Wet weather, wet interior???

[chewed 71'er]

Wet weather in the mid-west, noticed leaks in cab of my 71 C10. Under the dash, in the upper left and right corners, rain water is seeping in around seam sealant. What is the best way to access these areas, from underneath or topside? What is typically used for resealing? Also, the inner door panels are rusted as well. Do the exterior vent window seals leak (letting water run down inside the door?), or do the doors leak elsewhere? A little wet on the inside and not liking it!

[chevy2racr]

I have water comin in my kick panel vents when it rains to, everyone says the drain holes are plugged, where are these drain holes??
Bryce

[HotRod929]

Yea i got the same problem..watter comming in on the top righ side of the cab right behind the glovebox. Cant seem to find where the leak is comming from. Any ideas? Thanks

HotRod

[Hooter]

almost sounds like the body seam in the windshield frame. Just hope when you take the windshield out that the whole frame is rotted because it is really difficult to fix

[trinic]

Brought the truck to work las friday and it poured
pretty much all day. Well, come time to leave home, open the door and notice a fricken puddle
and water pouring from under the drivers side dash. Since it was still raining when I opened the door, I noticed that there was a puddle of water between the window and the dash on the drivers side. Looked real close and the water was coming from in between the glass and the seal. Somehow the water seems to stay put on the outer gasket allowing it to seep in between the window. I looked real close to make sure there was no rust and it clear of that. I took some clear silicon and applied it between the outer gasket and windsheild for now. Seems to have worked for now..
Smaller circle in picture shows location of water
coming in....

[HotRod929]

trinic, thats exactly where I think my water is comming in...except on the passenger side. I think ill try that silicone deal. THanks

HotRod

[chewed 71'er]

This is a start, gotta look a little deeper. HOPE the windshield frame is not rusted out. Oh yeah, looking at the drivers side leak, I realize now how the fuse block can get rusted up. Got to keep after this one, quick!

[firstgencamaros]

I really wish you guys hadn't started talking about this. We had our first big rain since I had the new windshild installed. LEAKS LIKA A MOTHER! Have to call the glass guys back out again. Hope it doesn't take them another 4 hours this time...lol...
Later,

[ChevLoRay]

If your truck is like mine, the problem may not be anything to do with the windshield gasket or sealing. The problem is the accumulation of leaves, pine needles and dirt that are in the area just above both of the outside air vents, on the kick panels. All that stuff causes them to rust-out and leak when it rains.

For those of you in the mid-west, several posts have been done showing rusty windshield mountings, which add to the problem.

But, regardless of what the source of the leak, we only have two real options...and that is to repair the problem properly or sell the truck. I choose NOT to sell my truck. I LIKE it! So, I'm gonna have to pull the front cap, and repair the plenum area AND install a good way to route the rain water from it. Install a screen beneath the cowl piece (right in front of the windshield) to keep leaves and stuff from falling in there.

Oh, there's option 3: early Mustangs have this problem, too. The aftermarket people make a cover for the cowl area that has weatherstripping and attaches with J-bolts to hold it down on the cowl. We could do that, too. Problem with the early Mustangs is that their cowl repair is a major deal. They have to remove the fenders, and cut access holes in the cowl to get to the damage for repairs. The cover just buys 'em some time. Oh, make it out of plexiglas. It will also reduce the incoming cold air that leaks into the body, even if the vents are closed.

[Hutch]

With my windshield out it appears as though the sealer which lines the drip rail might be the culprit.
This stuff dries out and cracks then the water is routed along the windshield gasket from top to bottom along the sides then to the cowl and then inside the cab. All of this is brought to you with the help of our good friend gravity.
Start at the highest point (the drip rail) and work down from there

[68 Stepside]

Here's what can happen if you live in the middle of the "salt belt", and don't wash your vehicle for 26 years, or take care of windshield leaks. From what I can tell, when this vehicle changed hands, in 1976, it all went downhill. Too bad really....

[PICKMUP]

Rust out in the vent area is a big problem with these trucks. The leaves accumulate and turn to mud/goo, rusting out the lower area. I cut a 1.5" hole in the bottom, next to the factory drain hole. This lets the big stuff pass through, you can reach in there and clean out the old stuff & it gives you good access to spray the inside with a good rust protectant.

[68 Stepside]

Here's one more pic, that shows the seam itself...er...what's left of it.

[PanelDeland]

Here's the fixes I know of.
1) take off the cowl( requires removing wipers and about a dozen screws and bolts)Clean out the area in the cowl vents.I have heard of people doing this thru the cowl vents but I beleive it is really hard to get them very clean this way.I then went to the car wash and sprayed them very clean with the high pressure hose.

2) They make a screen kit for these.Comes in black or stainless.I want one but haven't found one yet.

3) customize it with a filled cowl.

4)You may be able to reseal some seams with the cowl off.


GOOT LUK

[68 Stepside]

Hey Panel Deland, LMC has the cowl screens. If you'd like, I can get you a part number, if you don't have one of their catalogs.




TJ

[HvyChevy454]

i had that problem too, i just put more silicone under the rubber on the top corners of the windshield, fixed that problem it was still leaking on the passenger side though, figured out it was coming through the hole for the atenna wire into the cab and possibly the cab to firewall seam. clear silicoend in all the what looked to be trouble spots, and hasnt dripped since.