First time I've run my 98 XJR through the car wash since I bought it. Heard a trickling noise all of a sudden, looked around and then saw a pool of soapy water on the drivers side floor board. Funny thing is, afterwards I looked up under the dash and didn't see any water anywhere. Stuck my hand up high toward the firewall, above the brake pedal area and felt behind some wiring / insulation and it was wet.

Would this indicate the windshield leaking or?

 

More likely the drain under the hood is plugged. I don't have a XJ8 to look at, but I'm sure someone on the forum will be able to direct you if you can't find it.

 

Regarding my interior leak. I sprayed water on the windshield and under the cowl area and noticed the water was just pooling up under the cowl and not draining. There's one drain hole on the plastic cover underneath the wiper motor. I found a rubber flap covering the hole...I assume it is supposed to be there and allow for the water to drain slowly? Not sure...well, I grabbed that and it just came out altogether and the water dumped out. I'm fine with not having it in there.

However, I found the leak was coming from a split seam in the panel under the cowl area. Right where the two metal panels join. There is supposed to be a sealant there that had split, allowing the water to leak into the car. I sealed the split, and will see if the leak is taken care of tomorrow after everything is cured up.

 

Clean the dirt out of the rubber flap and reinstall it: it diverts water for a reason.

What did you use to seal the split (did it work?)?

 

I would reinstall it if it actually let the water drain out, which it did not. The water pooled up in the are below the cowl and did not drain.

And I have not checked to see if the repair worked or not. Going to go spray it down here in a bit.

 

Conclusion: The repair I did fixed the leak. Sprayed down the windshield and space under the cowl and not a drop under the dash. Success.