During the Rainy Season - I found out my '71 Duster had sprung a leak!

[Donniedon]

I'm the owner of a '71 Plymouth Duster, and so far- lots of engine work, chassis work and I had car painted. I haven't done the interior yet. Very soon the interior will be in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing. I have a VERY good car cover over My Duster, with plastic over the vents on the engine hood, close to the wipers, as I heard that big storms were coming to Los Angeles. Even with all that preparation, our recent heavy rains in So-Cal left the old front carpeting in the Duster-FLOODED. Somehow- Water has come through the vents -under the dash, (the vents with doors that close with levers.)
My Craftsman Wet Vac suctioned one gallon of water from the Driver and Passenger sides of the carpeting.
Question-How is that much water making its way down through those two vents? Car doesn't have A/C. The Heater box was refurbished and installed. New dash vents are attached to new duct hoses to a new heater core.
1.) Has anyone else had this problem? If so-what did you do?
2.) If no one else has ever had this happen to their Duster, any suggestions on how I should proceed?

 

[j par]

The first thing I would do is take the front seats out. Pull the screws out of the thresholds and pull those out. Unscrew the seat belt bolts and pull the carpet...
You may or may not have to just pop the bottom of the back seat out to do this as well... Get everything dry.... Take the car outside and get a flashlight and have a friend or your wife or somebody take the garden hose and run it over the windshield and cowl area... Also auto shop A1A says because it's new doesn't mean it's works... Recheck the heater core...

 

[Riff Raff]

Check the gasket around the windshield. Mine leaked like pretty decently when I washed the car. Maybe cover the whole top of the car with plastic then put the car cover on?

 

[Donniedon]

Check the gasket around the windshield. Mine leaked like pretty decently when I washed the car. Maybe cover the whole top of the car with plastic then put the car cover on?

That's a Cracker Jack of an idea! The guy who put in my front window after the car was painted messed up some other weather-stripping I had him do. I will check that out. Many thanks!

 

[Donniedon]

The first thing I would do is take the front seats out. Pull the screws out of the thresholds and pull those out. Unscrew the seat belt bolts and pull the carpet...
You may or may not have to just pop the bottom of the back seat out to do this as well... Get everything dry.... Take the car outside and get a flashlight and have a friend or your wife or somebody take the garden hose and run it over the windshield and cowl area... Also auto shop A1A says because it's new doesn't mean it's works... Recheck the heater core...

Someone else already mentioned windshield, and it reminded me of the glass guy that placed the front window in after the car was painted. He goofed up on some other weather-stripping I asked him to do. I definitely have to run some water over that windshield. Thanks for the advice-gotta dry out the Duster!

 

[RustyRatRod]

The door seals are another point of contention on any of these older hardtops and some sedans too. What I would do would be first test the windshield like outlined.....maybe even tape over the cowl vent to isolate the windshield area. Once you test the windshield, then you can untape the cowl vent and shoot the hose in it to test it out too.

 

[pauly]

Don’t forget the wiper pivot seals, too!

 

[Oldmanmopar]

There are 4 weep holes in the cowl under the windshield rubber as seen in the first three pictures. they let the water out of the windshield trac. he may have seal them when installing the windshield. I only use sealer on the corners and top of the gasket between the gasket and body , Not on the area by the weep holes.

Then the water is supposed to flow out the drain holes as seen in the forth picture. behind the fenders. There are also drains in the bottoms of the fenders . If they get clogged the fenders rust

Most of the time the drains are clogged shut with debris in the cowl. Then the water flows over the round dams under the cowl on each side. Remember there is no paint under the cowl so cars that sit out in wet weather will rust under there as this car did. to clean these drains the fenders must be removed.

If your car is painted after removing the Fenders and heater and vent box and cleaning the drains. Look for rust holes and seal them with "POR15 putty" . when dry reach up in the holes and coat as much as you can with . "Chassis saver"you should be able to put water in the cowl and it should drain behind the fenders without any coming in the car. That is what the dams are there for.

 

[Super-Cuda]

Don’t forget the wiper pivot seals, too!

This!!

 

[CFD244]

There are 4 weep holes in the cowl under the windshield rubber as seen in the first three pictures. they let the water out of the windshield trac. he may have seal them when installing the windshield. I only use sealer on the corners and top of the gasket between the gasket and body , Not on the area by the weep holes.

Then the water is supposed to flow out the drain holes as seen in the forth picture. behind the fenders. There are also drains in the bottoms of the fenders . If they get clogged the fenders rust

Most of the time the drains are clogged shut with debris in the cowl. Then the water flows over the round dams under the cowl on each side. Remember there is no paint under the cowl so cars that sit out in wet weather will rust under there as this car did. to clean these drains the fenders must be removed.

If your car is painted after removing the Fenders and heater and vent box and cleaning the drains. Look for rust holes and seal them with "POR15 putty" . when dry reach up in the holes and coat as much as you can with . "Chassis saver"you should be able to put water in the cowl and it should drain behind the fenders without any coming in the car. That is what the dams are there for.

