superloaf

Yup, lots of leaks, CA car recently relocated to TN and the car (and it’s driver) really want nothing to do with this place. So a leak is a leak and I’ve fixed several but now a new one, this time at the left side driver’s ankle/door area. Can’t tell exactly where it’s coming from but i have had problems with leaks under the windshield seal already and I’ve resealed most of that area. Basically my question is if anyone knows of where this leak might be coming from? Seems weird that it’s so far to the side as most leaks from the firewall/windshield area come through more around the frontal, foot area while this leak is definitely on the side. Any ideas? See pics for what’s going on exactly….

And while it may not look bad, it will pretty much soak that area after a decent rainfall. I’ve cleaned out the inner door drains so it’s not that. It seems to be coming from up higher, near upper fender section. The door seal looks good and there is no obvious point of entry. I have replaced the left fender in the past but i don’t remember anyplace water could get inside and i did seal up the mounting bolts with undercoating.
Thanks.

V2Rocket

it's been a few years that you've been in TN - i recall you being unhappy back then - why do you stay?
i'm in the opposite boat - 5 years in TN, have gone back to CA a few times to visit, have zero desire to move back there. TN is so much better

on topic, is the bellows in place between the door and pillar? door switch, all the other things in the doorjamb?

drscottsmith

Sunroof drain tube?

dillon410021

could be the sunroof drain hose. Had one on my 968 that shrunk over 30 years and wasnt long enough anymore. I just pulled off the a-pillar trim and put and extension in using brass barbs

superloaf

Yup, all appears in place with no obvious problems. I've been sealing the front windshield with a couple different sealants, first a Creeping Crack Cure which did work initially but hasn't completely solved the problems. So now I've busted out the 3M Windshield Sealant and that stuff works really well, sticks to everything (including silicone!) seals large gaps and glues in the rear hatch and front windshield, amazing product! However, some spots are tough or even impossible to get to such as both the lower seal area sandwiched between the dashboard and the inner windshield. And also the outer windshield along the lower edge/cowl near the wipers/windshield bracket especially. That said, I've solved a lot of the leaking around the windshield and I am now unsure if the subject of this thread is being caused either completely or partially from the windshield.
Regarding TN, I'm here due to my mom who is now 92 and needs someone to be with her. So I'll be here for awhile and then, who knows? I've grown used to not expecting anything from the surrounding area such as restaurants, bars, stores, shopping, women, fun, nice cars, etc. Those don't really exist where I am but I know Nashville has all of those attributes, although still nothing like LA proper. Once you decide you have to give these up, you just focus on what you have and then barely leave the property because that will only lead to disappointment. Not trying to sound miserable as I'm not, just explaining how my mind has decided to process the whole thing. (And I'm in Hendersonville which really has nothing whatsoever to offer except maybe a bit of safety from the crazy violent crime rate of TN and most of the south! It's pretty nuts here; kinda like LA back in the 80's-90's. Of course, I'm loving the garage and free parking for as many cars as I can stack in here as well as the yard, surrounding scenery and newfound cycling paths/routes.

I don't think it was the drain hose but I resealed it with the 3M Wonderseal and it does seem to be less than before but I also resealed the windshield. I'm going to touch up a couple of spots along the windshield and see if that does anything.

Thanks for the tips, everyone, much appreciated.

There's also a thread from Jan 2024 by someone who was having the same area leaking so I replied to that thread in hopes they have solved the whole fiasco and my leaking days are soon to be gone, once and for all...!

superloaf

Ok, so I've located the leak...well, sort of. I've tracked it down to the drain in the front cowl under the hood although that doesn't give me any hope of sealing it at this point. Does anyone know where it might be leaking inside that drain? Is there a trouble spot? I'm not sure where to go from here. One thing I can say is that the leak is up higher in the channel as it gets inside the car above the rear hatch bracket.

superloaf

I may have cured the leak. Or at least stopped it for the foreseeable future. Hopefully.

Here's the leak. See the close up for a chance at spotting it.





Basically at that seam and mostly towards the bottom. I sealed it with the wondrous 3M Windshield sealant. I'm not sure if this will permanently seal things but we'll see! I am planning on getting a welder soon and would have loved to weld it but that invites rust, is problematic trying to weld inside the car and also causes trouble with inhalation of galvanized metal which is a health risk. Plus, probably not the time to learn welding for the first time. I worry about water working its way in past the sealant and also getting more into the seam but it'll be better than it was. If you know the proper way to fix this permanently, let me know. I'm mostly posting this to help other folks who are seeing a leak in this area and wondering what they're up against.

