Water Leaks

Jean-Marc Dugas

PCS Member
Earlier this week, I took the car to a friend that has a glass shop to apply some sealant to the leaky windows. So now, the windshield is sealed and does not leak anymore, the same goes with the rear passenger side window, but the rear driver side window still leaks. I think I found where the water is coming from and will look at it this weekend.

In testing to see if the windows were still leaking, we uncovered a number of leaky spots where the water was just pouring in. In some places, it is coming in where the fiberglass meets the metal, in some areas, it is coming in where the molding fasteners are attached, and in some other areas your guess is as good as mine.

I went to the body repair supply shop this morning and got some sealant and hopefully I will be able to fix these problems.

It is no wonder that the back of the car was so rusted. Unless the panels are removed there is no way to see any of these leaky areas. It is quite discouraging to find yet something else to fix, buy at least when this is done, it is something I will not have to worry about anymore.
 
I doubt that it was water tested at the factory, so it probably started rusting the day after it left the indoor of the factory. Water leaks are very difficult to find many times. Never assume that it is leak free after you do a leak repair, since water seeks the easiest path. Continue to water test till you are certain that all leaks are resolved. I use a silicone caulking compound that is sold to professional roofers to seal leaks. It seems to work better than anything else that I have found. Only drawback is that it requires a commercial sized caulking gun for the applicator. Once opened, it has a shelf life of about 4 weeks before the tube will harden.
 
the only way to get the seam between the fiber glass and the steel is by taking the molding off and sealing it from the top. you'll never get to all of it from underneath. use a water base caulk. they make some with a 50 year life. just be sure it states water base. then put it in the seam and wipe it down with a wet rag. the sealed will go into the seam and you can wash off any thing that the molding will not cover. that way you get it filled from the outside if you let ware get into the crack and not go threw it's trap. what ever you do do make sure the drain holes are free and if there are not any cut a few in the inside corners. the oil base ones like Paul is talking about work good in the bigger seams and things you can work from the inside or underneath panels were it doesn't hurt to see it.
 
I got most of the leaks sealed except for the driver side rear window and the passenger side rear corner window. I spent much of the day trying to fix this, but no luck.

I was thinking of using expandable foam to fill the voids created after removing the sealant in the leaky spots, but from what I have read in some other forums, it works for a while, but then it absorbs humidity and increase the rusting rate.

So, before I go and remove the windows, does anyone have any ideas on what else I could try?
 
if your having that much trouble it would be best to remove them and see what is channeling the water in. question is it leaking between the body and the glass or the glass and the rubber? are you sure it's the glass leaking? one way to set were it's leaking is with air. if you don't have a air compressor try the vacuum cleaner just reverse the hose. mark The spot the water is coming in at. have some one inside hold the air on that spot and look for bubbles on the out side. you may be leaking threw the drip rail. were I have seen the pictures of the car a clear one of the glass and the seal would give a better understanding of the problem you having. the only superior I took the glass out of used a tap to hold the glass agents the pinch weld. it was a invetation for a disastor. they used a combound that got hard and then cracked. I would guess thats what your fighting.
 
From what I can gather, the seal itself are intact. There is a lot of space behind the window moldings and the glass. These spaces were filled with black compound that is starting to dry-up. I was able to take all of the windows out of my 69 without a problem. I hope that these will be as easy.

On another wet note, while working on the gas pedal, I noticed some dampness under the front carpet. Took the door sill off to lift the carper et voila, more water :mad:

I did plug in a space heater to dry this off, as a matter of fact, I should go have a look at it before it catches the car on fire.......
 
I’ll use this space heater to dry the area, and will concentrate on a permanent fix later. The floor was re-done a couple of years ago, so I should be safe as long as I keep an eye on it for now.

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I would suggest removing the carpet and put it out in the sun to dry. If you don't, then it will start to mold, and that isn't good. Also, a wet carpet will eventually lead to the floor rusting out. There are two sources of dampness that cause this. One is a leaking windshield, or air vent, and the other is a leaking heater core. Uusally if it is the heater core, it will be concentrated on the left side. If it is the windshield, you will need to determine if the windshield opening has rusted through, or it is just leaking from a bad seal. I have seen both problems, and neither is easy to fix without fully removing the windshield. If it is the air vent, that can be as simple as the sealing material has dried and allowing water past it, or it can be that debris such as decaying plant matter has filled the lower cavity, and is rusting out the metal. The last possiblility that I just thought of is that the door seal is leaking, and the carpet is getting wet that way. No matter what the cause, you will need to address the problem to keep the floor from rusting through.
 
From what I can gather, the seal itself are intact. There is a lot of space behind the window moldings and the glass. These spaces were filled with black compound that is starting to dry-up. I was able to take all of the windows out of my 69 without a problem. I hope that these will be as easy........

that's is the problem I was talking about. what ever petroleum based product they used to seal the glass has now dried out and cracked leaving a gap were you can't get to it from the outside. I was not really impressed with the way they put the glass in on the one superior I took apart. the Ida of pushing the rubber up agents the body and relying on the glue to seal it made for fast assembly but poor life span. when you go back use some silicone. they make it in black. it will last a long time. but do yourself a favor and find the low spot under that gas pedal and punch a small hole there 1/8 in will let any collected water drip out. because as soon as you find the leak in the cowl one other will show up.
 
The floor mats are out, the floor is dry. No sign of rust, just soggy material. The water must have come in from the leaky windshield that is now fixed. We'll have to give it the water test within the next few days.
 
Windshield water leak

When I went to pick-up the Sterling siren, I hit quite a bit of rain. The windshield is still leaking, but way less than before. This enabled me to determine that the water on the floor comes from the windshield. The water drips pass the dashboard directly on the transmission hump and then on both the Driver & Passenger side floor pans.

Cracks in the floor mats on the driver side let the water go through, but no cracks on the passenger side keep the water from passing through. This explains why only the Driver side was wet.
 
Before I would condemn the windshield as being the culprit, I would remove the cowl screen and clean that area well. I have seen where the sealant that GM used to seal the various pieces of the cowl together will dry out and crack. If this is the case, then you need to reseal this area. On my Corvair, GM realized that this was a problem and provided a drain hole that the water could be redirected to the outside of the car, rather than filling the luggage compartment. Only problem with their solution was that this hole went through the passenger compartment. They had inserted a plastic tube to carry the water away, and this was the conduit through the passenger compartment. With the passage of many years, this tube would disintegrate, and fall out. The resulting effect was that it appeared that the windshield was leaking, but actually it was the missing tube. Many people have removed and resealed the windshield as a result of not finding the true cause of the leak. When it comes to water leaks, never assume that you know where it is coming from using anecdotal evidence. Check all possibilities and confirm the cause before taking remedial action.
 
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