I have an 89' Accord LX-i that as of last week started to leak. It has been rain like crazy here all summer, but last week after a heavy rain the drivers side foot well was soaked. I drove it in the rain yesterday and felt a little water drip on my foot right above the dead petal, but I can't see any spot on the exterior where the water is getting in and it seems impossible to trace it from inside without removing the whole dash! Anyone had a similar experience? Ideas what to check?

 

Got a sunroof? Front drain tubes are inside the A-pillars, maybe they're deteriorated with age?

 

Yes, I do have a sunroof. I will try pouring a little water into the sunroof track and see if it drains into the footwell. Thanx for the idea!

 

i have seen those leak from the windshields..........not enough sealant

duct tape the whole windshield edges . get a water hose and spray the living crap out of it . if no water gets in,, remove tape and spray again if water gets in , you found the issue

if water still gets in while windshield is taped , tape other areas and spray water till you find the problem

window was all the way up,, correct ??

 

I first tested Jim's theory and sure enough it was the sunroof drain tube (poured some water in the sunroof gutter and it drained right onto the carpet dripping from the wire bundle under the dash). Access is extremely limited where it must connect to another exit drain tube somewhere in the frame next to the dashboard, so I resorted to yanking the drain tube out. There is no easy fix. After messing around and looking for any other way to drain the water somewhere else I decided to run my own longer drain tube to run the water past where it entered the cabin. I grabbed a longer piece of poly-hose (by shear luck I had some air hose in my basement that was about the same size). After several attempts, and making the mistake of taking the door off to try to help it past the door wire harness (don't do this because the tube snakes through another channel that does not intersect that wire harness anyway) I got it to pass the point where it drains into the cabin and it now drains somewhere in the lower frame and out of the car. The trick was to cut the hose on an angle and twist it as I snaked it down the A-pillar. What a pain! But the alternative of water draining onto the floor for the next few years was not really an option.

 

Well, I knew the drain tubes go down through the A-pillars. I figured it would be a pain to run new tubes, but didn't really have any good ideas for how to do it. Anyway, thanks for the update.

And now that it's too late, I found a picture...

 

My draintube was very brittle and had cracked where it plugged into item #12. That picture is great to have but doesn't show the structure all around that drain fitting that that makes access to that point all but impossible except when the dashboard is removed. I think the 80's Honda engineers may have under estimated just how long their cars would have lasted.