Bill Curlee

LEAKS!! Here we go again! I have been down this road a few times and here is what I recommend that you do to fix it with the LEAST amount of time, money and pain!

First things first! REMOVE the carpet and jute underlayment! You can reinstall the seat if you want. With the carpet removed, you will NO DOUBT be able to track down and PIN POINT the area where the leak originates!

Next! While your carpet is out, you can use a carpet wet and dry cleaning machine to get the carpet spotless. Once it is clean put it somewhere that it will dry COMPLETLY! If it doesnt dry properly, it will mildew and STINK!!! The humidity will also damage electronics!

You have a large single drain tube on the passengers side of the windshield cowl. You will need to remove the battery to get to it. It snakes down through a whole bunch of stuff.

Here is what it looks like: Area behind the battery



Tube removed from the car! Looks like something from the movie Creature from the black lagoon!!!



This is the end of the tube!



The tube is soft rubber. If it is solid, it is clogged!!!

There are three small udders on the drivers side. If they clog, the water can destroy your wiper motor!!!





Put your hand in and milk out the trash.



I will continue this in another POST!

Bill Curlee

Next,, check this area out. The area around the door hinges can leak. The sealing compound can crack and cause a leak. Remove the plastic door sill trim to look for that leak. Once this is removed you can also check for the A Piller leak that is mentioned above..

UN Sealed hinge area.





Hinge area sealed with putty.




NEXT POST!!!

Bill Curlee

Last but not least is the air box drain. When you use the AC or Defrost, condensation collects in the HVAC air box. If it cant drain out, it will leak in the pass foot well!!

Here is the drain tube. It lives on the passengers firewall just aft of the cylinder head: Flash light beam highlihts the area where the drain tube is:





The crimped end needs to be cut off.

Here is wher it lives!











Almost forgot about this. There are fender well access panels in both front fender wells. You can access the large and small drains in each access.



Dont forget to check and see if the side window seals and or top leaks!!

BC

1999 White C5 Coupe

Bill Curlee,

Excellent information and pictures! Thank you.

Here is a link to a C5 general waterleak guide TSB: http://corvetteactioncenter.com/kb/q....php?qstId=208

Thanks again.

0EG@EnglandGreen

Nice one Bill!!! I didn't know about the AC drain one

cliff_ford

I had to put a Vac on the aircon drain as the blockage, a slime mould, was within the evaporator casing on my C5.

Bill Curlee

If you run the AC or DEFROST and don't see condensation under the passenger's side of the car, most likely the HVAC air box drain is clogged. On a humid day above 40 degrees, run your AC while the car sits some where that you will be able to see if you get any drainage (IE cement or asphalt drive way). If you see water, at least the drain is open enough to pass water.

BC

DuffyN

Great Great Writeup!!

Duf

turboed

i have a 2000 frc,if i park it somewhere where the rear sits higher than the front i get water coming in to the trunk area right under the rear glass,the only thing i noticed is that the trunk area has drains but only towards the rear of the channel and i guess that is why this happens but this should not be normal,i checked the trunk drains and they're doing the job fine,any ideas?

SteveDoten

spring is here, check the two drain holes in the doors also

here's a pic of the a/c evap drain on the firewall

Bill Curlee

I will check my Z06 and see if I can come up with a leak repair plan for your FRC. It's more than likely seeping in up under and around the trunk seal or through a body seal that isn't sealing any more. Your best bet is to remove the trim around the rear window and get the car in a leak prone position, have some one hose it down and watch for the leak. The window trim just snaps in place with plastic Christmas trees.

Nice picture of the AC air box drain CONNECTICUT!!

Bill

turboed

i took out the panel by the window when i saw the leak and my kid was spraying with a hose but i still could not see the source of the leak and after looking around the trunk drains i decided to turn the car around cause the driveway is slightly downhill so if i back the vette in,the trunk sits higher than the hood,the kid sprayed water again but the leak was no longer there,if there is another drain in the trunk area then i can't see them.

SteveDoten

i've had a couple of FRC's, the drains in the trunk are the rear, don't park nose down, unless your rear weatherstrip is brand new, most likely it will leak

park nose up, your good

turboed

which one is the weatherstrip that goes bad?rear window?

SteveDoten

nose down and leaks=typical on frc's
nose up and leaks=not the trunk, don't have the specific fix

turboed

nose down is the leak i have,nose up leak would have to be trunk drain clogged and then it'll leak anyhow.

Bill Curlee

Put the car on a level area. Open the trunk. Use a water hose with out a nozzle on the end. Turn on the hose so that you getting a nice steady controllable stream that wont splash into the trunk. Use the hose to run water in the trunk drain trough and see if the water runs directly out of the two drains in the rear outsides of the trough or if the water starts to fill the trough up. If your rear drains are working properly, you really shouldn't see any water build up in the trough area around the trunk! If it starts to fill up, your drains are clogged!!

There are drains in the front. They are NOT very big and if your trunk gasket is not in almost perfect condition, it could allow water to get in! The area that I would check would be to see if the gasket is sealed to the lip that the gasket is attached to.

Bill

turboed

thanks,i'll look in to it this weekend.

davesbedroom

Bill Curlee,

When it comes to replacing the tube on the passenger side, I am lost.

I took the tube out easy enough and cleared out some very very very large bugs (I know.. worthless without pics), but then I went to get the tube back into place and I completely forgot the orientation that it went it. I did my best and made sure that it wasn't bent or pinched and that it went as far down into that area as possible, because the important computer is right there.

Could you post a pic of how it goes down into that area?

NLKoerner

I have a 97 hatchback that collects water in the right (passenger) storage area, can anyone help me find where the water is coming from?
The seals around the rear glass appear to be in good condition.
I have the F45 suspension so my vette is lower in the front than the rear.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks Norm