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T O P I C    R E V I E W
DequesPosted - 13 Jun 2017 : 11:14:58
I get water coming into the front passenger foot well when it rains. It comes through the glove box. I have checked the drains are unlocked and also the pipes for air inlet are secure. I do not think it is coming through the windscreen seals. Can anyone aim me in right direction.

David
15   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
mellePosted - 26 Jul 2017 : 12:29:16
That's way below windscreen level. ;)

Have you tried the fit of the new screen without the rubber before installing it?

Hard to describe the viscosity of Tixophalte, it's a bituminous product that comes in tubes, so it doesn't run and is quite sticky. Cleans up very well with petroleum when still wet, so you can get a very clean end result. I first got it years ago from a mate who uses it for specialist roofing jobs (zinc/ copper/ titanium etc.). More info here: http://www.shell.com/business-customers/bitumen/bitumen-products-and-solutions/sealants.html



www.saabv4.com
andydeans3Posted - 26 Jul 2017 : 11:21:36
I do have to say that the rain has been a little, "how would you say", excessive.

Street scene in the Harz mountains this morning!
Fortunately we and the car are in a higher part of town.



1978 LHD SAAB 96
1978 MGB Roadster
2008 LHD "Classic" Renault Twingo
andydeans3Posted - 25 Jul 2017 : 12:49:52
Derek
Thanks for the tip, I will try this when I get home. The car is garaged at home, so easy to keep it warm and dry while the stuff cures. The fact that it is very thin should help it to penetrate. One of the problems with the Frosts stuff, is that is quite viscous, and therefore, I would imagine, difficult to get good penetration. Once you have applied this Captain Tolley stuff though, I doubt the screen would come out again, without breaking it. Hopefully I'd only be having it removed, because it's already been cracked, and needs replaced anyway.

Melle.
How viscous is the Shell stuff that you are referring to?
The screen came from Malbrad, one of the set of 20 or so that were made for the SOC, by the "Heated Windscreen Company". I started the ball rolling, and then Al Philpott took it over under the SOC banner, and about 20 were made.

All was very clean before new screen went in.
Link below shows screen out during re-spray.

[/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/X2jeiC]IMG_0009[/url] by



1978 LHD SAAB 96
1978 MGB Roadster
2008 LHD "Classic" Renault Twingo
mellePosted - 25 Jul 2017 : 12:24:53
Did you remove all dried up sealant before you last installed the screen? I can imagine old sealant remains being the cause of leaks. Also: do you have an original Saab (Pilkington?) screen or an aftermarket one? I've heard some fit quite poorly. By the way, I'm a big fan of Shell Tixophalte as a windscreen sealant.

Enjoy the Harz, it's beautiful there.

www.saabv4.com
DerekPosted - 25 Jul 2017 : 12:22:41
This won't help you in your current situation but Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure is worth a try. The area being treated has to be 101% dry, and that is difficult to check. When you peel the rubber back it often shows it to be wet even after several days of dry weather. Careful use of a heat gun worth doing. After application it also needs a few days to dry itself. If you go out the next day and it rains it will partially wash out as a milky fluid. This can set on the paint and is a bugger to get off. Obviously it works by gravity but is thinner than water so penetrates well. It would appear to be PVA based hence the milkiness. Remember Comma Seek 'n Seal?
If it just seems to disappear after application that is good. Apply more at 30 minute intervals until it stops. All of the gaps should then be filled. Worked for me on my Amazon screen but only after a few tries. I did have it wash out as mentioned. Clean up well after use as mentioned. 60ml goes a long way so cheap enough to try. Holiday sounds wet but fun. Drive safe.
andydeans3Posted - 25 Jul 2017 : 10:42:53
Rhys.
Thanks for your input, but I am very certain that it’s coming in, between the seal and the body, because I am able to slightly pull the dash forward, and with a torch, I can see the ingression, just at the point where the windscreen turns from vertical to horizontal at the left hand extreme edge of the dash panel. I’ve also been doing my contortionist act in the footwell, with a torch, and can clearly see where it is coming in.
The car seems to need to be moving, because in spite of raining here for 24 hours, I found very little water on the floor of the car this morning. I’d expected to find the car ½ an inch deep in water, but no, just a couple of drops.
It clearly needs the extra pressure of the car moving at speed, to drive the water through.

All of this in spite of much Frosts windscreen sealant having been pumped in between the seal and the body, and the seal and the glass. I also smeared the seal trim all round with Vaseline a couple of days ago.
All very frustrating!!!


