Help with weatherstrip leak
03-14-2017, 06:35 AM
#1
Help with weatherstrip leak
I have a 91 firebird ttops and I was wondering if you guys might be able to help me find a leak. When looking in the car everything's dry but as soon as it moves water pours out of the long plastic trim on the roof into the back seat and down sail panels. I have new ttop weatherstrip and they don't appear to be leaking. (The metal at the front of the ttops right behind the seal above the sun visor had a thin film of water but hadnt dripped or got anything wet) the car was parked where the back was slightly higher than the front. Any ideas? This was after about 24 hours of rain.
03-14-2017, 07:38 AM
#2
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Manns Harbor, NC
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Car: 1987 Trans Am
Engine: 305 4 bbl
Transmission: The kind that goes "kachunk" in 1st
Re: Help with weatherstrip leak
Have you checked the rear hatch seal? Sounds like it might be the culprit especially since the rear was parked higher than the fron, the hatch wouldn't be draining properly.
03-14-2017, 07:46 AM
#3
Re: Help with weatherstrip leak
They're old but looked good last time I checked. I'll look again when I get home. What do you think about the film of water at the front of the ttops?
03-14-2017, 05:43 PM
#4
Re: Help with weatherstrip leak
Could also be the hatch bolts leaking. The factory put a sealer around the bolts to body and over time it can deteriorate and cause water leaks and will leak exactly where you describe. As water rushes into the hatch jam, it find its way through those bolt holes at the hinges and sits on top of the panel and then rushes out. This was the problem on my 89. I took the hatch off completely, cut out rectangular thin pieces of rubber to match the hatch hinges and reinstalled. Problem solved. You could also just reseal the area between the hatch hinge and body with RTV or something as well. I decided to make rubber gaskets which worked great!
Edit: this is real easy to test. Take off the headliner panel and with the hatch closed, pour a cup or two of water around the top of the hatch jam and observe. That's how I found it.
Edit: this is real easy to test. Take off the headliner panel and with the hatch closed, pour a cup or two of water around the top of the hatch jam and observe. That's how I found it.
03-28-2017, 11:56 AM
#5
Re: Help with weatherstrip leak
I forgot to mention I have oer weatherstrip. I know everyone says it's trash but I didn't know at the time. It's completly sealed all the way around except there's a small hole in each corner where it seals the tbar. How would I go about sealing that?
Last edited by Faolan; 03-30-2017 at 08:35 AM.