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Isolating a windshield leak?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Deyomatic, Oct 25, 2006.

  1. Deyomatic
    Joined: Apr 17, 2002
    Posts: 3,291

    Deyomatic
    Member
    from CT

    Well, after ripping the interior out of my '55 Fairlane I found some holes in the floors at the base of the firewall. Someone suggested that a leaky windshield would be the culprit. Whether it was the cause or not, it does leak because whenever it rains condensation forms on the inside of the windshiled...ice in the wintertime.

    Any tips on finding out exactly where it leaks or do I just have to start smearing some kind of sealant all over it until it stops? OR, do I just POR-15 the hell out of the floors and not worry about it?

    Someone long ago suggested to me that a urethane sealant is better than silicone. Any truth to that?
     
  2. 47 Tudor Guy
    Joined: Feb 19, 2006
    Posts: 345

    47 Tudor Guy
    Member

    If the doors and windows seal fairly tight, you can turn the blower on high with all doors and windows shut and listen around the widnsheild with a mechanics stethoscope or a piece of fuel line. You will hear the wind noise. It's hard for me to recommend how to seal it until the leak is isolate. Someone else here will probably have better ideas on the sealing anyway.
     
  3. loogy
    Joined: Mar 6, 2004
    Posts: 1,238

    loogy
    Member

    Set up a small sprinkler on the roof of the car, get inside and look for water intrusion. Sometimes you have to trace the water trails up until you find the actual entrance point.

    Urethane IS better than sillycone for sealing windows.
     
  4. dt50chev
    Joined: Mar 15, 2005
    Posts: 596

    dt50chev
    Member

    Spray a foaming glass cleaner all around the outside of the windshield, then have a buddy go inside the car with an air nozzle. Have him blow all around the perimiter of the windshield while you look from the outside. You will see the foam blow out when you locate the leak.
     
  5. CruZer
    Joined: Jan 24, 2003
    Posts: 1,934

    CruZer
    Member

    As far as sealing the windshield is concerned,sombody makes a silicone sealer that has the consistency of water so it flows into the leak.Walmart used to sell it.It is in a siringe like package for getting into tight places. I'd remove the outer trim before you start looking for the leak,too.
    I haven't seen this product for awhile.Hopefully others on here have stuff they've been successful with.
     
  6. Blownolds
    Joined: Mar 31, 2001
    Posts: 2,335

    Blownolds
    Member
    from So Cal

    Back when I worked at a dealership in the service department, there were two techniques:

    1) two people: one on the outside with a hose, the other inside with eyeballs

    2) one person: after closing the car and windows all up, an ultrasound frequency emitter is placed inside the car. Then, the person walks all around the windows with an ultrasound sensor receiver and tries to pinpoint the problem. This worked really well on the new cars that had pretty tight sealing everywhere, but may not work well for a raggety old car that doesn't seal well anywhere.
     
  7. 63jalopy
    Joined: Feb 24, 2005
    Posts: 75

    63jalopy
    Member

    Here's a suggestion that works on the finding interior leaks at the dealership I work at. Take some talcum powder (anything useful on a baby's butt) and sprinkle it inside the car under and behind the dash along the firewall and then run water over the windshield from outside. If water is leaking inside the vehicle, you can see the trail of wet powder. The remaining powder can then easily be cleaned up after you're done. Cheap,easy,and effective.
     
  8. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    My 56 was leaking on the floor. I turned out to be the door out of adjustment. The seal didn't seal at the top. Adjusting the door latch to get a better alignment with the quarter panel, solved the problem of the leak.
     
  9. Deyomatic
    Joined: Apr 17, 2002
    Posts: 3,291

    Deyomatic
    Member
    from CT

    Tommy, I get water on the inside of the windshield...but I am sure the doors don't seal properly, either. I'll add it to the list!
     
  10. glassguy
    Joined: Feb 12, 2003
    Posts: 2,261

    glassguy
    Member

    this is what i was gonna say .. ive found soapy water works better as you can see bubbles easier.... the windshield may not leak the water on the inside of the glass could be from the condensation inside. usually when floors are wet its something leaking from the firewall or air intakes. good luck water leaks suck!
     
  11. old beet
    Joined: Sep 25, 2002
    Posts: 5,750

    old beet
    Member

    I fought a W/S leak for a long time, just to find a rubber plug missing on the floor. When it rained the carpet soaked it up like a sponge. Moisture everywhere. Put a plug in, problem solved!.......OLDBEET
     
  12. The most common cause of floor rust perforation is a leaky windshield. If your car has a rubber set windshield and still has the original seal or a visual inspection of the seal reveals that the rubber is cracked or dry rotted. Its probably time to replace it. For a quick check I prefer the talcum powder sprinkled around the outside of the windshield and the air hose from the inside. If you have a big hole and a nearsighted helper it can get amusing. The main thing to remember about windshield leaks is that there is No Quick Fix to resolving the leak other than to R&R the glass and replace the seal or rebond with new adhesive. Dont be surprised if you remove the windshield and find rust perforation between the seal and the contact area of the seal to the lower section of the windshield opening . Over the years dirt slowly makes it way into this area and once it gets wet it stays that way until it finally rots thru.
    If the windshield is set in a butyl adhesive the same issues apply. Butyl adhesive would only last about 5 years before it dried out and started to leak. Windshield leaks were so common in that era of auto that glass shops always had 5 or 6 around at most times.

    What ever you do. DONT USE A SILICONE SEALANT OR ADHESIVE. The proper repair is determined by the design of the glass and the system used to retain the window.

    Larry
     
  13. xlr8
    Joined: Jun 26, 2006
    Posts: 700

    xlr8
    Member
    from Idaho

    An old timer mechanic friend of mine turns the defroster fan on high, as someone mentioned, then puts a lit cigarette in the car and watches what the smoke does. Only a non-smoker would think of this!
     
  14. NZRodder
    Joined: Nov 4, 2002
    Posts: 57

    NZRodder
    Member

    I am completely off topic but this is a question for Deyomatic.

    You wouldnt happen to still have the 6 page story by Tom Beatty on "how to build a belly tanker" I saw on a previous post (2 years ago) that you do. If possible could I get a copy of this of you or could you point me in the right direction about where to buy a copy from?

    Cheers
     
  15. Darby
    Joined: Sep 12, 2004
    Posts: 426

    Darby
    Member

    Or, air hose on the inside, cigar on the outside, and chase them both around the w/s until you see smoke move. Saw a guy at a class show do this once--found a leak in tens econds that I'd been chasing for a month. Seemed like such an obvious idea when he did it.
     
  16. DKcoupe
    Joined: Dec 17, 2005
    Posts: 327

    DKcoupe
    Member

    I had good luck sprinkling flour all over the windshield then using an air hose on the inside (after removing the inside window moulding). The air coming out will leave little trails in the flour. You don't need a second person. Talcum powder would do the same but flour was available at the time. Also check the seals where your wipers come through the cowl.
     
  17. Bugman
    Joined: Nov 17, 2001
    Posts: 3,483

    Bugman
    Member

    It's called "flowable silicone." My local Car Quest sells it.
     
  18. tell me more. ive been fighting with ws leak on a customers truck all week! (48 Ford)
     

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