Blue_Thunder

iTrader: (1)

When it rains hard water comes into my car. I already know my door seals and weatherstripping needs to be replaced. That and I need to figure out how to keep water from filling up my right side door. But I can't see where exactly water is coming from around my headliner. Well where the headliner is supposed to be. I can see water dripping in the front inbetween the two sun visors right over the rearview mirror. But all that is there is metal isn't it?

UNCLE TOM

iTrader: (1)

you need new 'T' top seals . there are several good tech articles in this forum . spend some time , read them all , check your car and decide what direction to go . this leak is all to common in our 'T' top cars . as a " temp " or " band-aid " fix there is always duct tape . yes i know , and i am from the south . if you find a color tape that is close and lay it down neatly , trim neatly . it doesn't look that bad [ from a distance anyway ] , and remember its only a " band-aid " fix . WORKED FOR ME !!!!

UNCLE TOM

iTrader: (1)

almost forgot you should pull up carpet , dry , check for rust underneath . fix rust before it gets worse . LOL

Jtufts

my camaro's in the same boat , my trunk which i replaced 2 times and redid seals 2 times and yet it still fills up with water , i had to take out all my steero equipment and i still cant find were its comming from

i ended up bunching 2 holes in my trunk with a screw driver and filling it with silcon and then pushing a smaller screw driver in so it would at least drain

i even went to the automated car wash and laid in the back and i still cant find it i pretty much gave up on it

Avernus

This is only an Idea so please don't slam me.
Parts: Silicone, pam wax spray

Plan: Spray t top edge near the opening with Pam. Apply a generous amount of silicone to leaking area. Install T top into silicone. Let dry. remove T top and add a bit more silicone. Reinstall T top. Let Dry.

Water tight.

just a thought.. rebuttals?

Blue_Thunder

iTrader: (1)

I don't know if its my T-tops or not because where the rubber is for the t-tops doesn't leak. The water ddrips in over the rearview mirror. Thats all metal up there.

Guro 305

Ever bothered checking the t-top bar? I don't see how water is going to come in from the front unless there is some bad rust under the t-top bar from years of water damage.

Blue_Thunder

iTrader: (1)

Thats what I was thinking. It also could be the windshield too

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

i had a very simalar problem with my 87 t/a...it wound up being that the center piece (the thin piece thats worth like 400 dollars somehow in the center of your roof) was leaking....it has a compression fit gasket that i'm assuming can wear...when i did my t-top seals i pulled that up and put a more than generous amount of black RTV silicone glue and then mounted it again and i havent had a problem since....you will not be able to get that piece up without getting new seals for your car because the stock ones will just tear and pretty much turn to dust lol...i hope this helps, mine leaked right on the center console, up near the radio, and drowned the back of my car so much i took out a tape and had 2.5 inches of water back there on the floor...my idea to fix that was first wet-vacing it and then taking a space heater and putting that in tehre for about a half hour with the windows barely cracked...it helped a lot until it rained again lol
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oh by the way, heres another idea that i did, just to try to insulate the car a little, i got Great Stuff (ya know, the foam stuff) and taped off all the holes except for a couple and just started pumping that stuff up there, it helped show up any little rust holes that i had at all, but yeah, i'm telling ya, its the compressed rubber gasket under your t-top bar, im pretty confident about that because youre getting all the same problems i did, including the water on the rearview...just look out that you dont let it go for too long because thats how my center console switches got wrecked

Guro 305

So you basically spackled the hell out of the metal under the t-top bar with black silicon and that did it?

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

yup! pretty much....it doesnt leak there anymore! lol but it does leak at the joints of the t-top and the car....according to my dad, even when they were new people would send them in because they always leaked there (he worked at a dealership when these cars were brand new) said that no matter where you patch the leak at, the water will find a new way in.....although i'm still trying to prove him wrong haha

Guro 305

Your dad is right. I remember my cousin Eddie and his brother-in-law Joe, had a beautiful red and silver T/A and a black and gold one respectively back in '84 brand spanking new from the factory and they b!tched about it back then. I guess this was one of those OOPS factors that used to happen during the days of "planned obselesense" that no one cared to figure out until 1993 when the gen 4s dropped. Well, that is according to my buddy who has had both....he said he never had any leaks from the 4th gen. Anyways, if there is a will there is a way. Keep trying and it'll happen.