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You sure are a great asset to FABO

 

[Oldmanmopar]

1 gallon of water through the wiper seals is a lot of water. Wonder how much was still left in the carpet. Wiper seals do leak but 1 gallon is a lot of water. What I have found over the years is the largest leaks are caused by the cowl drains clogged. Rust holes in the cowl behind the vent or heater box dams are very hard to see.

Fixing them is a job in itself . Removing the cowl is not necessary. This cowl was removed due to a leak and so much debri from mice it had to be cleaned.

 

[CFD244]

Mine.......Front part of the upper cowl was rotten as well. It looked like a small 3/16 blister from the outside. F*&@N mice

 

[Donniedon]

Well guys-all of you were right. I had my wife in the Duster with 3 large disposable turkey pans. I covered the vents and ran water over the windshield. Water started to fill the pans inside my Duster. My wife yelled, " Shut the water off". I probed a little with a screwdriver and the windshield has torn through what I believe to be the original rubber weather-stripping. The metal trim is loose and would fall off easily. I ordered a new front rubber for the windshield. The second experiment produced the same results. This time, I covered the windshield with plastic to seal it up pretty good, and left the hood vents open and exposed. Again, my wife was in the car with the three empty turkey pans. I shot water on the hood, and my wife yelled immediately, "Shut off the water"! More water came in through the vents than through the windshield.
OldManMopar, I think you were right-on about there being rust, cracks, and leaks around those vents. Thanks for the pictures, an illustration is worth a thousand words. Are you sure that removal of the cowl is not necessary? I just get to the areas that are chipped, cracked and rusted out by going up with my arm through the vent door under dash and seal the mentioned areas in the pictures by using the Por 15 putty? Donniedon

 

[like_A_pike]

I don't know if a 71 A body still had a water deflector above the fuse panel but do make sure it and the headlight switch aren't holding moisture after these events. The electrical gremlins can get in there if allowed to corrode.

 

[Donniedon]

Hi guys. Thanks for your suggestions. They were ALL good. I had my wife help me with the water hose test. I had her in the car, with three turkey pans to tch water. I sealed the hood vents first. We had water come in when I ran water over the windshield. I think it's the original rubber weather-stripping. I ordered a new one. When I changed it around and sealed the windshield with plastic, then poured water on the hood with a hose, with the vents exposed, my wife had me shut the water off. We filled those turkey pans up pretty quick!!
Oldmanmopar-you are a mopar genius! Your pictures speak a 1000 words. I must have vents under the cowl that are chipped, cracked, and rusted out in spots. I have painted, do have heater box and heater core in place now- heater box refurbished and new heater core. So-basically, I'm to get my arm up through the door vent, under the dash, and using the Por 15 Putty, get those holes filled as best as I can. Thanks Everyone. Will keep you posted.

 

[Donniedon]

I wanted to give an update on my waterfall cascading through my dash, and into my 71 Duster whenever it rains. A new rubber seal for the front window was installed , and a new trim was placed over it. Snapped on and sealed GREAT! That was half the problem. I still had water coming in from the outside hood vents. A closer look at those holes that allow water to run down through the exterior of the car--well those hole were so blocked with dirt and who knows what, I just gave up. New holes were drilled right next to the blocked ones, rubber grommets placed around the holes, and ZERO water leaks through the dash!

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Pictures would be great

 

[barbee6043]

There is a reason I yell my wife I need a roof over all MY cars. She says I need a roof over ONE CAR!!!!

 

[Donniedon]

Pictures would be great

My Duster is now in the shop of an interior guy to complete project on my Duster that I started 2 years ago! But-I will ask for pictures of the drainage area. I was told, no rust or rot seen. I had foot surgery, that kept me out of commission for a few months. Work was done by mechanic. I will ask for pictures, and then post them here.

 

[Harold Wolk]

There are 4 weep holes in the cowl under the windshield rubber as seen in the first three pictures. they let the water out of the windshield trac. he may have seal them when installing the windshield. I only use sealer on the corners and top of the gasket between the gasket and body , Not on the area by the weep holes.

Then the water is supposed to flow out the drain holes as seen in the forth picture. behind the fenders. There are also drains in the bottoms of the fenders . If they get clogged the fenders rust

Most of the time the drains are clogged shut with debris in the cowl. Then the water flows over the round dams under the cowl on each side. Remember there is no paint under the cowl so cars that sit out in wet weather will rust under there as this car did. to clean these drains the fenders must be removed.

If your car is painted after removing the Fenders and heater and vent box and cleaning the drains. Look for rust holes and seal them with "POR15 putty" . when dry reach up in the holes and coat as much as you can with . "Chassis saver"you should be able to put water in the cowl and it should drain behind the fenders without any coming in the car. That is what the dams are there for.

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Greetings! Thanks for the good pics and commentary regrading the 'Drain Holes'. Very helpful. I'm pulling the original weatherstripping (gasket) and windshield back into my finally painted 67 Valiant. I'm planning on using buthyl compound in gasket, at the pinch-weld locations (top, sides and 6 or so inches on both bottom sides), but wondering if any compound should be put between the drain holes. Mine, also like yours, has the few bottom surface tabs to hold the gasket, as well. Any suggestion or thoughts appreciated.