Am I Missing a Cover on the Cabin Air Intake System?

[mgrimes]

My 2006 LR3 has just upgraded itself with the passenger footwell swimming pool accessory! As others have experienced (and posted about), I get soaking wet carpet on the passenger side of the vehicle after nearly any rain.

I've checked the sunroof drains and they seem to be clear. I've also put silicone sealant around the posts on the A Pillar (I will probably order new pillars, but I want to see if this fixes the problem first). It seems like those are the two problems most people have experienced, but in pulling things appart, I noticed that my cabin air filter was filled with leaves and soaked. In one of my "leak test" (ie, turn on the hose and see what happens) without the air filter installed, I saw water dripping from near where it goes. I also noticed that the intake seems to be exposed. I'm wondering if there was supposed to some sort of cover that was removed by mistake as some point.

If you take out the cabin air filter, you can see all the way from the glove box out under the hood. Do others have some sort of cover on this thing? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Thanks for your help!
Mark

 

[roverman]

No, oddly enough that is how it comes
See here

http://www.landroverworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14507&highlight=Windshield+cowling&page=7

A little piece of flashing and a few rivets does the job.

 

[mgrimes]

Thanks, I'll give the homemade cover a try. I'm not sure that is the cause of my leak, but I can't believe the filter should be getting that wet.

With the help of the thread you pointed me to, I tracked down another (worse) problem: the sunroof drain (no surprise). I had ruled that out at first because water drained out of the sunroof to the ground. After more pulling apart, I got into the side grill air vent and saw the ****** that the tube connects to doesn't poke through the fender just abuts it. I wonder if someone was too aggressive with the trim fix. Part of it drains through the fender, part drains back into the vehicle.

I think I need to get access to the tube/****** from the inside of the fender in order to replace it. I've seen detained step explaining how to access the elbow on the driver's side, but I haven't seen anything about accessing the passenger side. Any tips?