Water leaks

[Echos Myron]

I have a beautiful 1989 9C1 which led a very pampered life as a suburban fire chief's car. My only problem is two stubborn water leaks. The first is under the dashboard on both sides where small puddles form on the floor every time there is the slightest rain. Thankfully the car has the rubber floor covering so it's an easy cleanup. I'm hoping a windshield resealing solves this, but can it have another cause? The second leak (very slight) comes down both rear wheel tubs. The rear window was resealed, but had no effect here. I don't want to ruin my perfect rust-free floors and trunk pan, and even though my car only comes out of the garage on dry days, it's inevitable to get caught in a rainstorm sometimes. Thanks for the help.

[rhandwor]

Some times you have to use a water hose and run water over the area. Watch real closely for where your problem is located.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by Echos Myron

I have a beautiful 1989 9C1 which led a very pampered life as a suburban fire chief's car. My only problem is two stubborn water leaks. The first is under the dashboard on both sides where small puddles form on the floor every time there is the slightest rain. Thankfully the car has the rubber floor covering so it's an easy cleanup. I'm hoping a windshield resealing solves this, but can it have another cause? The second leak (very slight) comes down both rear wheel tubs. The rear window was resealed, but had no effect here. I don't want to ruin my perfect rust-free floors and trunk pan, and even though my car only comes out of the garage on dry days, it's inevitable to get caught in a rainstorm sometimes. Thanks for the help.

the water in the front may be the windshield rust holes ..this is usually from being replaced....the metal must be cleaned with alcohol and primed... if paint is damaged...then sealant /adhesive..

the rear leak is usually rust /seam rust between the rear window and the trunk cutout...

the rear wheel wells are also a source or water entry into the trunk...sealing the exterior wheel wells with a brush on petroleum base compound is what I use...


If you find rust holes use the fiberglass patch kit with pieces of chopped fiberglass to fill..also called horse hair fiberglass..

the body to frame mounts may also be your problem...as these degrade over time the body flexes too much and this can cause seams to open then leaks and even the windshield to crack...

[bhw33191]

Originally Posted by Echos Myron

I have a beautiful 1989 9C1 which led a very pampered life as a suburban fire chief's car. My only problem is two stubborn water leaks. The first is under the dashboard on both sides where small puddles form on the floor every time there is the slightest rain. Thankfully the car has the rubber floor covering so it's an easy cleanup. I'm hoping a windshield resealing solves this, but can it have another cause? The second leak (very slight) comes down both rear wheel tubs. The rear window was resealed, but had no effect here. I don't want to ruin my perfect rust-free floors and trunk pan, and even though my car only comes out of the garage on dry days, it's inevitable to get caught in a rainstorm sometimes. Thanks for the help.

My car has the SAME problem! I'll take some pics of where the front leak is coming from tomorrow to give you a better idea. Heres some pics of where the trunk leak was coming from (that took me a while to find because i kept thikning it was a bad window seal).





I'm not sure how bad your leaks are but as you can tell mine were very bad. What i did for teh back leaks as you can see is i shaped and welded metal (as best i could) and sealed around it with silicon (because i couldn't weld that close to the window without risking breaking it.) The rust seems to occur in the most in-accesible places so on the front i just got a fiber glass and resin patch kit and that worked great. As i mentioned before i'll post some pics of where the front leak was.

[j cAT]

that looks familiar....the rear deck area is were I did a repair also...but for me it was not as bad...welding/riveting metal is needed were the hole is too big...as you repaired..

you should not use silicone sealants ...this has acids that will cause over time rust to develop under the sealed area...

I use dow corning 795. after you use this product you will never think of silicone sealants...this 795 has tremendous adhesive quaities..It also is for bare metal and glass use,and has the ability to stretch beyond belief...

since the area is a place for debris to be held and hold moisture and road chemicals top coat with a mineral spirits undercoating...this will prevent any future leaks and seal the seams....I use a brush on undercoating...20.oo/gallon..you could do 2-3 vehicles...very cost effective way to control this mess....

[mike561]

I've got a leak behind the glove box after a hard rain, took out the glove box one day and the firewall seam looks rusted away, i know its not from the heatercore either.

[bhw33191]

Heres the pic of where my front leak was. Patched that with fiberglass kit and it held up great. This probably could have led to some real issues since the leak was right above teh fuse block. Its funny cause the leaks (for me) seem to occur on the drivers side and not nearly as bad on the passenger side. I didn't have to patch the passenger side area but i could see where the rust was trying to get through.

[mike561]

Ive only got a leak on the passenger side, and of course i used to in the common trunk area like yours too

[Blt2Lst]

I also have a few leaks that need to be addressed.

First one is leaking from top of windshield, I get a few drops of water dripping from the top inside molding that runs behind the windshield but its never more than a few drops. I had the windshield replaced about five years ago and was thinking it needs to be resealed. I was going to just remove the outside top molding and seal with some silicone or the dow corning 795 sealant that was mentioned earlier. Do you think this is a good idea?
I know resealing windshield would be the best way to go.

Also rear side window on my wagon seems to be dripping from the top. Should also be removed and resealed but again I was thinking silicone.

I also noticed the sealant on the top of the cowl area under the hood is all cracked. There does not seem to be any interior leaks (yet) from this but I was going to reseal it anyway just in case.

What do you think?

Thanks for the help.

Al

[Blt2Lst]

Originally Posted by j cAT

that looks familiar....the rear deck area is were I did a repair also...but for me it was not as bad...welding/riveting metal is needed were the hole is too big...as you repaired..

you should not use silicone sealants ...this has acids that will cause over time rust to develop under the sealed area...

I use dow corning 795. after you use this product you will never think of silicone sealants...this 795 has tremendous adhesive quaities..It also is for bare metal and glass use,and has the ability to stretch beyond belief...

since the area is a place for debris to be held and hold moisture and road chemicals top coat with a mineral spirits undercoating...this will prevent any future leaks and seal the seams....I use a brush on undercoating...20.oo/gallon..you could do 2-3 vehicles...very cost effective way to control this mess....

Thanks for the tip on the 795, however it also contains silicone.
I have been using regular silicone sealant for years and did not know about the acid content causing rust. I guess the cars i used silicone on were rusty to begin with so I could not tell if the silicone was causing any additional rust.

Still looks like the 795 is the way to go if you are going to attempt a repair. It's got to be better than letting the water in...

Al

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by Blt2Lst

Thanks for the tip on the 795, however it also contains silicone.
I have been using regular silicone sealant for years and did not know about the acid content causing rust. I guess the cars i used silicone on were rusty to begin with so I could not tell if the silicone was causing any additional rust.

Still looks like the 795 is the way to go if you are going to attempt a repair. It's got to be better than letting the water in...

Al

the 795 sticks better than anything I ve used....and once again the is what the glass guys use....

[mike561]

I was talkin with another guy i know whos had a few box caprices as well and he came up with a good idea of just completely sealing off the gaps around that metal peice on the trunk deck area with body filler and make it all look like just one piece and part of the car itself.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by mike561

I was talkin with another guy i know whos had a few box caprices as well and he came up with a good idea of just completely sealing off the gaps around that metal peice on the trunk deck area with body filler and make it all look like just one piece and part of the car itself.

body filler is not strong enough. also it is brittle and with temp changes and flexing it will crack..

if you required this hidden area to look perfect fiberglass can be worked to achevie this..and is very durable ...