[smokey651@shaw.ca]

Hello,does anyone have any idea where my leak might be originating? When i wash the car and when driving in the rain the water comes down by the emergency brake and soaks my new carpet.The windshield was taken out when the body work and paint job was being done.Thanks in Advance! Cheers Jim G.

[DrChop]

Either :

A. the seal is leaking around the glass side (cars with molded rubber glass seal only) OR...
B. the seal is leaking around the body side (molded seal or glue-in glass) OR...
C. you have a rust pinhole/filler/etc problem with the steel around the seal OR...
D. water is entering somewhere NOT around the glass. VW Rabbits were known for water getting in along the radio antenna wire in the fenderwell, the water would travel into the car along the coax, and drip down onto the fusebox, corroding it out.

A you can fix with a little clear silicone injected between the seal and glass. Cut your nozzle tip so it has a tiny hole in the end, and stick the tip between seal and glass and run it along, squirting silicone in the gap. When it hardens up you can remove excess carefully with a razor blade.

B you can fix with a caulk tube of urethane sealer, similar to repairing A above, but you are injecting under the rubber molding, or with cars using glued-in windows, along/under the glass edge (backfilling the gap). Urethane can be trimmed once hard with a sharp razor blade, and excess carefully picked off. Try not to be messy with the urethane though... and wear rubber gloves.

C is a failure to properly repair the surrounding sheetmetal along the window channel, and should be brought to your body guy's attention. If he fails to do anything about it, it IS possible to seal up with tiger hair filler... if you can get to the back side.

D you would have to seal up with a bit of urethane or silicone , or in some cases, renew a body gasket or hole plug.

All cases require a thorough drying of the car for a few hot days, then having a helper apply water with a hose to the front glass area/surrounding sheetmetal, with you inside looking for water intrusion. The HIGHEST point you see water coming in is usually where the leak will be... not always in the case of the Rabbits... sometimes it's detective work...

Doc