Water leak inside 65 barracuda

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kellydog

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My 65 barracuda gets a bucket of water in the front floorboard (both sides) when it rains. I think it's coming in through the cowl and in around the air vents. Anyone out there fixed a similar problem or got any ideas or just some sympathy for me? I've had plug holes drilled under the hood to clean out the dirt and had some stop leak junk poured all in there too. Still no luck.
 
On all but 1 of the 6 A-bodies I have owned they all leaked in various ways. wipers, cowls, windshield all are to blame. What helped me on the 63 Valiant was to take some screening rubber (I think it is called the spline) and run it in the windshield channel. It works great and being black looks almost stock. hoping I am not jinxing it now. I still keep a pan down there at night in case of failure.
 
i think that the most common culprit is the wiper arm seals, from what I've read on here. I have the same problem but haven't had time in recent months to tear into it and find out.
Does anyone know if the seals are being reproduced by any companies?
thanks
-Tim
 
I believe there is a lip and a trough around the air vent openings in the cowl.
It is a favorite place for debris and rust to form causing leeks.

If you pour some kind of sealing agent though the cowl openings on the hood this can actually make the leaks worse.

Your best bet is to remove your ducts from under the dash and repair whatever damage you see and re-seal it.

Good luck.
 
I hope for you it isnt what I'm going through with mine! I had to completely disassemble my cowl among other things and I can tell you it is miserable trying to piece this back to some sort of solid condition, once solid metal is back in I will use bed liner to seal it before re attaching the upper section in hopes I will never have to deal with it again!
Good Luck!!
Joe
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As others have said, the wiper arm shaft seals are bad. But to be sure use compressed air and blow around the cowl area to dis-lodge and "stuff" that may have accumulated through the years of sitting under trees/bushes etc.
As for your second question, I thought Year One was re-popping them.
 
I never had a leak until the gasket for the windshield was replaced. The edges are too short and now it leaks through the dash.
 
Just a quick fix....Take sheets of magnetic sheets (you know, the ones used to put company signs on cars and trucks) cut it to fit over your cowl. The magnet will stick to the steel and keep water from going in to the cowl area and leaking on your floorboard...at least until you can repair it right.

The only big issue is no air flow when the magnet is placed over the cowl. But hey..it keeps the water out!

Plus, you can paint them to match the color of the car...if you like.

here's a link to what I mean...I'm sure you can get it locally at any sign store...

http://www.custom-magnets.com/Blank_Car_Door_Magnets.htm

Aloha!

I use it on my 66 cuda (No leaks, but I don't want water going in there and causing any future leaks, on my 71 Duster and my dad uses it on his 67 D100...daily driver! They have never blown off while driving too.
 
Why not just get under the dash with a flashlight and have a look see? If the "Top Hat" vents are leaking you will be able to see the rust and water if its the Windshield seal "like mine that leaks" you will have to take it out. and seal it again.

Another thing to do is get under the dash board in the garage with the lights out and put a droplight on the cowl, you might see light holes....
 
I took the dash out of my 65 it was leaking so bad. Once out you can see where the problems are. I thought wiper seals and such, but with everything out I could see the water was coming in around the edge of the windshield. I'm not to the point for paint so I didn't want to replace the gasket around the windshield. A friend from church who does windshields as a profession told me to use a sealant around the windshield till I'm ready to replace the windshield and gasket. I'm not driving mine, but hope this might help you.
 
64_Barracuda said:
Why not just get under the dash with a flashlight and have a look see? If the "Top Hat" vents are leaking you will be able to see the rust and water if its the Windshield seal "like mine that leaks" you will have to take it out. and seal it again.

Another thing to do is get under the dash board in the garage with the lights out and put a droplight on the cowl, you might see light holes....
Click to expand...


I did that, but it is literally right in the corner and next to impossible for me to get to, making me believe that there is some hole under the windshield. Nothing for me to pull the windshield out and fix on my own. Its stored away now where there is no water so not a big deal now. Just a pain in the *** cause it didnt leak before but after I changed windshields, BOOM!
 
You have my utmost sympathy. I have multiple leaks. In fact I just covered the cowl with the magnetic sign stuff before it starts raining, it helps, but I think I have leaks around the windshield too. I'm going to try Sussmad's tip, using the screening rubber...Thanks Sussmad!
 
If you think it is your wiper pivot seals, Schumacher Creative Services sells the seal kits for about $12.
 
I used a body tool to pull the gasket up on the inside enough to remove the bolts to the windshield. In my case I will need a new windshield and gasket before I put the car on the road so even if I tore the gasket it was not a preblem. My gasket was old and stiff, but was able to do it. Just take your time. When you pull the dash you can see a lot better.
 
I count my lucky stars on this topic. No leaks......nada.....zip. My windshield and back window seals are in great shape.
 
Did the early models use the same setup for the wipers that the later ones used?
My 73 Swinger had a bad leak until the wiper pivot seals were replaced.

Also, my 64 convertible had a crack in the windshield seal that was about 1/2 inch wide.
I plan on a complete paint job soon, so for now I just filled it with some 'Goop' glue. It seems to be working.
 
I have had 12 early A's and unfortunately rust is the most common cause for the leaks. Leaves and junk gets caught up around the vent hats and causes them to rust away which lets the water just run over into the heater vents and most of the time the seal between the heater box and vent opening is shot so it just runs all over the floor. You can't tell if these are rusted by looking under the dash unless you remove the heater box and vent then look up in there. If there are pin holes around the opening then it is too late and you will need to cut it out to fix it.

I got a cowl from another car and drilled the spot welds out then used Por 15 after I repaired what rust it had.


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