Hard Top Water Leak

[Geoff Fairfax]

I had my Bird parked in the rain facing downhill. When I started up and braked at the bottom of the hill a "gush" of water poured out of the driver side weather strip at the top of the driver side window. Needless to say the carpet got soaked as the water poured in.
Is this a common problem? Should I always park on the level or facing uphill? 🙁

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[Quickdraw]

I had my Bird parked in the rain facing downhill. When I started up and braked at the bottom of the hill a "gush" of water poured out of the driver side weather strip at the top of the driver side window. Needless to say the carpet got soaked as the water poured in.
Is this a common problem? Should I always park on the level or facing uphill? 🙁

Its a known problem that water enters the two body seams under the rear hardtop seal when parked downhill. For this reason some people out a dab of clay on those seams before the put the plastic strips on. But the water entering there couldn't have gotten to the top of the window. There is a TSB (Technical Service Bulliten) telling dealers how to fix leaks at the top of the window seal but it seems like that was for soft tops.

 

[Tango T]

Geoff,
I am new to this site but I have had some experience with water leaks on my 02 Bird. It was my experience to also have a "gush" of water come from the upper left windshield post when I accelerated. It turned out that the water was leaking in and filling a "cup" at the end of the plastic windshield header. If I remove the header, I could see where the water was dripping in. This dripping was caught by the header, eventually overflowing into the cabin.

I returned it to the Dealer and they subcontracted it to an outside "expert". He first suggested that Ford replace the main gasket which starts at the top of the door frame. This didn't help. I did a lot of testing with water on the hardtop and came to the conclusion that maybe the water was leaking under the trim piece on the front of the top. The subcontractor disassembled the trim piece from the top and place a bead of the black windshield sealer on the front and then reinstalled the trim piece. Since this was done, the Bird has not been in a significant rain. When I used the stream from a hose, it seemed to help. If I give it enough time I can always get a few drops, but it seems better than before.

But my fingers are crossed. I don't know how well this relates to your experience but hopefully my comments will give you some ideas. 

 

[Geoff Fairfax]

Thanks for your advise. I suspect the gap created at the corner where the front trim moulding overlaps the side mouldings. I am going to try a small amount of clear silicone caulking.
I am also going to check to see if water has leaked at the body joint into the retracted soft top as this will surely go moldy over the winter. 🙂

 

[Ticket Ted]

Water Leak

I thought I was the only one with a leaky drivers window. I blamed my wife for having the window slightly lowered while driving for fresh air. When i looked at the molding where the front window post molding meats the drivers top front corner of the glass, there is a gap. The gap is just enough to catch water and force it into the the open space and be stored until you open the window or door. Instant rain into the car. This only happens with the hard top on. Nothing when convertible top is up.

Since I only put the top on for winter storage, I am going to have the dealer check this out now that I have new information about the problem.

I only have a short time left on my warranty- March-2005 and only 12,000 miles on the car. What a shame.

Ticket Ted

 

[cotegm]

I have the same water leak. It only happens with the hard top and it generally has to be a strong rain with wind.

Thank you for the advice. I will see if this fixes the problem.

 

[cursorofold]

Leaky Hardtop

I thought I would throw in my experience with my 2003 bird.

I took it in to the dealer, and they followed the TSB. It helped, but did not solve the problem.

If the car is parked in the rain, it collects water near the top of the windshield where the seals meet up. I get in, drive away, and on acceleration or braking it will dump a shot of water on me. The colder the water, the more water it seems to be. I doubt it is much more than a shot glass full. It is not just the door that I opened. The passenger door will do the same even though I did not open it.

Driving it in the rain does not seem to cause a problem. I have driven several hours in heavy rain with no leaking.

It is irritating, but tolerable.


While we are on the subject of water, has anyone gone to a fast-food drive-through in the rain? The awnings they use dump water in the middle of my roof. The T-Bird has no gutter around the window, so it all dumps in on me. This is just one of the prices we pay to drive a T-Bird. I think it is more than worth it. I shouldn't eat fast food anyway.