Targa top leak fixed, I think.
01-19-2010, 03:12 PM
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Targa top leak fixed, I think.
My 2004 had water puddled up behind the drivers seat every time it would rain. Here is what I found. I took the weatherstripping off the sides of the top and reglued it and it didn't change a thing. After taking the top off and adjusting the rear to clamp the top down tigher it didn't work either. I made major adjustments by lowering the cones in the rear corners that the pegs fit into, still didn't stop my leak. I bought some 3/8" round weatherstripping at Lowes and slit it down the middle to make a half round piece of weatherstripping. Then I took a coat hanger and attached it to the end of it and worked it inside the weatherstripping that the rear of the top seals to. On the ends of the weaterstripping at the corners is a hole that leads up into the weatherstripping on the car. I figured this would cause the top to press against the weatherstripping tighter and stop the leak.
Now I found the real problem, if you look at the weatherstripping that the rear of the top seals to, it has two pieces of stripping. There is a channel inbetween the two pieces of stripping that acts as a water channel and drain if the rear of the top doesn't seal properly. The water will drain down this channel to the rear corner where the top sets in the weather stripping. With the top removed you can see two holes in the corner of the weatherstripping for the water to drain on down into and continue on it's way to the door jamb. There is also a hole at the bottom of the weatherstripping where the door window seals against the weatherstripping. This hole is for the water that gets by the edge of the window to drain into and drain into the door jamb. There is a square notch at the bottom of the weatherstripping for all of these holes to drain to and let the water go out the door jamb.
The hole in the square notch was stopped up and would not let the water drain out in my door jamb. This was causing the water that got in my weatherstripping at the top to drain out the hole at the edge of my window and run inside my car.
I found all of this by going over to the passenger side of my car with the top removed and putting water into the holes in the weatherstripping at the corners and watching where it would drain out. Maybe now after opening up my drain hole on the drivers side and inserting the half round weatherstripping into the cars weatherstripping my leak will be solved. I hope all of this helps someone facing the same problem.
Now I found the real problem, if you look at the weatherstripping that the rear of the top seals to, it has two pieces of stripping. There is a channel inbetween the two pieces of stripping that acts as a water channel and drain if the rear of the top doesn't seal properly. The water will drain down this channel to the rear corner where the top sets in the weather stripping. With the top removed you can see two holes in the corner of the weatherstripping for the water to drain on down into and continue on it's way to the door jamb. There is also a hole at the bottom of the weatherstripping where the door window seals against the weatherstripping. This hole is for the water that gets by the edge of the window to drain into and drain into the door jamb. There is a square notch at the bottom of the weatherstripping for all of these holes to drain to and let the water go out the door jamb.
The hole in the square notch was stopped up and would not let the water drain out in my door jamb. This was causing the water that got in my weatherstripping at the top to drain out the hole at the edge of my window and run inside my car.
I found all of this by going over to the passenger side of my car with the top removed and putting water into the holes in the weatherstripping at the corners and watching where it would drain out. Maybe now after opening up my drain hole on the drivers side and inserting the half round weatherstripping into the cars weatherstripping my leak will be solved. I hope all of this helps someone facing the same problem.
