2001, 379, how do you remove headliner to find water leak?

Howdy All,

I recently (December 13th) bought a 379, I bought the truck in Minnesota, the inside of the cab was DRY. I drove the truck to my home in Washington, where I live right up against the west slope of the Cascade Mountains it rains 89 inches a year here, that is NOT a misprint it starts to rain in October and it doesn't stop until late May.

Long story short, water is puddling in the extreme right hand corner of the cab way back under the dash right up next to the firewall. I can't see any evidence of leakage on the inside of the cab nor can I see where it could be leaking from the outside but I suspect from what I have read its either coming in from around the windshield or from the clearance lights or horns on the roof.

I am also seeing the floor getting wet under the drivers seat and from the drivers door toward the drivers seat, again I don't see any place the water is coming from.

So I have been looking at the headliner but don't see any obvious fasteners, any tips on how to remove the headliner with out wrecking it and tips on where to look for water leaking that's wetting the area around the drivers seat sure would be appreciated. Thanks.

Dave

 

Howdy LoJackDatHo,

Thanks for your reply. Its raining here every day, all day, I haven't used a hose but I suppose I could give it a try, can't see water running anywhere, its just wet. If it is leaking from the clearance lights or the horns unless the headliner is removed I don't know how I would see it.

Dave

 

Howdy Klleetrucking,

Thanks for your reply. The Pete is a whole new animal to me, I love this truck but had I known it was a leaker living where I do, I would have seriously thought about not buying it. I'll have a look at the areas you suggested and see if I can spot anything. I don't have a shop or anything where I can get the truck under cover so standing out side in the rain and taking things apart to look for loose or leaking fasteners is not something I really want to do.

If I had to earn my living with the truck I'd just take it in to a shop and throw money at it as I use it to tow a large RV if my wife would ever quite working I'd just fire it up drive SOUTH where its warm and dry and not worry about it.

Dave

 

Howdy special-k,

Thanks for your reply. That is very good information I would have never thought of cranking the fans up on high and spraying soapy water from the outside. I have had most of the dash apart looking for leaks and haven't seen any indication of water running down the firewall. I have most of the lower dash panels out now as I am tapping into the air application gauge air line to run an air line to the brake controller that will work the RV trailer brakes, while all those panels are off I was looking for leaks.

I am "ASSUMING" that if water is leaking from the roof clearance lights or horns it must first be running under the headliner before it can run down a wall. Like I said above the Pete is a new truck to me its build quite different then my Freightliner so figuring out to look behind the dash and other parts of it are at this time quite the challenge. Thanks for your tips.

Dave

 

Howdy BoxCarKidd,

Thanks for your reply, that's another good idea I would have never thought of pressurizing the inside of the cab to look for a leak on the outside of it, this should work even better when turning the fans on as well.

Dave