Hey folks, I have a 2008 Ford Ranger XLT, 2.3 L, automatic transmission. I am baffled by finding water on the carpet on the driver's side. I noticed a number of members have had such a problem, and I am guessing there are numerous reasons that would necessitate my trying to be methodical and rule out different possibilities until I find the cause. Those words I just penned are misleading because I am not mechanically inclined. I do change the oil and filter, replaced a busted taillight once, and installed protective covering on the top of the tailgate and side railings, but that's it. Any suggestions for someone with limited knowledge and skill level on how to proceed?

Oh, and by the way, I am a new member just joining today, June 8, 2018. I Googled the issue with my Ranger and up popped your forum, so I joined! I look forward to learning more about my little truck, and sure would like to save a bucketful of money by figuring out this water issue myself as opposed to taking it to a shop. I certainly would appreciate any/all feedback and suggestions...keeping in mind I may not know what the heck you are talking about and will have to figure that out as I go along. Thank you! Barry

 

Welcome to the forum

Most common issue Rangers had with water intrusion was from the 3rd brake light at the top, back of the cab.
Yes you would think it would be wet in the back not the drivers side front?????
But thats where the water runs to.

So that would be my first thing to check

2008 is kind of new to have windshield trough leak.
The windshield glass sits on a ridge, all around that ridge is a trough, water gets into this trough and sits at the bottom corners, and it rusts the metal.
If it rusts through then you get water leaking inside the cab.

After drying out the carpet with either of the above
Wait until a dry day and run water on the 3rd brake light, might have to wait a bit, but see if floor gets wet again
On ANOTHER dry day do the same to windshield

Do not do them on the same day.

3rd brake light, IMO, is just a replace the gasket without testing because it is easy to do, but up to you

 

Hey Ron, thanks so much for your suggestions. I will see if the local Ford dealership has the gasket for the 3rd brake light. I agree, that should be my first intervention. Should that not
resolve the problem I might reach out to you, if that's ok with you, to get more information on the second area, the windshield trough. Thanks! Barry

 

Just ordered a replacement gasket/seal online. Ford dealership only sells the kit which includes light as well. While waiting for the gasket to arrive, which should take a few days, I will cover up the truck and try to dry out the area on the driver side.

 

Sounds like a plan.


Windshield trough leak is a problem on all vehicles with a windshield..........so ALL vehicles

Not a common issue at all on vehicle less than 20 years old, takes a long time for it to rust through

 

As soon as I can get the carpet dry I will do a water test with the third brake light....might as well as gasket/seal won't be delivered for at least a week.

My gut impression is that any drain holes that may exist within the door or surrounding area might be plugged. For years my 2008 Ranger has been parked
where there's a considerable amount of pollen and pine straw, leaves, etc. I suspect clogged drain holes because the water is on the driver side carpet and is
on the flat part of the carpet in front of the seat...and that area is totally wet...but does not extend but just a few inches where the carpet angles upward toward the pedals.

 

Yes, on most of the cars or trucks I have owned I have added more drain holes in the doors.

 

Actually I did not order the entire 3rd brake light kit from Ford, and only ordered the gasket/seal from an online source.

We have been getting rain virtually every day and this week should be the same. I had covered the top of the truck, thus covering the 3rd brake light, both doors and the windshield with a plastic tarp; however, wind gusts blew the tarp away from the windshield in front of the driver side as well as well as where the door is hinged...and a little further back than that. When I checked the driver side carpet this afternoon it appears to have gotten drenched! So, looks like the 3rd brake light which was covered all the while is not the main culprit! So, could be the
windshield or a clogged drain hole or holes associated with the door. I am also betting it's the drain holes. I don't know how to access them or even know exactly where they are located.

If and when I figure that out and hopefully get the situation fixed I will need to determine if I should replace the carpet. That, again, for me, might be a major project....dunno!

 

It's been a while since I was having a water leak problem in my 2008 Ranger. The water had been on the carpet on
the driver side. I pulled of what I guess you would call access or inspection plates under the hood...one directly behind
the fuse box. Even when removing the top of the fuse box it was still difficult to remove the 5.5 mm bolt-head screws. The other
plate was more centered and had backing behind it which gave me the ability to stick my arm in and reach just a little toward the
passenger side. I pull out some pine straw and leaves, but really got a lot from the other location behind the fuse box...was able
to remove a lot of stuff. I also got underneath the truck and cleaned out a fair amount of leaves, etc., in what I would call call
(for lack of the true name) drain spouts under the truck on both sides close to the bottom of the doors. I ran a water hose
in the first-mentioned access plate under the hood and pushed it through what felt to be some sort of baffle....the water ran
freely through the spout on that side. I could not run the hose through the other opening under the hood as there was not
a lot of access as some metal part was blocking that...so I ran the hose on the top of the grill at the bottom of the windshield.
It has rained several times since and it appears (knock on wood) that all the above resolved the water leak issue....NOW, I
am not happy to report that my power steering is an issue. It was making noise when turning the steering wheel...accompanied
by a lot of squeaking under the front. I added LUCAS which is supposed to stop leaks...and that worked for about a week...now it
is doing it again...even though the reservoir indicated FULL I added a little more of the LUCAS. That appeared to work for a couple
of short trips...and now the issue is facing me again. Is this something I could repair/replace myself, even though I am not really
mechanically inclined? Any and all thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you! Happy Independence Day to all!

 

Try to separate posts into paragraphs for easier reading.

Access panels are to work on windshield wipers, or to clean out the drains, lol.

Ford power steering pumps are NOISY, always have been.

But a leak is a leak, gotta replace hoses or seals

Squealing noise is the fan belt, if you replace it you must deglaze the pulleys.
When a fan belt starts to squeal that means it is slipping on a pulley, and that means it is glazing/polishing that pulley.
Fan belt works on friction, needs a good grip, glazed or polished surfaces are NOT good grips.
So use Emory cloth to rough up surfaces, or paint the pulleys

 

Thanks for getting back with me regarding power steering, etc., issue. Turing the steering wheel makes it abundantly clear there is something going on with
the power steering that has, except for the past few weeks, never been an issue. The other noise under the hood is not the fan belt. It sounds like bad springs or
shocks, but definitely not the fan belt. A paint and body shop said that there can definitely be squeaking under the front with a power steering problem. Whenever the
power steering fluid was added, that stopped the noise when turning the steering wheel AND the other squeaking as well which sounds like a chassis noise, but to
me it does not make sense how that can be.

If there is a leak then why doesn't the reservoir show a reduced level of fluid?

 

Didn't say there was a leak, just said what to do IF there was a leak

If the fluid got low you can get air into the system
Stop on a dirt or gravel road and turn steering wheel lock to lock a few times that can clear out the air
You can do it on pavement just harder on the tires

 

Will try that. Thanks!