Rain leaking through cowl into engine
02-03-2014, 07:06 AM
#1
Rain leaking through cowl into engine Folks, there is a phenomenon that apparently affects some fourth gen cars but not others.
While the car is parked in the rain, water can seep through the rivets in the cowl and onto the intake manifold. This water can somehow get past the manifold bolts and gaskets and into a cylinder. This will cause hydraulic lock which can result in a bent rod and/or the starter breaking off the block. These are gear reduction starters and they have the torque. It's also been noted that water can get through the injector O-rings. It's imperative that water not drip onto the engine when the car sits in the rain.
Naturally, this also affects Camaros.
An easy preventive fix can be done. The following "how to" (edited by me) is from member RockinWs6:
I'll explain how I do it, I run a bead of silicone along the rubber seal under it to seal it to the plastic cowl. Then I put plastic gloves on and run a bead of silicone along the frt edge of the cowling where it meets the metal, you have to use your hands to pack it into the space. Run silicone in the gap then use your fingers to push it into all the gaps along the frt.
Lastly I take a gob of silicone in my hand and force it onto the bottom of each large and small plastic rivet that holds the cowling on. Usually it takes quite a bit of time to get it all sealed properly, when you think you have it all sealed use a hose on the top of the cowl and test it. Water should not drip anyplace onto the engine. Usually I find a lot of small places I missed around the rivet holes. Just keep using your hand to pack silicone from the bottom of each rivet till they stop leaking water.
I always check the next time it rains that nothing is dripping after its raining a few hours.
Check your intake manifold bolts. If you haven't touched them in a while or they've never been touched, you should re-do them. 89 inch lbs is where they should be. The proper way to tighten them is to loosen them two full turns then retighten in proper sequence in three steps.
While the car is parked in the rain, water can seep through the rivets in the cowl and onto the intake manifold. This water can somehow get past the manifold bolts and gaskets and into a cylinder. This will cause hydraulic lock which can result in a bent rod and/or the starter breaking off the block. These are gear reduction starters and they have the torque. It's also been noted that water can get through the injector O-rings. It's imperative that water not drip onto the engine when the car sits in the rain.
Naturally, this also affects Camaros.
An easy preventive fix can be done. The following "how to" (edited by me) is from member RockinWs6:
I'll explain how I do it, I run a bead of silicone along the rubber seal under it to seal it to the plastic cowl. Then I put plastic gloves on and run a bead of silicone along the frt edge of the cowling where it meets the metal, you have to use your hands to pack it into the space. Run silicone in the gap then use your fingers to push it into all the gaps along the frt.
Lastly I take a gob of silicone in my hand and force it onto the bottom of each large and small plastic rivet that holds the cowling on. Usually it takes quite a bit of time to get it all sealed properly, when you think you have it all sealed use a hose on the top of the cowl and test it. Water should not drip anyplace onto the engine. Usually I find a lot of small places I missed around the rivet holes. Just keep using your hand to pack silicone from the bottom of each rivet till they stop leaking water.
I always check the next time it rains that nothing is dripping after its raining a few hours.
Check your intake manifold bolts. If you haven't touched them in a while or they've never been touched, you should re-do them. 89 inch lbs is where they should be. The proper way to tighten them is to loosen them two full turns then retighten in proper sequence in three steps.
Last edited by Paul Bell; 02-03-2014 at 01:27 PM.
