i dont know if any of you guys would do this, but i did because i didn't feel like spending over 100$ for weatherstripping. I went to Pep boys got some black silicone and took my t-tops off and siliconed ontop of the existing weatherstripping just to make it thicker so that when i put the t-top ontop of it, it will fit snug. then i let it dry with the t-tops off for a while,(make sure to let it dry all the way or you will have a big mess ) then when all is dry put the t-top back on and lock it. when it rains see if it still leeks if it does try using more silicone to make it thicker. i also put some on the ends of the t-tops itself to make fit even tighter. Make sure to get black silicone just so you can't notice it.. it worked for me and i hope it works for who ever else that can't stand leeking t-tops, and wants a cheap fix without just sealing your t-tops up completely so that you cant use them. ---------- if you want me to post pictures of how it looks i can, if your scared it would look hideous or somthing.

well show us some pics. ?? i heard of it being done before , but with saran wrap on t tops and installed while silicone cured . guy swore it worked , but i dunno . show pics. please .

This is what I use if i have to park it outside while on a trip and its supposed to rain.
It works great doesnt leave sticky stuff on good paint or glass. Easy cleanup and doesnt look like A55.
Plus i heard it stays on at speeds over 160mph...

ill show the pictures when i get home im at school right now

3M weather striping adhesive

Damn how long are his classes

nah i just forgot about the thread sorry....but anyways after like a week the fix i did stopped working, and the t-tops started leeking again so i got sick of it and ordered the weatherstripping from hawks.....hopefully that works, has anyone else ordered the weatherstripping from there? will it definetly fix it? since i did spend 255$ for it....

bump*

no, new weather stripping alone may not cure your problem. many of these cars leaked "from the factory". so new stripping won't solve it. however, in you seal those seals to the car real well you will probably only get a little dribble once in a while.

applying black silicone on top of weather stripping DOES NOT EQUAL Fabrication! This forum has become polluted with threads like this.

What does equal fabrication then? Should he go ahead and start refining petroleum and make his own rubber for weatherstripping? Or do you have something else in mind. Regardless, he tried doing something to benefit his vehicle with his own hands, and when it didn't work he told us. Lesson learned for all of us without dropping money on it. Thank you Rva for your inuitive lesson, I appreciate the work you're doing. Oh and let me know if those ones you bought work better please......

Im just taking my car in to get done that way if it leaks ill have guaranteed work, with the price of the weatherstripping maybe they'll feel guilty n charge me less labor lol, not likely.

I doubt they'll feel guilty, but like you said, it'll be guaranteed bro.

yea no problem guys, i will post back and tell you if they work better,sorry if i offended anyone by posting here.... i thought fabrication is where you do the car modifying yourself....

Calamitascamaro, I believe this topic would better fit the Body forum. Fabrication would be things like creating new accessory brackets, creating your own intake manifold or crossmember, even building a center console or guage cluster from scratch. I'd expect fabrication to be beyond the scope of normal repairs and maintenance. It'd be actually creating something new or heavily modifying existing components. In fact, I just read the header on the Forum and it describes it very well... it says "Custom fabrication ideas and concepts...."

I didn't mean to come off like an *** to the original poster. I just get frustrated that a lot of the topics in here don't meet what I believe the purpose of this Fabrication forum to be.

well sorry next time i know where to post. thanks for the heads up

i got the weatherstripping over the weekand and isntalled it. it still leaks on the driverside it stopped on the passenger.and now leaks in the middle

Rva, When you put the weatherstrip kit on, did you remove any of the retainers and/or the black metal piece on the T-bar? I got the weatherstripping kit to install (haven't done it yet), but I stripped all the retainers and the T-bar off. I think some of your problems may be behind those. There is a "seal" behind the retainers that would leak as if the rubbers were bad. The big problem is that GM has discontinued most of these retainers, I think you may still be able to get the T-bar if lucky (I myself only found 4 of 5 of the parts, including the T-bar (one of them have the mounting holes drilled wrong, so I have to re-drill and seal them) and it took a lot of time and research). I know they had a article in a Corvette magazine that went over the weatherstripping and retainer replacement that was similar and helpful, I can see if I can find it if interrested...

yea my dad took the t-bar off to paint it and now it leaks... but it didnt before

A weekend? wow. I've been working on mine off and on for a few days. Taking forever to clean all the left over adhesive and old seals.

How exactly did you seal the new ones in? I'd try getting a tube of 3M sealer, and carefully peel back the weatherstrip along the edge where it meets the body, and run a continuous bead across.

yea thats what i did, and the reason i got the stuff off so easy, is because we used a wire brush drill bit. and after i let my car sat in the garage for a night and let the adhesive dry, it stopped leaking

any updates ? do you have any pictures?

Just a little heads up - silicone is bad for rubber parts. It will work for awhile, but it will make it dry out and crack after awhile, and actually make your problem worse. Ever see the dried out, cracked and discolored interior parts, weather stripping and tires after guys use Armor-All on it? That happens because of all the silicone in Armor-All.... the same will happen if you put that sealant on your T-top seals, just a little more slowly.

Have you tried adjusting your tops? Do some searching on how to adjust them...sometimes you can get them to pull down a little tighter and that will stop the leaks.

Sometimes if it rains hard enough and long enough, water will come in. Or if snow sits on the car for an extended amount of time. A lot of guys are happy if they JUST get a few drips haha. But if you fiddle with it enough, you can get them to stop leaking for the most part.

J.

Stop waisting your time and money with silicone caulk. Go to an autobody shop and pick up some 3M Strip Calk. Fill the gaps between the rubber and metal with this stuff.

I pulled every peice of rubber out of the roof on my T-Top IROC and was shocked at how GM designed the weather protection. They planned to let water enter a channel then funnel it out of the tiny channel, dumb.
New rubber WILL NOT SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS. To make sure you dont have leaks, keep the water from getting below the bulb of the weather stripping. Do not plan to remove and reuse your weather stripping either. You will tear it while removing it.

The 3M calk is very pliable and can be compressed to fit into a very small void ( like at each corner of the tbar, where most of the leaks occur) and will last longer than the rubber.

This is my honest opinion.

do you have a link or a photo of this stuff?

3M makes adhesive remover, that might help .

http://www.fierottop.com/waterleak/



http://www.sunroofdoctor.com/