lots of water leaking in - inconsistently

[ronb]

Hi - on my 79sc on the passengers side I will get a serious amount of water leaking in during a heavy rainstorm. But not every storm. As much as 1/2" on the passenger side only. I thought it might somehow be a plugged sunroof drain / or due to a poor sunroof seal. I replaced it; no change. I've spent a lot of time with a hose at the carwash - cannot duplicate it.

There are no damp areas, ie where I can trace the water trail. I also checked the antennea routing; no wetness there.

The reason I thought it might be the drain is because the amount of water coming in seems to be more than if it were just seeping in under a seal; it's enough that I think the water is being channelled there (not spiritually channeled you understand)

Any suggestions as to where to look? (79 sc coupe)

[Allan Broadribb]

Does this happen when the car is standing still or when you are driving?

If it's standing still it could be the drain from the fresh air intake.

If it's coming in while you are driving then check the windshield seal - it gets stretched in the corners - mine leaked at the lower right side corner between the seal and the body. When you are driving the wind will push a lot of water through a small gap. I pumped some silicone in there and it's fine. Also check where your antenna wire passes through the body into the car.

Good luck

[bigchillcar]

yeah,

i second the windshield seal...getting ready to replace mine...i get it on both sides in the front ('74 911). did the silicone really help your leak allan?

ryan




1974 911 coupe w/sunroof + CIS

[htbetz]

Yea, my 74' coupe with a sunroof leaks the same way. I replaced the sunroof seals but no improvement. It's probably the windshield seal. The water comes in and drips down from the pasanger side dashboard. Gonna try some silicone for temporary.

[ronb]

Thanks for the replies. It happens when it's standing, not when driving. I have shut the exterior air vent - it has been open (it's usually fully open). You mention a "drain from the fresh air intake" - should I pull open the air system that is under the hood? IE to check the drain? If so, where does it go? Right now it is raining, and we're expecting a rainy weekend, so this might be the test. On the up side - I've been learning how this car handles in the wet...very gingerly (since the first month I had it, last year, I did a 360 on black ice and right off the road....luckily into the only part of the shoulder that was not a drop or tree lined). Anyway, will post results after the next hard rain - and let me know how to look for the drain. Thanks again.

[ronb]

Also - windshield seals were replaced right when I bought it.

[Jeffra]

This is too familiar a subject for me...I've delt with this exact issue on both my 911S and SC.

It's probably one of three areas...forward trunk weather stripping or front/rear windshield weather stripping. I got smart on my second pcar and just replaced them all. At 20 years old, they needed replacing anyway.

On my SC, it was interesting tracking it down. The front trunk weather stripping was not sealing properly (old, I guess) around the rear corner, passenger side by the windshield. Water would drip down inside, onto the fresh air hose, and then inside the passenger footwell. I'd get up to 1/2" of water at times. There's nothing like a leak that can get a pcar/boat owner pissed off!!!

Good luck tracking it down. I'll bet you it's one of the above areas. Keep us posted.

[Chris Bunker]

You mention a "drain from the fresh air intake" - should I pull open the air system that is under the hood? IE to check the drain? If so, where does it go?

On the underside of the big black fresh air intake plenum, there is a small drain spout about 20mm in diameter. It connects to a drain hose at the trunk floor just to the rear of the smugglers trunk door. The corrugated hose goes down through the smugglers trunk along the rear wall and finally through the floor of the smugglers trunk to drain the water on the ground.

Check to make sure the hose is intact and in fact connected at the drain spout. Mine was not and I ended up getting some water in the trunk.

What may have happened is that the portion that goes through the floor may have pulled up and is now dumping the water into your smugglers trunk and it maybe seeping back into the passenger compartment.

[sayah]

One other thing you might check if all else fails, ronb. It's the little plastic tubes that connect the forward sunroof drain and the metal tubes inside the car frame. For some crazy reason Porsche saw fit to truncate these metal drains and connect a little piece of plastic (OH i hate the stuff!!!) tubing. After many years it disintergrates and leave a leak under the headliner.

Good luck.

[Glasgow 911SC]

Try taking the door panel off and make sure there's a plastic sheet stuck over the frame. I stops water coming through all the gaps.

[BGCarrera32]

Ditto on Jeffra's post...check the front hood seal. If you'll notice for a moment, p-cars lack the deeper kind of channel/lip around the front hood seal, so if water is on the hood and piling up (for lack of a better term) on that seal, it has nowhere to go but in. He's right on about it leaking down the air hose and into the passenger side...

[ronb]

thank you all. other than closing the vent, all the other things checked out ok (blower drain, hood seals, door plastic). So.... I will post results after the next big rain...