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Hey Chris (nice name :). You are not alone with your water leak problem! I just went through that nightmare a few months ago. It took my mechanic and I serveral attempts and a month or so before we could finely elminate the problem. Here's the problem: Under the cowl (in front of the windshield) on the passenger's side, there is a large inlet; that is were the blower motor sucks it's air. The inlet is a straight tube that is directly above the blower motor. Above this inlet and below the cowl there is a plastic shield that is supposed to be sealed to the body just under the cowl on the windshield side. Well, this shield isn't attached any more (most likely). The water is running off the windshield and directly into the inlet and then down into the blower motor. So, you'll have to remove the cowl. To do so, remove wiper arms, and there are three bolts attaching the cowl which you'll have to open the hood to get to. There is one bolt on either side of the car and one at the top of the firewall in the middle. Once the cowl is off, the problem should be apparent. The shield must be ***COMPLETELY*** (and I stress the word!) sealed to the car under the windshield (you'll see how and where it fits). My mechanic and I had to take my Vo's cowl off 2 or 3 times and keep resealing the shield before it totally sealed. One little tiny hole in the sealant will cause your floor to become wet again during the next rain storm. I used urathane as the sealant and the last time I sealed it with about an inch or so of the stuff to get it completely sealed. Watch for sealing problems around the little plastic windshield supports (I had to completely cover one with urathane). Once you are done and it is cured, remove the blower motor (if you haven't already) and look straight up the hole to see if you can see light. If not, then SOAK the area with water from the top to see if any water gets through to the inside. If you are completely satisfied that there is no more leak, put the cowl back on ***Side note: the cowl design was changed in '90 to a different design. This design is prown to rusting from the inside along the windshield edge. Before reinstaling the cowl I suggest putting something on the under side of it to protect it from rust. I use stuff called 'FluidFilm' (urikafluidfilm.com I think) which is very good and environmentally friendly. My whole car is rustproofed with this stuff, including the floor under the sound deading (hint, hint :)...*** Once the cowl is reinstalled put the rest of the car back together and keep checking the floor for the next little while to make sure the leak is fixed. Also, there are a couple other potential leak areas to check while the car is apart. One would be were the A/C pipes go through the firewall between where the passenger's feet would be. Another is a cover that is sealed over a hole at the bottom of the 'a' pillar behind the 'Jetronic' computer. Lastly, check any body seam sealer for degradation as well as the cover for the wires that go into the door. I hope this helps, and good luck with solving the leak! Let me know how it turns out :)
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Chris. Halifax N.S. '91 745Ti, 269K km.
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