Have you had a front window leak?

[moneymanager]

Car is a 74 sunroof. I have just read about 400 posts about interior leaks. I have just one question:
if my front window seal is leaking, can the water pass under the seal, enter the area under the hood then somehow drip thru openings in the sheet metal above the footspace onto the floor? In short, where does the water from a leaking window (top or bottom corner) actually go, as it travels into the car, if anyone knows? Thanks,

[Cooper911SC]

Hey Money,

My 911SC front window is leaking as I type...raining out in SOCAL right now...Mine weeps in from the left lower corner and then trickles down the dash near the left side defrost vent. It appears to be leaking through the side of the seal that captures the glass...not the side that sandwiches the body.

I guess it is time (gasp) to get out some black silicone...

Coop

[ossiblue]

It can go several places. As Cooper posted, that's one route that's visible. Another is to leak between the windshield lip and dash, seep under the dash and drip through the vent holes for the defrost or through any opening on the steel underframe of the dash top, and find its way in the trunk area behind the gauges and drip inside. If you've seen any pictures of the underside of old dashes, you'll understand the destruction that can happen without even having a clue.
If you have any suspicion the seal needs replacing, just do it, especially if your car sees any measurable amount of water.

[chicago_82sc]

My front windshield leaked resulting in water coming in between the dash and the doors. I had a body shop pressure test the front windshield - I suspected it seeping in at the lower corners of the windshield. The pressure test revealed the water was coming in at the top of the windshield where there is the metal piece holding the frame together. It was then traveling down each side and then into the car. I guess my lesson was that where water comes in is not always what would appear to be most logical.

After a seal replacement all was dry and remains so.

[teenerted1]

i love it when so cal guys complain about leaking window seals.

[porschenut]

Mine was leaking at the right lower corner, and the water trickled down around the outside edge of the dash, then under the front lip back toward the glove box light, then dripped straight to the floor.

[moneymanager]

Well rain passed thru here a couple of hours ago and left me with two small pools of water on the floor. Fortunately it only rains here in CA every three or four years, so I probably won't have to attend to this problem for a while.
But you've answered my question I think: the water can come in and drip down onto your feet so it appear to be entering from the trunk space. Please, if anyone else has another water route, please chime in. Thanks to all.

[dtw]

Mine was leaking up at the top corners of the seal, down along the frame invisibly, and pouring in under the dash.

This is a dire source of rust under the dash, btw. Whenever checking a 911 over, I lightly press against the dash face, right where it blends into the door rail. Any crunchy noise? That car's got the cancer.

A bodged install and poor blame glass were to blame. Dummy installer had stuffed lenths of rope between the seal and body in an attempt to fill out the seal.

I reinstalled with a new seal and good new glass. The fit was still poor in the corners. A soft rubber mallet, like what you'd use for carpet/upholstery installs, was the answer. Using that I was able to correct the poor corner fitment of the trim in the windshield/seal. It was not guiding the seal into the proper position - some of the angle of the bend was lost during the crappy install. A few careful taps and it was right again.

Dried up seals, of course, are the usual cause of this, but you'll also see a lot of really, really, bad installs causing leaks. What is tricky, is that it can be bad glass, bad aftermarket seal, or bent trim - or a combination of the three - causing the leak.

[ramonesfreak]

mine ends up as a puddle on the floor of driver and passenger side, fills up the map holders on the doors as well.

[moneymanager]

Very helpful. After distilling the combined wisdom of the group, it appears that no matter where the water flows or ends up inside the FRONT of a 911's passenger compartment, it can only actually penetrate from the outside in a few ways:
it can enter thru the corners of the windshield seal;
it can enter via the front fresh air vent if: the vent isn't bolted tightly to the body, or the hose coming out of it is clogged, broken or missing;
it can enter via the rubber hood seal if old, missing or broken
it can enter via the rubber gaskets at the windshield washer or wipers if they are missing or defective.
it can enter via the doors if the door seals are missing or shot.
it can enter via the sunroof (though this almost always seems to be a problem at the rear.)
Of course if the car is a rustbucket, there are endless additional possibilities. And I don't fortunately have a leak at the rear of the passenger compartment so I have yet to address that. But the list for the front is pretty finite and it should be relatively easy to isolate your problem with some ducktape and a hose.

[4flyboy]

Originally Posted by Cooper911SC

Hey Money,

My 911SC front window is leaking as I type...raining out in SOCAL right now...Mine weeps in from the left lower corner and then trickles down the dash near the left side defrost vent. It appears to be leaking through the side of the seal that captures the glass...not the side that sandwiches the body.

I guess it is time (gasp) to get out some black silicone...

Coop

Yup Coop,

I feel ya. I've been driving my '85 Coupe up PCH from S.Monica to Camarillo the last couple of days on business. Yesterday it was howling and I got cold drips on the left knee.
There seems to be water pooling inside on the left lower corner of the windsheild and trickling down near the vent. I had my hands full with the road but I assumed the leak originated there? Sounds like it could be anywhere.

Scott

[RoninLB]

the windshield floats in the frame. It's meant to be kicked out from inside in case driver is trapped inside. The glass and seals eventually drop. Water leaks in at the top.

I used some dum dum at the lower part of the frame and sides to help stop it from falling.

I had to reinstall a new glass 3x to make sure I used enough dum dum.

[dtw]

Originally Posted by moneymanager

Very helpful. After distilling the combined wisdom of the group, it appears that no matter where the water flows or ends up inside the FRONT of a 911's passenger compartment, it can only actually penetrate from the outside in a few ways:

All those & more. Though, water shouldn't enter from the sunroof unless the drain pipes are plugged and/or rusted.

Best bet is to sit in the car while a helper sprays the car down with a garden hose. I was totally mystified trying to track down the leaks in my car until I did this. Works great. Flashlight helps.

[moneymanager]

Water spray did nothing for me; I had to methodically eliminate each of the items on my list until, finally, the window gasket problem was isolated. FWIW.

[KTL]

When you pull the windshield to replace it, make sure you inspect the low corners of the windshield opening. You'll likely find rust there. My car has never seen bad weather (winter) and has virtually no chassis rust. Yet I did find rust beginning in the openining when I pulled my windshield. Likely due to crappy installation of replacement windshield.

windshield seal replacement rust

[moneymanager]

If the seal leaks, water runs to that very spot and sits there sometimes for days. Do that for a couple of years and there will be rust.