feel for them. I cleaned them out, hosed down the back window again the leak didn't return. I may still buy the slider gasket set and replace them just for the peace of mind.

Thanks for the help all!
 

fijicorey

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2017
Posts
176
Reaction score
186
Location
Orlando, FL
Ram Year
2015
Engine
5.7
I had this exact same problem! I was going nuts trying to figure it out as I already fixed the brake light issue. My fix was using compressed air along the sliding rear window track. @Hemi395 absolutely saved me from a big repair bill.

I also ended up replacing the vents while I was in there. My OE ones were in pretty bad shape.

A tropical storm just rolled through last week and dropped a ton of rain. My truck was 100 percent dry inside.
 

MrHarleyGuy

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Posts
124
Reaction score
16
Ram Year
2013
Engine
Hemi 5.7
I just had a leak too, was the third brake light. The gasket ***** the bed after a while, mine is a 13'.

When i took off the light, i was able to see water behind the area where the headliner is.
 

njjeff201

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2020
Posts
190
Reaction score
127
Location
Sparta, NJ
Ram Year
2021
Engine
5.7 E Torque Hemi
It was time to rotate the ole KO2's. I keep the splined socket for the lug nuts in the under seat storage bin. I flip up the left rear seat and the under seat storage lid, move some gloves and ratchet straps to find the socket. The carpet in the bin is wet. WTF? We've had rain here for the last 3 days. A lot of it. The carpet is wet all the way to the back of the cab. My first thought was the damn 3rd brake light is leaking. Again. But the headliner is dry, which is usually wet with a 3rd brake light leak. Not sure how long its been leaking, but I have noticed a bit of a musty odor in the truck lately. I guess that would explain that.

I removed the rear seat as well as the upper and lower C pillar trim on that side and had my kid hose down the area while I looked for the leak inside. A river proceeded to flow across the bottom of the back window and down into the corner of the cab. I double checked to make sure the rear slider was fully closed. It was. Crap... That isn't good. I ran out of day light but tomorrow I think I'll remove and reseal the brake light on the off chance that it's the source of the leak and the water is somehow running down to the bottom of the rear window. I highly doubt that's the case. I have a feeling I'm going to have to take it to a stealership or body shop. I guess the good news is the cost to repair it should be significantly less since I already have the interior removed.

I guess there is one other good thing. I've been thinking about doing the rear seat fold down mod since I bought the truck new. 8 years ago. Lol. I may as well go ahead and do that while the seats are out of it.
Are there drains in those slider channels? If you access to compressed air I'd blow out the lower channels and look for drain tubes. If you have those tubes, blow them out.
 
OP
OP
smithwessn

smithwessn

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Posts
458
Reaction score
770
Ram Year
2012
Engine
5.7L Hemi
Yes, there are drains in the track. I hit them with a can of computer duster air since I don't have an air compressor. ( ☹ maybe someday) Anyway, it's been fine ever since.
 
Top