Water leaking in- vert owners any advice?

[Cobra-21]

I've had my vert for 10 years now and recently started smelling that mildew/humid smell in the car. Found the rear carpet soaked (not the front) AND under the rear seats. So I did a water hose test on the door seals, window seals, roof. Only place it seems to be leaking is at the far back corner of the quarter window. The rubber seal kind of wraps over another piece of rubber there and it seems to leave a gap. I've taped it up for now. Link to pics below.

So can some of you other vert owners confirm that my rubber seal is the same as yours, with that little gap? If that is factory design and it worked all these years I wonder if there's something else going on. If water is allowed to go down that opening into the quarter panel there must be a way for it to flow out without accumulating inside the car. Maybe I've got a drain hole plugged? I guess I'll have to pull the interior side panels and look around. Any other ideas?

quarter window on convertible
https://imageshack.com/i/iqdYHN7cj

area where rubber trim bends
https://imageshack.com/i/pamn5WzGj

 

[BadBlue98GT]

I feel your pain! A rock busted my windshield a couple of months ago and instead of getting it filled with epoxy, I got a new windshield. I've had water issues ever since and it makes me want to set shit on fire. I guess it's just part of owning a convertible. Hope you get things fixed.

 

[BadBlue98GT]

The rubber seal on my driver's side looks exactly like yours. On my passenger side, the rubber part closest to the fabric top is missing...guess that came off when I put the top down on the way home today or yesterday...so now I have a big hole and one more problem to fix!

 

[NiceCobra]

Yea my gap is bigger than that, I may starting plugging it when I wash my car.

 

[SLOWBRA]

I literally just helped a friend fix his problem on a 04 GT Vert. Same exact thing as you, rear driver side getting water. His little rubber seal looks just like yours, but on my 04 Cobra it is nice and tight.

We solved his problem by clearing out all the drain holes without fixing his rubber seal. The drain holes are TINY and located on the pinch welds. You can clean them with a hanger from under the car. The second we cleaned his tons of water came out. The vert is designed to channel the water and drain it out using this method.

He did order new weatherstripping in that section since it was only $30

 

[Huachipato]

I actually had an issue with a leak in the A-pillar. I figured the weatherstripping there may be getting out of shape and not holding a seal. I haven't yet had the issue with the rear window like you have. Even though there is a gap in mine as well, I have not noticed any leaks in that area.

 

[BadBlue98GT]

I actually had an issue with a leak in the A-pillar. I figured the weatherstripping there may be getting out of shape and not holding a seal. I haven't yet had the issue with the rear window like you have. Even though there is a gap in mine as well, I have not noticed any leaks in that area.

Have you diagnosed the leak in the A-Pillar yet because that's the area where I am having trouble?

 

[Cobra-21]

He did order new weatherstripping in that section since it was only $30

Are you talking about the horizontal seal that seals the glass I was showing in the photo? How hard was it to install? Got a part number?

 

[spray'n mach 1]

what is this rain you speak of?










































j/k good luck op this thread is good to know if one day my car might have the same issue if it ever sees water.

 

[THunterW]

My vert leaks in that same area, and you can actually hear wind noise inside the car when driving on the highway from it rushing in through those tiny gaps. The water collects onto the vinyl cover behind the rear seats, and isn't a whole lot as it dries up on its own. I've had to lower those quarter windows down and dig the seal out and line it up to where it seals all the way, but after 3-4 times of lowering the windows it just gets right back out of alignment. Might just be time for me to replace all of the seals.

 

[Cobra-21]

We solved his problem by clearing out all the drain holes without fixing his rubber seal. The drain holes are TINY and located on the pinch welds. You can clean them with a hanger from under the car. The second we cleaned his tons of water came out.

Hey SLOWBRA I just got under there to look for these drain holes, can you describe where to find them better? Are they in between the 2 layers of the pinch weld? Or off to the side in the floor pan? I had no luck. Any pics would be great.

 

[SLOWBRA]

Hey SLOWBRA I just got under there to look for these drain holes, can you describe where to find them better? Are they in between the 2 layers of the pinch weld? Or off to the side in the floor pan? I had no luck. Any pics would be great.

They are a pain to locate at first, but when you do find them you will see there are 4 of them on each side of the car. They are in between the two layers of the punch weld. One is directly near the jacking point, which was the first one I found. You will need a small diameter hanger to access the hole. I'll see if I can find any pics online.

One way you could find them is to place a running hose between the rear quarter panel and convertible top so that all water is going behind the plastic trim. Of course, do this on the side that you don't have water running into the inside of your car. After you do this, bend down and look for areas where water is running between the pinch welds. If you test this on the side where the water drains fine then you will know what needs to be cleaned up on the other.

I was shocked how much water came out once I cleaned the drain holes! It should run out fast, not drip.

 

[Cobra-21]

Anybody got pics of those drain holes under the car?