1978 LHD SAAB 96
1978 MGB Roadster
2008 LHD "Classic" Renault Twingo
RhysNPosted - 25 Jul 2017 : 10:19:56
Does that indicate it might be somewhere else then? Heater vents or something? 2p worth.
andydeans3Posted - 25 Jul 2017 : 09:19:41
Melle
Yeah, screen's been out a couple of times, since I bought the car. Last time, last year, when the car was re-sprayed. The window frame, edge, etc, were in very good condition. Because I'd been using Frosts Windscreen sealant I think, the coachbuilder said it was very hard job to get the screen out, and they did in fact break it, so I wouldn't be keen to try and remove it again.

It's been pouring rain here, in the Harz Mountains, for 24 hours, and though it was dripping yesterday while we were driving, very little water has come in overnight, so it would seem that the car requires to be moving, to drive the water in, so to say. ie it's a very small leak path.
Gaffer tape next I think, though it won't look very bonny!


1978 LHD SAAB 96
1978 MGB Roadster
2008 LHD "Classic" Renault Twingo
mellePosted - 24 Jul 2017 : 22:23:25
quote:
Originally posted by andydeans3
I was wondering, if water gets behind the trim, that's pushed into the window seal all round, is there then a potential leak path to the inside?
No, not if the rubber is OK.

Have you ever had the screen out? Not only is this a good opportunity to investigate the condition of the metal normally hidden by the rubber, it also gives you a chance to remove all old gunk freshen up the rubber. However, if you let AutoGlass or similar do it, chances are they make things even worse...



www.saabv4.com
andydeans3Posted - 24 Jul 2017 : 17:52:57
Woody.

Seal does not look as if it has shrunk. Which plastic insert are you referring to?

Well after driving around the Harz Mountains in Germany in the pouring rain all day, still have a small leak....

Gaffer tape around the window seal next methinks!!!

1978 LHD SAAB 96
1978 MGB Roadster
2008 LHD "Classic" Renault Twingo
WoodyPosted - 24 Jul 2017 : 17:52:37
Do you have the plastic insert in place?
Leaking at speed suggests to me there might be a split in the seal. Has the seal shrunk so much that you can see the aperture sides?
andydeans3Posted - 24 Jul 2017 : 09:14:48

Deques... Did you fix your leak?

Well after all I said above, I again have a leak.
By pulling the dash forward very slightly, I can see that it's coming through the seal between the window rubber, and the body, just where the window frame turns from vertical to horizontal, left side.
It was really pouring down, at the time, driving at 65 -70 mph. So worst case!!

I've pumped more Frosts sealant in, and still it leaks! I have my carpets completely covered with a large rubber carpet, so my carpets don't immediately get soaked, but I'm getting a bit annoyed now!
I was wondering, if water gets behind the trim, that's pushed into the window seal all round, is there then a potential leak path to the inside? I've now tried smearing the trim all round with vaseline. We'll see if that fixes it.

Andy

1978 LHD SAAB 96
1978 MGB Roadster
2008 LHD "Classic" Renault Twingo
andydeans3Posted - 30 Jun 2017 : 12:45:15
Deques

Look also at any points where cables come through the bulkhead. Around the wiper motor, or the wiper motor bolts is another favourite leak path. Also the manual choke cable, if you have one, and the bonnet release.
Finally, are you sure it's not the windscreen to body seal?

I had to pump a fair amount of Frosts windscreen sealant round the screen, between the rubber, and the body, before I could get it sealed. Also don't assume that because a drip comes through the windscreen seal, that that is where the water actually gets behind the seal. In my case the ingression was at the top of the screen, and it then worked it's way down the side, behind the seal, to the bottom.
The idea that Betsy suggested, of lying inside the car with a good torch, while someone else sprays the car with a fine mist of water from a garden hose, is a great idea. That's how I found most of my leaks. Did the same in the boot as well.

Andy

1978 LHD SAAB 96
1978 MGB Roadster
2008 LHD "Classic" Renault Twingo
Betsy67Posted - 13 Jun 2017 : 12:55:19
Lay in the footwell when it's next raining or imitate with a watering can.
DequesPosted - 13 Jun 2017 : 11:37:02
Derek thanks for such a fast reply. I have been trying to sort this out for months.
quote:
Originally posted by Derek
Maybe wiper spindle seal/s. Also, if the wiper mechanism is a bit stiff and in need of lubrication it can move the spindle around in the seal which doesn't do it any good.



David

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