Water in the Car!!

[HB280ZT]

Hi All,

 

Well I have been working on my 1977 Z for many years now and I still can not figure out how I am getting water in the drivers side floor board of the car. This is what I have done so far.

 

Over the winter I had the interior out of the car to include the dash.

 

I replaced the floor boards and made sure the floors where well sealed.

I checked the entire area under the dash for rust or holes, none found.

I checked the rubber socks used to channel water from the air intake area to the fender area, they were in good shape.

I have also sealed the windshield to the gasket and the gasket to the metal frame.

I made sure the kick panel air vents gaskets were in good shape and installed correctly.

Also my car has the fender well covers were in place.

 

So what else can I try or do?? I am out of ideas now and I really hate to take my car apart to dry it out after it gets rained on at work!!

 

Thanks for the help.

 

HB280ZT

[Nismo280zEd]

lol man i was thinking i was the only one with water problems.

 

I finally happened to be inside my car when it was raining installing a new switch and found the source. Mine was actually coming from the middle of the windshield running along the inside edge then down the passenger corner. I think it's coming from the black seal that's on the glas to metal trim not the big outter one but the small one. I haven't been able to stop mine yet either... good luck.

[DavyZ]

I feel your pain. Here are the places where I have found leaks in my car:

 

1) Along the weather strip since it is not siliconed into place

2) In the corner of the top of the door where the weatherstrip makes a 90 degree angle

3) Along the windshield gasket because the stainless/chrome trim is not in place

4) The gaskets/grommets in the firewall of all places

5) Between the fuzzy strips and the window glass (any gap can let water in)

 

Try those on for size. BTW, the problems have not gotten better since I shaved the drip rails lol.

 

 

Davy

[olie05]

I would suggest doing what ed did and sit in your car while it is raining and observe where the water is comming in from.

 

Also, there have been threads on here before (search!) that detail using grease to see how well a surface (the door or hatch) is sealing against the gasket.

[Nismo280zEd]

yeah that's how i found the leak that was filling my floor pan behind driver seat. That was a good one. turned out the rear hatch seal was leaking on the corner trailing down the interior metal into the side panel where the speaker is down through there through another hole on the the floor board. LOL man that one was annoying.

[mom'sZ]

I worked in paint and body shops for twenty five years and chased a lot of water leaks. They can be a real PITA!! But here's some ideas that might help you track it down. Take the carpet out so you can see where it's coming from if possible. Then instead of waiting for a rainy day use the water hose. This way you can direct the water from different areas and tell where it's coming from. Start toward the bottom of the car and work up. Run water over the windshield last. Maybe pop the hood and run it on the firewall, then in the plenum, checking in between each spot. Run it around the door window frames and quarter glasses and finally the hatch. Have someone run the hose while you look from inside with a flash light. A good way to check the seal of the door rubbers is to close a dollar bill in the door at various spots and with the door closed slowly pull the dollar bill out from the inside, there should be some resistance but it should slide out. Hope some of this helps

[strotter]

I found one that is obvious in retrospect - when I repainted my doors, I had some little "drippies" where the door panel meets the weatherstrip. Not worth sanding to perfection, and easy to ignore, but any roughness where the weatherstrip comes in contact with a panel will allow water through. BTW, general filth build-up does the same thing, including down at the bottom of the door and at the bottom-front "turn" of the panel (which you can't even see without wiggling around on the ground).

[iaconsultants]

Two of my old Z's leaked from the rear hatch just like what Nismo280zEd stated above. I used a hose to find them and funny enough they were in oposite corners.

[Shift]

another place to look is the drainage hose that goes from the wiper motor area.the rubber hose goes (2" hose) attaches from the inside behind the dash to the lower section underneath the rear of the front fender.