Diagnostic Tips

The first thing to do when repairing a water leak is to determine the root cause of the leak. Ford Motor Company has noted a number of different locations where water leak issues can arise on the Thunderbird/Cougar. Refer to the following list when addressing a water leak concern. Water may come from the outside of the vehicle as well as the evaporator case. Always check the evaporator drain for blockage prior to performing any of these steps. The following is a list of areas where a water leak is possible:

1. Water dripping from the floor ducts when the A/C is operating on vehicles built Job 1, 1989 through 10/15/93 are most likely exhibiting a condensate carryover from the evaporator core. Refer to TSB 94-2-12 for Service Procedures on this concern.





2. Water dripping onto the floor in vehicles built after 10/15/93 or in vehicles built prior to that date which have been serviced following TSB 94-2-12 may have condensate leaking from one (1) of the following sites (refer to Figure 2):

a. The evaporator tube seal. Condensate forms on the liquid line inside the evaporator case. When the blower motor is operated on HIGH, condensate is blown against the inside of the seal and eventually leaks from the case. Condensate droplets will fall on the passenger side, just above the carpeting on the sound absorber. In very high humidity, this leak may appear within 10-15 minutes of A/C system start-up. A leaking seal can be observed in the vehicle with the use of an inspection mirror. Leakage from this area and area b described next, may be significant enough to saturate the carpeting over a long period of time.

b. Case seam near evaporator tube seal. There is a seam between the upper and lower case halves adjacent to the recirc door linkage This seam may not be adequately welded during assembly When this occurs, condensate may leak from the case in this area. The seam is not visible when the evaporator is assembled in the vehicle It is difficult to determine between leaks from this source, or source a, above. Generally, leaks from this source may wet the recirc door vacuum motor, while leaks from source a, above, fall directly onto the sound absorber.

c. Heater core cover seal. This foam seal may become saturated with condensate and drip on the passenger's feet. The source of this condensate leakage is visible through the glove compartment opening. Condensate leaking from this area may fall near the floor ducts, giving the mistaken impression that condensate is dripping from that duct. The volume of condensate from this location is usually low, typically about one (1) drop every several minutes.

3. Water accumulating on the floor can come from these other sources not related to evaporator core condensate.

a. Water may enter the vehicle around the evaporator drain seal from the outside due to the lower evaporator case-to-dash mounting stud not being properly torqued.

b. Water may leak into the passenger side kick panel on 1994 and 1995 models built through 8/10/94 due to insufficient body sealing in the right A-pillar/cowl area. If the kick panel area does not drain this water due to rustproofing or debris, the water can potentially build up and reach the carpet, or the water may find a path to flow onto the carpet when making its way down from the cowl area. This leak source is very rare and is outlined in TSB 94-22-5 for other wiring corrosion concerns.