Redneck hot tub.

So my wagon made it back from a 7 hour trip from north bay yesterday, rained the whole time. This morning i decided to take out the tools and other crap that went with it on it's journey only to find this, 2+ inches of water in the extra seat well. i was kinda pissed about it but couldn't help but laugh at the time. there was also about an inch of water in the driver well behind the rear tire. me thinks the leak is coming from the roof racks. whattya guys think? how big of a pain in the arse is it to remove the headliner and remove the racks?

these pictures are worth a thousand cuss words.



OH SHIAT!

Leak, or open window?

leak! lol. all window seals are good. but yea, its a big azz leak!!

Run water over the car to see which way it might be coming from.

Seals, windows or roof?

or just punch a hole in the floor.

If he waits long enough, there'll be a hole in the floor either way.

Clear your drain in the driver's 1/4 panel to start with. Feel along the bottom where the inner and outer skins come together. Find the small bump. Take a small screwdriver and jam in from under the car pointing to the outside, parallel to the ground. Pull out the screwdriver, and watch your car take a well-deserved leak.

ya i got the majority of this week off so i'll be tackling this right away. surprisingly the metal in their is Perfect. so the leak hasn't been around for very long. my quarters are also very solid.

least now i know why it smelt so musty back there...

oh and thanks for the tip jay

The leak may be along the top of the rear quarter window reveal. Look for a gap between the body and the top of the black part of the trim. It is the most frequent leak. The second could be along the vista roof. The water can run down the headliner, and come out at different places. My driver side front door is not quite tight enough, and if the rain comes from the right direction (rear) it will leak and run down the pillar to the passenger's footwell on the driver's side. Other than that, water will run down the side of the headliner and exit at the grab handle by the tailgate. It can splash on the storage panel, and go either in the fender, or in the foot well.

It's not an uncommon problem with these cars. My 94 Buick has a leak on the driver's side and the area under the locking cargo box fills up with water. causes a short in the rear glass popper to the point I had to pull the fuse so the car doesn't unlock itself when no one is around It runs down the inside of my D pillar and drips out of the light switches. I figured it to be the riv nuts holding the rack on, but Fred's idea of the quarter glass makes more sense.

Funny though my third seat well is dry, but have seen a few that aren't as well.

It is visually deceptive as to the location of the top of the window reveal on the inside. The inside of the seal is about 2 inches to the inside of the edge of the headliner. The outside edge of the headliner has an upward curve which makes a channel which acts to direct the water to flow to the grab handle. I have my headliner out right now for some other issues, but I could see where the water was entering (dripped on the speaker). The rivnuts for the rack are located above a reinforcement in the roof, and would drain through that channel, and never come into the interior. They used rivnuts because they could not access the area from below. The slider rails on the top use wellnuts which have a rubber "nut" and do not leak.

Another option is the cauking along the rack between the roof and quarter panel. It us part of the same seam that the reveal molding attaches to.

pull the carpet,. you'll find the leak(s)

Nick

phantom 309 wrote:

pull the carpet,. you'll find the leak(s)

Nick

What Nick said! I'm guessing you have rot someplace; maybe those rear fenderwells. I know by experience.


Tom C.

pulled the 3rd row carpet and seat. no rot back there. i did notice the area around the rear driver side speaker was moist. i'll get the hose out tomorrow and check it out. if its the window do i just get someone to remove it, reseal and install? or is there something i can do my self?

also when tracing some bad wiring back in December i had to pull the second row seats. under the seat i found signs of moisture and floor pan rot. hopefully the same leak but i doubt it with this car

Take the complete carpet out. You might be in for a surprise.

Checking everywhere is not a bad idea in Canada. The cars tend to rot up there.

The only option for the window is to have someone R&R it. You will probably get resistance from the glass guy, because he will not want to be responsible if it breaks. It can be done without breaking it. R&Ring it does take 2 people. You may have some rust along the edge of the panel, so if you have to R&R the window, check it when the window is out.

Not to sound overly stupid, but the sheep want to know, "What's R&R?"

Remove and Replace/Reinstall

thanks for the info fred.

i dont care much for sheep.

Elmer Fudd would have been W & W, Weck & Weplace

I shoo do wuv wabbit!

lakeffect wrote:

Elmer Fudd would have been W & W, Weck & Weplace

kinda like your mantra for shermoo

Nick

Id neva bid WECKED, jus Wepaired.

Wellatibly easy widout axe holes in da hood.

wut the wuck?

lakeffect wrote:

Id neva bid WECKED, jus Wepaired.

Wellatibly easy widout axe holes in da hood.

axe was planned, car still drove,.

shermoo,. weel.

how's the pool coming benn?

got the hose out yesterday. looks like there's a small leak somewhere around the DS quarter window. tried soaking down the roof racks to find a leak, gave up and gave the rest of the car a bath. i think i'll just drill some drain holes for now. dont see myself keeping the wagon for to much longer... i want an lt1

Has anyone had problems with leaks with a southern/western non rusty car? So far mine is bone dry, and being from the south, thankfully is totally rust free.

Yeah, both of mine leak. The culprit is the rear quarter glass reveal molding. The molding separates along the top edge, and then the water lands on top of the headliner, which has a channel leading to the grab handle for the cargo area. The water runs down the cargo grab handle, and into the pockets in the top of the tire cover and storage compartment panels. There are a couple of other possible leak sites, but the reveal molding is the most prevelent.

how about possible rust in his wheel well seams, cause of leaks under back seat and floor well at third seat ???

There are a lot of possibilities. I can not see his car from here, so I can only report on mine.

My wagon had cracked seam sealer on the rear of the quarter panel, behind the tail light. It leaked beyond belief.

I have used a length of bicycle brake cable to remove GM glued in windows.
I suppose a guitar string would probably work, too.
Work one end through the gummy tarry crap that holds/seals the window, then grasp each end of the cable with vise grips, or better yet use a long enough cable that you can wrap and grasp each end with gloved hands. Use a back and forth sawing motion with forward pressure, go around the entire perimiter, and the glass will come loose without applying any pressure.
With these long side windows, it'll take two people, maybe three.
Be sure not to drop it!

Just noticed my passenger rear floor was all wet under the floor mat!!?? I looked under the car and the foot-well is dripping water onto the ground, it's solid with no holes or rust whatsoever.

What gives?

-Eric

Be sure you have rubber elbow on the AC drain tube on the outside of the firewall. It is below where the AC tubes go into the car.

OK, I did not find the elbow on the drain, thanks for the tip...........but how does this water make it to the rear floorboard??

mayneman wrote:

OK, I did not find the elbow on the drain, thanks for the tip...........but how does this water make it to the rear floorboard??

That's probably due to a wicking effect of the floorboard material...either that or you have another leak! It can take a long time for the carpet and underlying pad to dry out. The front may dry faster due to the airflow from the heater outlet.

When your air conditioner drain is working properly on a humid day, your station wagon will appear to have gotten a bit "excited" if it sits while idling for a bit.

Mark 96 Roady wrote:

Has anyone had problems with leaks with a southern/western non rusty car? So far mine is bone dry, and being from the south, thankfully is totally rust free.

I haven't had a problem with leaks just yet. (And now, just you watch and see what happens now that I've said something!)

I drove the car through a downpour the other day and it stayed dry (had the spare tire well and opposite side trim off last night). I have not noticed any water pooling in the rear footwell or any wet carpet anywhere. I believe my A/C drain tube to be intact, as I use the A/C a lot.