So here's my sealing job. Be kind as I know it's a bit of a hack job but I figured overkill was the way to go although I kind of wished I'd done a very minimal job for the time being and then leave it for awhile to see if the water finds a way around it or if the leak was truly a limited area weakness. Anyway, did a water test and no water inside the car so so far, so good! Ha ha, and onto the pic.




I'll also post some pics of the hatch switch and carpet/hood release plastic to show what's involved when trying to get to the leaking metal. It's a bit of a pain but to remove the hatch release switch, pry behind the outer plastic frame and also under the carpet. It's held in by two metal clips which are pretty substantial and can be tricky to remove. One of mine flew off when removing, there are two of the brass colored brackets, one on each side.

Also, in the following pic you can see all of the sound deadening/insulation material under the carpet. Mine is pretty weathered and brittle and plastic part facing the camera just disintegrates as I tried to remove it. And making matters worse is the fact that the insulation is glued rather aggressively to the metal so upon removing it, you're likely to both completely destroy the plastic and shred and tear the insulation. I couldn't find a neat way to do this and not sure how the reinstallation is going to go.

The hood release section was easy; once the carpet is out, just remove the two Allen bolts, 5mm IIRC, and the entire section comes off as one piece and you can still use it to open the hood while it's unmounted.





The carpet looks like it may have been glued to the black plastic but mine was not attached anymore. If yours is still glued, you're probably in for a more difficult time getting the carpet and insulation out. I'm glad mine was separated as my carpet is undamaged and can reused without showing any damage as long as I can fill out the missing and damaged insulation underneath.




So, Happy Leak Hunting and good luck as leaks are not fun. This was my last leak that's problematic; I still have a slight leak around one tail light, and a slight leak from one corner of the sunroof after new sunroof seals. My sunroof seal problem is that where the seal goes around the corner, the inner most rubber bubble part that actually does the sealing bulges due to the curvature. It does this on every corner but only one leaks. I thought maybe it would settle but it hasn't changed much even after some stretching and massaging of the area in question. My seal is the Uro brand version so not sure if that's a contributing factor. The seal is well made and fits well but there is the issue of the curves causing problems although I'm not sure how other manufacturers would address this problem. And to be fair, I've read many reviews of all the brands and they all have good and bad reviews although I haven't heard of the corners being the issue; most deal with the new seal not fitting and/or causing the sunroof to sit up higher and not flush with the roof. I do have that problem too and my seal fit so tight at first that I couldn't get the arms to engage and then after that I couldn't get the roof to open once it sat in the hot sun for a week or two. However, now it opens and closes ok but still sits too high although I need a new front hinge bracket and I also need to reset the limit switches and gears/cables, whatever mine has as it's the early version.

Gage

I hope this repair proves to be enough to prevent future leaks. I must say though, for future attempts and for general information to help others, sealing a leak from inside the panel assembly is not ideal. Similar to sealing plywood below a leaking roof membrane. A better seal will always be from the "weather" side when it is available. Also, auto body seam sealer is a better material for sealing seams in metal assemblies than glass adhesive.

superloaf

Yes, agreed but there is no access to the weather side so it must be tackled from this other side. But thanks for the seam sealer knowledge as I honestly didn't know that was a specific product and I will be utilizing it for further sealing needs. Apparently the seams in the 944 build were not sealed effectively as I now have a similar leak in the rear hatch area from very similar seams to the front foot area already dealt with. These seams are spot welded and although they look as new, they are starting to leak in this car's old age. Here is the latest leakage find:







This shows water leaking in from the spot welded seams behind the carpet on both sides above the tail lights but I'm really not sure how the water is getting to the other side as it's under the rear panel between the tail lights and the hatch or where the 944 or turbo badge is located. This seems like an area where no water would ever be but somehow it is. Not sure if it's from the hatch pin area or somewhere else. I would think from the hatch pins but I've tended to this area to make sure it wouldn't cause such problems and the rubber and other parts are in good shape so further searching is required.
But on the good side, everything I sealed with the 3M windshield sealant is 100% dry! This stuff really works which might not seem that impressive for the time it's been applied but many other sealants have not been so effective so I'll take it. I know this is far from proving any longterm cure but curing leaks ain't easy so, baby steps....

Anyway, would love to hear from others with leaky cars, I can't be the only one with these problems.