Water intrusion Freedom panel question

[ArcticDreadnought]

I was parked on a slope for quite a while, plus my rear door seals on the front corner did not stop water coming in from back to front. The water would pool then come down the inside of my B pillar and soaked the carpet. Since I spend 2 weeks out of every month at work, the truck would have started to get a nasty mold problem.

I since have used JeepLeakFixed full kit plus replaced all my carpet with Armorlite. Overkill? Probably.
Completely fixed the problem and it will never happen again? More than likely.

Like the lady once said, "...we nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

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[Bayrat]

Oh the header seal, yes, a JK leak also.

 

[JCappy]

I am closely watching. My driveway is on a slop and I always park nose-down. It makes it fun since the fuel tank always reads lower than it is and can disable my remote start when it’s too low. Other than that I haven't seen any issues. I have pulled my panels a couple of times this year and will probably do it some more as the summer goes on.

I do the same thing. We are on a hill and I park nose down and have had no issues with the hardtop or sunrider leaking. Same issue with fuel reading. I like leaving the house when the tank is getting low and watching the distance to empty increase instead of decrease.

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

My seals leaked again today in the rain.

"Jeep life"

"It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand"

Okay okay, I know it's not fun. But there are solutions, albeit not always an OEM solution, or at least not cheap. That being said I'm hopefully getting mine resolved at the dealer next week.

 

[ArcticDreadnought]

My seals leaked again today in the rain.

"Jeep life"

"It's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand"

Okay okay, I know it's not fun. But there are solutions, albeit not always an OEM solution, or at least not cheap. That being said I'm hopefully getting mine resolved at the dealer next week.

Can you provide a pic or two of exactly where its leaking from and to?
I might be able to help diagnose.

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

Can you provide a pic or two of exactly where its leaking from and to?
I might be able to help diagnose.

I’ve posted in my thread about this. And while I appreciate the offer, the dealer I’m working with now has a pretty good idea of what’s going on.

By all means though, make your suggestion.

 

[ArcticDreadnought]

If they're taking care of the problem, then no worries. My only worry would be that the "noodle" in the corners of the doors, and on the freedom top area (especially on older models) that have a few years on them; the foam itself starts holding a memory imprint and wont expand and contract after a while.

Mine was specific to the rear corner top noodles on the front door, and the front corner noodles on the back doors, more specifically the rear right. Any time my Jeep was parked with a slight nose down profile, like me backing into my slightly angled driveway, the rain would roll forward along the top rain gutter and then instead of flowing down the seal and outward, it would come down the seal and go "backwards" over the old noodle in the door. Then it would come inside the seal, go down the B Pillar and absolutely soak my carpet. This was all due to my Jeep having sat on the lot for nearly a year, before I bought it.

Its honestly like when they tested the waterproofness of the Jeep seals, they only tested as if it were driving forwards into a shower, with air pressure pushing the rain backwards and over the seals. Any water moving forward from back to front seems to not be accounted for.

At any rate, be careful of the OEM replacement seals, as they really haven't been updated since the 22-23 model, and can have some of the same ageing problems, with lessened ability to expand back out after being compressed for a while.

 

[mkopec]

Can you provide a pic or two of exactly where its leaking from and to?
I might be able to help diagnose.

Mine leaked again the other day, right above the rearview mirror. All looks good as far as alignments and fasteners. The seals are in pristine condition. What gives?

 

[ArcticDreadnought]

Mine leaked again the other day, right above the rearview mirror. All looks good as far as alignments and fasteners. The seals are in pristine condition. What gives?

What were the circumstances of the leak? Was your truck parked at an angle?

Also, before replacing the freedom panels on the top, have you completely cleaned the rubber seals, end to end? Over time, the freedom panels will push down on those seals and they wont bounce back, due to aging. You can find several things to use after a complete cleaning (with something like Dawn Spray Powerwash, water and a couple of completely clean microfiber rags) such as 303 Seal Protectant.

Sometimes, the seal reconditioner is really all it takes to make them bounce back, but if the divots have become deep enough, and the seals aren't expanding back at all, you may need to replace them.

 

[mkopec]

What were the circumstances of the leak? Was your truck parked at an angle?

Also, before replacing the freedom panels on the top, have you completely cleaned the rubber seals, end to end? Over time, the freedom panels will push down on those seals and they wont bounce back, due to aging. You can find several things to use after a complete cleaning (with something like Dawn Spray Powerwash, water and a couple of completely clean microfiber rags) such as 303 Seal Protectant.

Sometimes, the seal reconditioner is really all it takes to make them bounce back, but if the divots have become deep enough, and the seals aren't expanding back at all, you may need to replace them.

The vehicle is always garaged when parked at home and very well taken care of. All seals are in pristine condition. I did some research before removing, cleaning, and applying this product lightly. Then just careful alignment and securing. This was on a level surface the whole day and presented after hand washing the jeep with a garden hose in the driveway.

 

[mkopec]

The vehicle is always garaged when parked at home and very well taken care of. All seals are in pristine condition. I did some research before removing, cleaning, and applying this product lightly. Then just careful alignment and securing. This was on a level surface the whole day and presented after hand washing the jeep with a garden hose in the driveway.

I would only add that the 2023 Gladiator (14k mi) and had the tops removed once when I first purchased to install an overhead molle panel right after I bought the vehicle, and now to address the water migration.

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