I think the thing is not to "stop" it but to "reroute" it. I remember when I had my Nissan 300zx, I never found any leaks or water anywhere and that was because if you looked at each end of the t-tops, they had holes. Those holes were actually hoses that looked like aquarium tubing that routed down inside between the inner panels and the outside of the car, down under the car to dump out any excess water. Maybe one of use should take a good look under the t-tops and consider the possibility.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

check your decklid and rear glass too. if condensation builds up commonly on the back glass your hatch isn't sealed. this is particularly evident if your trunk has water damage. t-top area will effect the front of the car more then the rear passenger and hatch area.

allgood

i had two water problems one was that my front pass. side floor kept having water build up when it rain or sometimes when i wash my car and the other one was the rear driver side i only notice it when it rain sometimes, i only notice when i take the cushion out. so its not the floor pan but under the rear driver side cushion.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

if youre saying that youre thinking that you have a rust problem forcing water in, i dont think you do....that would be quite the hard place for water to get into....check your seals...if its a hardtop, then you'll need new seals....if you have t-tops...welcome to the wonderful world of t-tops, the place where no matter how much money you dump, you'll never fix it lol

allgood

i have a vert and when i took the dash apart and pour some water where my wiper arms are and i can see where the water is coming from. some of the water is getting in from that rust spot but also it coming in from the corner i think the gap between the fender and door jam.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

well it could also be coming from that rust hole and just running a different path and making it look like its coming from somewhere else...ive had that problem before, water leaks are kinda hard to fix cuz sometimes theyre hard to find....its taking me so far 2 years to have my water leaks cut down to what they are now which is leakage when it rains hard and just a little drip when it rains light for a long time.

the best way to find it is to wait for a nice warm day, take a sprinkler and adjust it so it sprays on the specific part of the car (in your case the windshield), this will simulate rain, get in the car and see what you can find. its how the dealerships used to do it back when these cars were new and still leaked all the time...

and if you cant find it...the best suggestion i have is to get a garage or at least a car cover lol, thats what im thinking about doing, giving up on the seals and getting a good car cover and just throw that on before it rains

allgood

actually very little water is getting in from the rust hole, most of the water is from the vents where the wiper arms are, which runs down and getting inside my car from the right lower corner of my door i quess between my door and fender what should i do

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

hmm...thats one which ive never heard of lol...i mean i guess the real only thing that you can do is try to trace the water leak...imean the fresh air vents where the wiper arms are located at arent supposed to leak any water, i wonder if it could be your door seals alone....like i said, thats something that you may have to trace back unless someone else here has a better idea of what is happening

allgood

may be i'm confusing you, the water is not leaking from there. when water enter into there, it some how makes it way into my car,
very little comes from the rust area, most of the water is coming in from the lower right corner , i don't know if the water that enters where the wiper arms are attach is to drain from the side near the antenna.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

it still sounds to me like the door weatherstrip may be bad....unless you have a rust hole around that area that you dont know you have....i mean if you really want to stop it for good, the best advice i have is to tear apart the dash to the bone, then put a sprinkler on it and see if you can notice the leak then, either that or see if anyone else here knows whats going on or even bring it to like a sunroof repair place, they can usually fix leaks anywhere in the car

allgood

thanks
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thanks

allgood

I Have some pics ( don't know how to post them)
[img]3965730251_ORIG[/img]

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

in the bottom left corner of the post youre reading it'll say 'reply post' or what not...click that and underneath the spot that says 'submit reply' and 'preview post' it'll say additional options on the left...dowm there is where you can insert pictures

allgood

ok for some reason i get an error message

allgood

i have some pics on this page (view the pics)
http://www.cardomain.com/id/DRP92TA

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

i took a look at the pics but didnt quite know what i was really lookign at lol

allgood

did you view my page if so did you see the last 3 pics the dark area to the left of the orange or red colored sealant in the corner is the rust where the water is coming from

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

best advice i got for the rust is to just try to chip out whats no good, do that with like a small pick on a hammer or something like that...just get the stuff which is no good out, then try to seal it up as best you can...you can try glassing over it or whatever you want...but when you get done get a can of POR-15 from like napa or where ever and apply taht...it will stop the rust from spreading