95 Grand am Gt so many many many many many problems!

[Quincy17]

alright first on the list: my grand am leaks water onto my drivers side and only my drivers side! how do i fix this easily and cheap? secondly when i got to turn my tires make a rubbing sound. How do i fix that? thirdly my car hesitates when i *punch* it to try to accelerate quickly. Fourthly when I'm at a stop sign my car will just die and i need to put the car into park take teh key out and start again. how do i fix that? Fifthly its making my sry help me

[Chazman]

These cars usually develop a leak in the airduct/drainage channel under were your winshield wipers mount.

Pull the wiper arms of and remove the plastic cover under them (with the air vents). Carefully inspect the drain scuppers for blockage - there should be two drains - one under the air intake on the passenger side.
Also carefully inspect the factory caulking on the sheet metal seams.

Are your tires the correct size? check the sticker on the drivers door.

The hesitation could be many things - TPS ?? Vacuum leaks ??

The stalling thing could point to a bad vacuum booster on the brakes.
Does the idle fluctuate if press the brake hard while idleing ?

I have also heard the crankshaft position sensor's in these cars can cause stalling problems.

[Quincy17]

alright guys i goy something done today i caulked up in between my wind shield and my wipers protective black thing because there was like a 1/4 gap inbetween the two, so no wi have to wait 24 hours for it to set up my next problem is that i took up the carpeting in the drivers seat and founf alot of rust and when i stuck a flashlight up there to see if there was a hol ei could see light by my engine...should i try to lug that hole too?

[Chazman]

Actually, I would not caulk that joint - water is supposed to travel past there, it drains below there thru two scuppers, one on either side.

You need to pull the wipers and that protective black cover completly off the car and look in the channel undernieth for possible leaks.

That other hole under the carpet should not be there, that could very well be the whole problem - plug it.

[Chazman]

I forgot to mention that the air intake for your interior heater is under that black cover - when you turn on the heat or open your vents inside the car, the air comes from vent holes in that black plastic cover as well as thru that 1/4 inch gap you have sealed up.

[swalt]

Originally Posted by Chazman

I forgot to mention that the air intake for your interior heater is under that black cover - when you turn on the heat or open your vents inside the car, the air comes from vent holes in that black plastic cover as well as thru that 1/4 inch gap you have sealed up.

I don't think he caulked the vent holes. He caulked between the windshield and the plastic cover, which is fine. It will allow much of the water to pool off the sides rather than run down into the drains. These cars are notorious for leaks at the firewall. I spent two days working on mine last year and here is what I came up with.

Remove the wipers and the black plastic shield to expose the damper on the passenger side. Pull it out and get a new gasket for it as the original gasket was a thin foam. The replacements are much thicker. If your old one is ok, clean everything up and put the old one back in and silicone the crap out of it, just make sure the silicone does not obstruct the damper door.

Next, while you still have the plastic cover off, check your drain holes on the passenger and driver side. The car rusts badly in both spots because of the moisture that flows down there. It will often pool if the drains become blocked with leaves, etc. On the driver side, you should remove the wiper motor as you will find there is a rust hole at the drain behind it. I went to the local Napa and bought some body seam caulk which hardens like plastic. Smear it on with rubber gloves. You may also want to caulk around both electrical blocks (the one for the computer and the one on the drivers side for the instrument cluster) They are located each side by the hood hinges. I actually used the window sealing caulk which comes in a roll that you can roll like playdough. Pack it around the blocks and it hardens in a few days and is water tight. On the interior under the dash, pull your firewall matting off the firewall. I cut mine down the center on each side to get it out and I was able to put it back in fairlly easy when I was finished. Behind the foam matting on the drivers side, look way up on the firewall above the steering column (with a light) and you will likely see where water is coming in from where the drain has rusted on the drivers side. If it is not too bad, caulk it well. It is hard to reach, but if you don't seal it, you will still get leaks. Also check the seam that runs horizontally all across the firewall. It is very prone to leaking especially on the passenger side. Next, pull back the carpet on both the drivers side and passenger side to check for rust. I found mine was starting to rust out on the passenger side. When water sprays up under the car, it is directed right against the floor board through a hole in the control arm. After a while it just washes through. I used roofing tar to seal my floor as it was not too bad, but I sealed it well. By the way, my car is in really good shape and has been rustproofed every year since new. Just bad design, caused a few leaks. Also, if you have had water coming in on the passenger side by the damper, check the electical connection that is mounted to the firewall under the glove box. Water will run right into it and cause it to corrode. In my case , it caused high idle in wet weather. I pulled the connection apart, cleaned it with WD40 and put it back together and never had the problem since. Also pull your connection out of the computer to make sure it is not green. If it is, you know water has been leaking onto your computer as well.

[Quincy17]

ok I'm sorry i dont want to soudn dumb but i didn't understand that well i did but could you like write it in steps possib le sorry I'm so dumb! umm but i really want to fix this remember i just cauled my 1/4 inch gap so will that hinder liek the first tep fo taking that thing off?

[Chazman]

Yes, that will have to be removed.

[Quincy17]

ok so how do i get the black cover off? remebering i have it caulked down

[Chazman]

Cut the caulking with a razor blade, open hood - at the top of the firewall is a foam weather strip, pull it off, remove wiper arms, remove numerous philips screws - it should lift off after that.

[Chazman]

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=333857

[Quincy17]

thanks i live in wisconsin tho and right now the high is like 2 so I'm gonna have to wait till it at least gets into the doubl edigits befor ei go tout and try this