Input Needed For an Irritating Water Leak

[TonyC]

Hello, all!

I'm reviving this thread to update on the irritating mysterious water leak in the dash. I removed the cowl panel, windshield trim, and dash cover a week ago; and then I waited for the first rain to come. When it did, I found where the water was coming in--through the bottom edge of the windshield! It came in at more spots than I thought, though the majority of it was on the driver's side. I invested in a tube of bathroom caulk and hit that bottom edge inside and out. With the next shower, I checked; although it was significantly less, water still came in. So I hit the spots again where I saw that water come in. It rained again here yesterday--not very hard, but enough to provide a good test--and not one drop got in. I'm still not quite ready to reinstall the dash cover or the cowl panel, as I want to see what happens again.

I want to be able to tick off this years-long frustration for good, and I really feel close to doing just that. Okay, bathroom caulk is not exactly the first choice for someone to repair a water leak in a car; but it appears to have worked. I do have to razor off a little bit of excess that's peeking up over the trim, just so that it isn't that visible. I'm expecting more soggy stuff here today and tomorrow, so if it passes the next test, I'll be back on to proclaim victory.

However, I do at least have this to share with everyone: For anyone who may have a mysterious water leak in your dash that's impossible to find, suspect the sealant around the windshield. Even if it has been recently replaced (the sealant around mine is just over 4 years old, and it was leaking nearly all this time--though not so bad as the sealant that was there before the windshield replacement), suspect it, especially if there is no other explanation for the water to enter.

---Tony

[papawayne]

It is SO good to hear the end of the story! wayne

[RMAENV]

I would have used black RTV or at the very least plumbers putty as it never gets hard and crumbles

[dcm5652]

I would run it by a glass shop and have them seal it with the sealer that they use on newer cars, it will stick to both the metal and glass and stay there forever.

[TonyC]

I might have, but there aren't too many options in Leesville, Louisiana. And I cannot afford to have any shop hold my car for God-knows-how-long, waiting in line to be examined. I had to take care of it fast. Maybe I should've used black s**t instead of white s**t, I just grabbed what seemed best off the PX shelf.

Perhaps in the not-too-far-off future I will have a glass shop reseal it properly. But for now, I'm glad it worked! Now I can put the dash cover back on. That's another long-term problem checked off; next will be the air conditioner!

---Tony

[66Lincoupe]

Tony, for your future reference there is a very light viscosity clear windshield sealer by permatex. It flows nearly like water and will end up where the water goes. I have used it successfully many many times... I'm not sure if it'd be available at your PX, but maybe next time you're off post you can hit an AutoZone - they have it.



The part number is 81730... Sometimes you have to apply it a couple of times, but it looks like you did that anyway! Congrats on fixing the leak!

[TonyC]

*Doh!* I didn't even think about looking around for that! That is, however, good to know for future reference. Thanks, Rob.

---Tony

[TonyC]

Reviving this thread from dormancy for an update. As many will recall, water leaks have been probably the longest-lasting, most mysterious, and most irritating problem Frankenstein ever gave me. Following Rob's advice from 12-1/2 years ago, I acquired a tube of windshield sealant several months ago, removed all the white caulk I laid down long ago, and squeezed as much of the sealant as I could into every suspected nook and cranny around the windshield, inside and outside. It was a painstaking job that required removal of the dash pad and took me two days to perform. For a while afterward I still laid pans on the floor under the brake pedals, to discover them dry after any showers that passed through. For a few weeks I tried checking the floor without pans, and no new wetness; however, the rain showers had been relatively light. Last night came the big field test, in the form of a rain storm as thick as a car-wash's soak cycle, guaranteed to expose any leakage. Right after the rain passed, I went out to assess the interior. No new wetness or puddles or ponds–nothing.

It looks like, finally, after 24 years of headaches and false hopes, I may have found and expelled that gremlin. Of course, after dealing with that for so long, it is a habit now to check for wetness on the floor, which I think was a reason (besides laziness) why I haven't yet tried to install the replacement carpeting I got from Fraser a couple months ago. I will still be making a point to check for water after storms, but the time may finally be coming up to install the carpet, given last night's results.

---Tony

[papawayne]

Yahoo, Tony...I'm glad your ordeal is over! Wayne

[1Bad55Chevy]

Did you ever remove the windshield? If not I would bet it all on the cowl has rusted through and that is where the water leak stems from.

[TonyC]

Thank you, Wayne! How long that lasts remains to be seen, but for now it's a relief.

Chevy, the windshield has not been off since 2007. The leaks had been going on for longer.

I had thought about cowl rust, but my thorough exams of the cowl with the panel and wipers off revealed nothing. Besides, the most obvious leaks were coming from up top, where the glass meets the roof. So, apparently, it was poor sealing, if I could squeeze windshield sealant and stop the leaks.

---Tony

[frasern]

Tony, most of this thread pre dates my time here, so it's new to me. I had a similar leak in my '67, right above the brake pedal, finding and fixing it was a huge ordeal, too complex to get into here. It was from inside the cowl, far left, top, you will need a borescope to see the area.
I hope you have fixed it, but if it comes back I will elaborate on my fix, you won't like it.

On another note, I know you have had the windshield and seal replaced, but here's a story about my brothers 67 Olds. It always had a leaking back window, and he fixed it a number of times, only to have it leak again, one sunny summer day, he was cruising highway 16 through Jasper park with all the windows down when he heard a pop, and it got really windy inside. In the rearview mirror, he saw his back window doing cartwheels through the air, still in one piece, until it hit the road.
It was also a southern US car, turns out the Texas heat can dry out those butyl gaskets that were used back then!

[papawayne]

Tony, I thought you had it cured back in 2011, too! Water is amazing, it will go just where you don't want it to.

[TonyC]

Yes, Wayne, there were lots of times through the duration of this thread that I thought (or to be precise, hoped) I fixed it, only to see more water when it rained. I might be taking the risk of jinxing myself with this report, but that last storm was soggy enough to drown the car, and it didn't.

Fraser, that location was where one of the leaks was on Frankenstein. I'm sure this will not be a pleasant thing to read; but just in case I have to deal with it again in the near future, I am curious about your incident. On another note, the owner of Sadie (a grossly-modded '68 in Kansas) once mentioned to me he had a water leak in his back window.

---Tony

[frasern]

My computer ate all the pictures of that repair, I still have a love/hate relationship with computers. I will try to get some general pictures of the area in question, sometime next week, using the '66 as a model. The dash is mostly out of that one, so you can see the area.
If your buddy from Kansas has A/C, he'll be fine, just don't cruise with all the windows open.