sammon287
Member
Spoiler: Cabin pressure vents
I just wanted to share my experience so others may benefit. I had the not uncommon experience of finding wetness and surface rust under my rear seat. I very carefully resealed the third brake light. When I had it removed, I didn't see any signs of water getting past the seal, but was still pretty confident that my problem was solved. In retrospect, I never had any staining of the headliner. After some significant rain, I found it was very wet under the seat again. I turned my attention to the window seal. I ran a garden hose at the top corner at the rear edge of the rain gutter for several minutes with no water intrusion. It looked like a tiny gap behind the seal there, but nothing was getting in. I ran the hose for a while at the top of the back window in line with the driver side rear head rest. Finally, I got water dripping inside. I still didn't know where it was getting in until I pulled the single driver side rear seat totally out and pulled the sound deadening panel. It was practically pouring in from the top edge of the cabin pressure vent. The vent is just snapped into place from the outside of the cab. It could be wiggled around due to the loose fit. It was easy to squeeze the retention tabs and pop it out, causing it to fall to the ground. (the passenger side was a much tighter fit and had to be forced out vertically between the cab and bed. I removed both vents, laid a thick bead of 10yr 100% clear silicone caulk I had, and snapped them back in. I had to trim some plastic with a box cutter to make it easier to get the passenger side vent back in without touching the fresh silicone bead. A subsequent hose test resulted in no water intrusion. I took a bunch of pictures since I haven't seen this leak documented elsewhere. Here is one with water pooled on top of the passenger side vent.
I just wanted to share my experience so others may benefit. I had the not uncommon experience of finding wetness and surface rust under my rear seat. I very carefully resealed the third brake light. When I had it removed, I didn't see any signs of water getting past the seal, but was still pretty confident that my problem was solved. In retrospect, I never had any staining of the headliner. After some significant rain, I found it was very wet under the seat again. I turned my attention to the window seal. I ran a garden hose at the top corner at the rear edge of the rain gutter for several minutes with no water intrusion. It looked like a tiny gap behind the seal there, but nothing was getting in. I ran the hose for a while at the top of the back window in line with the driver side rear head rest. Finally, I got water dripping inside. I still didn't know where it was getting in until I pulled the single driver side rear seat totally out and pulled the sound deadening panel. It was practically pouring in from the top edge of the cabin pressure vent. The vent is just snapped into place from the outside of the cab. It could be wiggled around due to the loose fit. It was easy to squeeze the retention tabs and pop it out, causing it to fall to the ground. (the passenger side was a much tighter fit and had to be forced out vertically between the cab and bed. I removed both vents, laid a thick bead of 10yr 100% clear silicone caulk I had, and snapped them back in. I had to trim some plastic with a box cutter to make it easier to get the passenger side vent back in without touching the fresh silicone bead. A subsequent hose test resulted in no water intrusion. I took a bunch of pictures since I haven't seen this leak documented elsewhere. Here is one with water pooled on top of the passenger side vent.
Last edited:
