craig_vette

My 2000 FRC is a daily driver (have owned it for about 6 months). Yesterday it rained pretty bad while I was at work. When driving home, I looked over my right shoulder and noticed rain trickling down in the trunk area. This appears to be the only spot it’s leaking. I read Bill’s famous leak thread and browsed several other leak related threads, but I’m still lost as to the solution for this particular area.

In the photos below, I’ve circled the leak spot in red. Any fellow FRC owners dealt with this leak area? Suggestions?

Your input is GREATLY appreciated.

-Craig

66dts-v

WTF? My coupe leaks like crazy, but that is because the seal is old and I pull the roof off all the damn time. But I had no idea those could leak.

At least mine just leaks to the space behind the seat and my driveway is slopped. I have a pair of Shamwow's pulling duty tucked in there.

craig_vette

I would say my car was parked SLIGHTLY nose down, like maybe 5-10 degrees. Would a incline that small be the culprit?

66dts-v

I hope not. I would think the seal would hold.

TuxZ06

I had something similar happen on my z06. Take apart the plastic trim. There should be 3 pieces - the center piece and one on each side. Mine was leaking from the center seal so I went over the leaking parts with RTV. I noticed the leaking whenever I washed my car. It looked like a small waterfall =/

craig_vette

Take off the plastic piece circled in green (inside trunk) or plastic circled in blue (above, outside)?

TuxZ06

The green section. You should be able to see where it's leaking from the inside. I didn't think about taking off the outside pieces but it's probably a good idea to check now that you mention it.

aj98

OP: there are several threads with documents showing leak points (and fixes) on FRCs.
I dont own an FRC, so I cant tell you the specific fix, but when I was searching for a solution for my coupe, I recall seeing a thread with a fix for a leak in that location on FRCs.


66dts: there are a number of different places for the coupe to leak, not just the roof. For water behind the seats, check the drain holes in the bottom of the doors, then take the door panel off and check the interior seal- its a largish rectangular piece of plastic that inserts about 8" from the rear of the door and about 6" above the bottom of the door.
It's job is to prevent water overflow into the interior in the even the drain holes are plugged, or water is entering the door faster than the holes can drain it.
If that is cracked (as mine were) it will overflow into the interior - if you can see a water trail where the interior trim pieces overlap, thats a good starting point.

To find the door drain holes: open the door and look at the body - note the small indents - one rearward and one forward? When the door is closed, those indents are just below the drain holes in the bottom of the door, and direct the daring water away from the interior
TO find the door drain holes: open the door and look at the body - note the small indents - one rearward and one forward? When the door is closed, those indents are just below the drain holes in the bottom of the door, and direct the daring water away from the interior
Additionally, if the weatherstrip on the bottom of the door is out of place, it can block the drain holes, causing the water in the door to back up and overflow if the plastic inserts are shot.

Open the hatch and make sure the drain channels (in each corner) are not clogged.

Eventually, amongst other issues, water behind the seats may cause your seatbelt take up reel to rust so bad it will not retract the belt.

If the water is coming from the front and running backwards - check the drain udders in front of the firewall and the drain hole in the front bottom of the door.
May also be a leak around the door hinges, or behind the outside mirror.
If you have used flowable silicone to try a DIY fix, it may have plugged a drainage channel.
The weatherstrips themselves are hollow - and the tube formed is used for drainage - when you open the door adn look at the weatherstrip on the B pillar - the "tube" is used to drain water from the halo. If it is plugged, you may get a leak at the joint between the roof, B pillar, and halo seal.
If the bottom of the b pillar strip is not sealed/seated correctly, instead of draining to the exterior, it drains behind the interior trim, over the seatbelt, then into the floor.

As with the FRC, the same threads alos contain lots of info about the coupe.

HTH,
AJ

Vetteman Jack

I've got several Word files that discuss water leaks in the C5. If you'd like a copy, PM me your e-mail address and I'll forward them to you. I'd post them up as an attachment, but the files are too large.

Modern Musclecar

You should never use RTV when fixing a water leak, always use dum dum or similar product that does not fully harden

SG Lou

This stuff is a life saver

craig_vette

Anybody know how to take off the plastic piece in the interior of the trunk circled in green above? I can't find what's holding it on. I was hoping to look behind it and see if I can determine where the leak is coming from.

Murray Anderson

When you get this figured out don't park your car with the nose down. Your trunk has holes in the rear only for draining and it will only drain level or on a slight incline. I noticed this my first wash in the driveway with the nose pointing down. Mines a vert but I'm sure the drains are universal.

doug_dayson

Hi Craig, sorry I missed this...

Yes, mine leaked in that approximate area, and the culprit in my case was somewhere in the rear tub/top seam in front of the trunk. The water would find it's way to the wheel well area due to the incline I park at. See the other thread for my fix.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1592764789

Also, the trunk lid hinge bolts have been known to leak as well though mine were dry, so check those.

Note that there are two front trunk trough drains as well as the two big rear drains, so make sure those are clear too (see the other thread, though you can see them when looking into the seam just behind the doors. They're much smaller than the rears and can clog more easily.

How is it doing now?

craig_vette

Doug, thanks for taking the time to post. Fortunately, my issue seems to be resolved. I've noticed no leaks since applying RTV Silicone in the area scribbled in red in post #27 of the following thread:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...t-found-2.html

laurent_zo6

Just watched a Velocity show where they were checking for leaks. They fill the car with smoke and you can see right away where are the leaks.

BMan0660

2 clips. Just pull straight out.