So I started removing panels, fascia, etc. to access the heater core and pipes this afternoon but before I get too far down the road and break some plastic piece that's going to aggravate me with buzzing/rattling every time I drive the car, let me ask some advice to make sure I'm not chasing a wild goose. Evidence: the fluid level in the coolant reservoir is definitely low, there are no signs of any leaks in the engine compartment (radiator, water pump, thermostat, throttle body heater, expansion tank, and all lines between those or the coolant lines to/from the heater up to the firewall). And I haven't found any damp spots in the carpets on either side of the center console in the cabin. However there is this puddle behind the front driver's side wheel in the picture.


It was much bigger a couple days ago...
In the next picture, the fluid is dripping from the inner ridge on shinier strip just inboard of the edge of the body, about even with where the back of the crossmember (not the chassis attachment point) is. There's not a drip showing there as I'd already wiped it off with my finger...


There's not much smell to the fluid but it is orange-ish, like the DexCool stuff, and slick until it started to dry on my finger, then got almost sticky. If this isn't coolant, what is it? If it is, where the heck is it coming from that it would puddle in this spot? Where do the drains from the sunroofs drip out (could it just be rusty water from those--although that wouldn't explain the oily feel of the water)? I'm kinda stumped unless it's coolant leaking out of the end of the core on the driver's side and finding its way out of the vehicle before it soaks through the carpet. Hopefully I'll know more after I get the rest of the stuff out of the way so I can get a better look at the core and interior pipes.

 

Oh, by the way, any suggestions on foam insulation to replace the stuff that was on the cardboard panel under the glove compartment/blower assembly? Mine was completely crumbled and fell in chunks on the floor when I removed the panel. I'm assuming it's sound insulation to deaden some of the blower motor noise.

 

If the foam was black and in thin strips it was from the air directional flappers that open and close to send the air where you select. Mine have all deteriorated.

 

I'm pretty sure it was a flat sheet that fit the cardboard panel--some pieces were still stuck with some sort of weak adhesive to the top of the cardboard and some fairly large chunks looked like they had been where holes in the sheet were cut to fit the two openings in the panel.

 

Here's a picture of the majority of that insulation

 

This afternoon I removed the rest of the stuff required to get access to the heater core and inlet/outlet pipes and there was no evidence of any leaks, past or present. Everything bone dry and no staining, etc. Small puddle still in same spot on the ground under the driver's door hinge area. I went to the driver's side and checked the other end of the heater core sleeve, which is solid plastic, and there were no cracks, nor evidence of any coolant leaking out that end. However, the carpet on the driver's side was wet; but only along the door sill from where the carpet and door sill trim piece meet to about an inch or so inside that. No indication of anything flowing under the carpet to that area, so I'm beginning to think that puddle is not coolant after all. But what else would leak in that area? Sun roof drain? Driver's door window seal? But if it's just water, why is it so slow to evaporate and why does it feel oily at first, then sticky as it dries on my fingers? (On the other hand would coolant do that...) I'm wondering if it's water and leaking through the door/door hinge area if it's picking up oil or grease along the way--and maybe a little rust coloring when it's dripping off the bottom of the car. There's not much rust to pick up color from, but you never know. Anyway, after I put everything back in the interior, I'll pull the door trim off the driver's door and see if there's water in there. If not, I'll head back to the drawing board...

 

Put a clean container/pan under the drip spot.

The black plastic cowl drains down into fender...and usually leaves water marks on pavement..

 

I'll try that. Does it matter if the cowl is in about four pieces? All there, just not one solid piece anymore... I had to replace the driver's door window motor, regulator and lock actuator a while ago--maybe the trim on the outside at the top of the bottom of the window is not sealing against the window properly? It rained the better part of last night and today--we'll see if the puddle is bigger than it has been the past couple of (dry days).

 

Doesn't appear to be the cowl, or the plastic front corner pieces of the drip rail, both of which are broken and I'm sure rain is running down through the channel between the A-pillar trim and the windshield frame but that seems to have any route into the car. I reassembled the passenger side of the dash and interior, then went over to the driver's side. Still no evidence of a leak coming from the heater core but the carpet is still wet from the edge of the rubber sill trim to about an inch or so width into the carpet and from about 4 inches in front of the seat base to where the floor board starts angling up toward the firewall. It's especially wet at the low spot in the floor just forward of the door opening, up against the trim panel. I took some paper towels and pressed them against the carpet and they definitely soaked up some orange-ish (or maybe pink-ish?) liquid. So the only scenario I can come up with for coolant getting all the way over there without leaving any obvious trail on the passenger side or on the driver's side from the heater core down the transmission "hump" and across the footwell, is if the leak is somewhere up toward where the inlet/outlet pipes pass through the firewall and squirting sideways toward the driver's side up high enough to get over the hump. However there's so much stuff in the way, I don't see how that could be happening. My other fear is the possibility of brake fluid somehow getting back through the firewall and running down the driver's side & pooling against the door sill. Is there any pathway (bad seal, etc.) for brake fluid to get into the cabin? Wouldn't it be more of a reddish color? I'm stumped...