I'm not that familiar with internal parts, but my 2003 civic was leaking water when it rained. When I took off the cowls to take a look if I could pinpoint anything that looked out of the ordinary, I noticed there was some duct tape job covering half of the top opening of the blower unit (the oval opening). See attached photo.

That surprised me, because if it weren't for the duct tape, it looked like there wasn't much in between that could prevent water rushing through the opening of the blower unit. Just a foam filter, I suppose.

So my question is: Is there supposed to be something covering that blower unit? I've been digging around the internet to see if there was some "cover" or "filter" but according to the diagram, it doesn't look it, but maybe there is some sort of rubber or foam rim that's supposed to be there?

I've finally come across some photos of blower units that have DIY foam strips around the opening, and was wondering if that's all that was there in the first place and if I should just stick new foam strips (probably found at Home Depot right)?

If so, maybe some tips on how much to use, etc...? Thank you for your help on this.

(diagram I found on the web also included)