Rocky98

Another water leak thread....I've had driver side and passenger side water leaks for a few years both front and back. Most of the water coming in was from the T-tops and the T-top seals. I think I've buttoned up all the leaks on the passenger side, but I notice the driver side carpet in the front is still very wet. I've monitored the T-top closely by removing the trim pieces off the T-top and pillars. The T-top doesn't seem to be leaking but I am still getting drips along the a-pillar as seen in the attached pics. I get occasional drips from that area while I'm driving in the rain. I think there're more water that just trickles down the a-pillar and then makes its way to the footwell.

Any ideas what I need to do to seal this section? The weather-stripping looks like one piece that wraps around the door and T-top. I'm scared to try pulling it off to reapply the black goop and a new one would set me back around $600cdn. I've read the TSB's on water leaks but they aren't the clearest documents to follow.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This is a common leak point. I've had to adjust my window a few times over the years so the glass presses tighter against the seal at that point. If you take the door panel off, you can adjust the front glass stop just slightly to help. As you do this, check the reveal on the drivers and passengers side to make it the same.

shbox has a good tutorial as to where all the parts are inside the door.

One word of caution... This could also be the initial ping of a very serious problem - so you should also check to make sure you don't have this going on: https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...-included.html

Rocky98

Thanks for the reply. Just to be clear, the water does not appear to be coming in between the window glass and the weather stripping. It appears to be coming in between the weather stripping and a-pillar. I've sat in the car in the rain and the water drips originates in the recess where the a-pillar and weather strip meet. I always thought weather stripping was glued and bonded to the vehicle sheet metal to create a water tight seal. Would you still suggest adjusting the window as the first step?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This is one of the tell tales that the glass isn't tight against the seal.

I haven't taken the seal off and don't know if there is weatherstripping adhesive there, or not.

It's possible that water could be entering up at the T-Top and flowing down the A-Pillar to that point, but I'd make sure you know where its coming before you take things apart.

Does the water drip on your leg while you are driving? If so, you can put your finger up where the glass meets the seal to confirm if it's wet or not at that junction. (When you open the door - everything get's wet.)

^ This will confirm where it's coming from.

Also, at this point, you can take a look at the reveal of the glass and seal on the drivers and passengers side. If they are different, that might give you more or less suspicion.

Rocky98

I've been digging into this some more with the recent rain. I've confirmed that the water is coming in between the weatherstrip retainer and the a-pillar. I removed the a-pillar interior trim piece and sat in the car in the rain with a flashlight. I can see the drops forming where the retainer meets the a-pillar. I've been reading through TSB #01-08-58-002 on water leaks. There's two sections in the TSB that talk about using black sealant to seal the weatherstrip to the a-pillar retainer at both the top and bottom ends....it's almost as though they agree water will probably get into this area and are using the retainer to channel it out the bottom near the hinge pillar. In my case, I think foam seal behind the retainer has deteriorated and is allowing water to pass through.

I read up on similar issues on the C4 corvette forums. Sounds like the problem is common and the solution is to carefully remove the retainer without warping it and either use 2-way foam/emblem tape or sealant to reattach it. I'll probably try using some clear RTV that I have and will report back with the results. I popped out the weather stripping along the a-pillar and there doesn't seem to be any adhesive holding it in place. Just some black sealant at the t-top gutter and down by the hinge pillar.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for posting this TSB number. Here's a copy if anyone would like to review it. (It seems that another member has posted it to our site previously.) https://ls1tech.com/forums/attachmen...002-part-1.pdf

Which figure in the TSB document do you think is your problem? (I'm getting some behavior that may cause me to look back at Figure #7. They are leaks like you are describing.)

Rocky98

Figures 6 and 7 are the ones I am looking at. The both indicate applying black sealant that meets up with the retainer at top and bottom of a-pillar. I feel that was a band-aid fix to deal with water that makes it past the windshield trim or past the t-top gutter seal. Assuming the retainer sealed tightly against the a-pillar, water would theoretically not make it's way inside the car.

I had my windshield replaced roughly 6 years ago. When I was poking around, I think I see places where water is making it past the windshield trim seal.

Rocky98

Just to follow up a bit on this thread. I ended up pulling away the weather stripping around the driver side t-top and a-pillar to have a closer look. There is one screw that holds down the weather strip in the t-top corner and another plastic push pin in the door hinge pillar that secures the weatherstripping. I think the water was making its way behind the weather strip retainer and a-pillar. I've attached some pics of the back side of my weatherstrip retainer that shows where the water was creeping down. As soon as I popped off the 4 screws holding the retainer on, it basically fell off under its own weight. Pulling the foam backing off wasn't an issue either. It basically came off in one strip.

I cleaned up all the old adhesive and sealant from the a-pillar and the corner where it meets the T-top. I then applied generous amounts of Permatex ultra black to the back of the retainer and in all the places shows in the TSB images above. The t-top corner had some foam underlay that was worn out. I cleaned this all away and went to town with the Permatex. We haven't had a proper rain since I ran a hose on the car for a good 10 minutes and didn't see any drips inside. Fingers crossed.