Pac_Man Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Hi all, I have a '76 280z that's essentially bone stock. When I started driving yesterday, I had a couple drips of water fall on me. Condensation on my windows is nothing new to me, but when I looked up, I noticed that there were a bunch of water droplets hanging on my headliner! They were almost all right above the driver seat. I'm getting the feeling that this isn't normal, and probably isn't very healthy for the headliner. I'm pretty sure I have a leak in the firewall that goes to the driver side floor, but I don't think that would cause it? Do I just have to replace all of the weatherstip gaskets around the car? Thanks, - Pac_Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Sounds like the top of the gasket to your windshield is probably to blame. I'd bet water is seeping into the headliner through some void in the old gasket and then its dripping on you from there. or it could be something completely unrelated. Haha. Do some investigating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 The condensation on the ceiling probably came from evaporation from the floor. Remove your carpets or you will lose your floorpans. I've never been able to get the water to stop coming thru my inner door panels. If you have water on the passenger side floor, remove the cowl and look inside on the passenger side for rust around the "chimney" where the heater gets its air - popular rust-out location. I've been running without carpets for 20 years due to water leaks, but my floor pans look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pac_Man Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 The condensation on the ceiling probably came from evaporation from the floor. Remove your carpets or you will lose your floorpans. I've never been able to get the water to stop coming thru my inner door panels. If you have water on the passenger side floor, remove the cowl and look inside on the passenger side for rust around the "chimney" where the heater gets its air - popular rust-out location. I've been running without carpets for 20 years due to water leaks, but my floor pans look great! That makes sense. I have checked the passenger side but it always seems to be dry. Is there a common place for the driver side to leak through that I could check? There's no space in the garage and I live in the Pacific Northwest so it rains here pretty consistently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Also check that the heater water hoses and connections are not leaking. The smell of anti-freeze is a clue that the heater is leaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I know I still have occasional trouble with my new gasket in the drivers side top corner. Start there, and just go along and trace the gasket. Check for voids or cracks, those will definitely leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pac_Man Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 Thanks for the advice. I feel that the leak is coming through the firewall, though. I haven't seen any water leaks through the windshield since I used silicon sealer around the passenger side top corner. Is it difficult to check the firewall for where it may be leaking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Driver side, hmmmm. Windshield and doors are still first choice always, but. Cowl is still high on list too. There is a lap joint between the firewall and the cowl that has seam sealer in it. That can lose the sealer or rust out. You check that by removing cowl and looking in. Also possible to leak where the cowl drains and vent tubes come thru. Throw out your carpets and paint your floor. It is very liberating!! While you are chasing drips I'm at the dragstrip having a blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 About firewall: there is a rain gutter at the very top of the firewall. Very rare for firewall to actually leak. I have a friend who removed his airconditioning system and left all the hose holes open. He gets fumes, but no rain water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pac_Man Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 Thanks for the tips. As much as I'd love to rip my car apart and pretty much repaint everything, I don't have the luxury of time, space, money, or tools to do so. I realized I forgot to add that I get fog inside of my gauges sometimes while driving. Never really consistent as far as which gauge. I've also seen a drop of water in the bottom driver side corner of the windshield. It's only a single drop when I see it so I don't see it often, and I shrugged it off the last couple of times I did. Now I'm wondering if that is a sign that the water is in fact getting in through the windshield? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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