A little long winded but it may solve your leak problem

After reading the posts about leaks I sorta felt sick(I hate water leaking ) and remembered something I saw my mechanic doing at the dealership and want to post it in hopes of possibly helping you guys with your leak problem...and if it does solve the problem, I will be expecting you to crown me KING(of something) and be ready to follow my commands from now on...if it fails to solve the water leaking...then off with my head
BTW...I am fortunate not to have the leak problem...yet

I discovered something a while back at the dealership when I had my Vette in for a recall (defective LCA nuts on the control arms)..anyway, while I was watching, my mechanic was also working on a 2003 Z06 with a leake problem like some of you have described....unknowingly aware of lots of you guys having problems at that time, I proceeded to watch him repair the problem before he started on my Vette recall(he was waiting for the correct LCA nuts to be delivered to fix my recall)

I saw him carefully take the rubber gasket from the chanel around the window opening and take off the metal channel described above...he proceeded to open a box of stuff he got from the parts department and I asked him what it was and he called it "dumb dumb rope"...it was a long pack of cord like strips of dumb dumb stuck together and he carefully seperated the lengths of the stuck together strips of dumb dumb rope and laid them out on a piece of cardboard...then he took the metal channel off and carefully placed a strip across the back(near but not at the top portion) of the channel where the chanel is against the door frame. he then gently pressed it on the channel to make it stay and then he carefully put the metal chanel back into the door frame and firmly pressed it against the frame and the stuff squeezed to near the top of the channel where it meets the frame and then put the screws back in and then carefully pressed the rubber gasket back into the chanel...At that time I asked him the purpose of doing him what he just did and he told me that what he just did would solve water from seeping in behind the gasket and behind the chanel and migrating everywhere. I asked him why he put the strip of dumb dumb near the top back of the chanel and he said when he pushed it back into place that he wanted the dumb dumb to be squeezed close to the top of the chanel to prevent any water from entering from that point down. He said he had stopped many leaking problems by doing what I just watched him do and that he was the only mechanic that he knew of anywhere that used the "dumb dumb rope" like he just did...he also said that he told GM several times of his procedure to stop water leaking from around the door and they just ignored him...(he also said another area of leaking was around the window where the glass presses against the rubber and that the window can be adjusted to make a better seal against the rubber gasket).
He also did the "dumb dumb rope "procedure on the frame against the windshield (windshield pillar)
Anyway I hope this may help you...it seemed pretty easy to do if you take your time and do it precisely like he did it. It can not hurt to try this procedure and may hopefully help...its a disgusting problem and I hope it helps...

BTW...my mechanic said not to use rtv or silicone because if you go to try to remove the channel in the future that you will have a terrible mess

....remember that you are my servants if it works

 

CRAPOLA.. I've got an 04 with the same issue. I'll bet this is my culprit.

 

mine does the same, im glad im not alone

any more detail on the wiper tray disassembly?

 

I feel you pain fellas, since my '02 does the same thing i have put some silicone (the thick type that you use a gun for, so it does not run)underneath the weather strip on top of the windshield on the drivers side corner, since it the driver side a pillar that leaks. This stop the water from coming in when it rains, but the high pressure wash it still comes in. I have been planing to remove the headliner and see exactly were it leaks to put some more silicone, but i have not had the time.

 

My 02 didnt leak? wonder if its a screwed up seal?

 

Had no idea this was a problem with our cars! Good to know!

I have been lucky with my 02! No leaks yet.

 

I've got a PT Cruiser coming by this weekend, so I'll be in the driveway wrenching. Seems like no rain this weeeknd and a good time to do the vette. I'll bust out the camera and document it.

 

BUMP!


I got around to doing it this weekend (last weekend was just too hot to work in the driveway 94*). So since i didnt take pictures I cant tell you that it is REALLY simple to do.

The hardest part will be to remember to clock the wiper arms after you reinstall them, AND to remember to remove the hoses off the wipers and push the connection block down through the wiper tray. The next thing to remember is to use a screw driver to help you get the wiring harness connector off the plug on the transmission.



Oh yeah and looking at the RTV sealer in there, looks like the car has already been done once, and they did a horrible job!

 

i own an 02 and have never had a leak. good luck with your ride.

 

I have had that same leak, on both doors. I first noticed it when the headliner was soaked. I looked into the problem and found out the dealer had worked on trying to fix the problem on the pass side, and of course that being the worst side I started there. found out they put the wrong door moldings on (not for z06) and tried to fix the leak with silicon. I think they had the same guy who parked it try to fix the problem. but anyway I ended up fixing the problem by removing the outer a-piller moldings, also removing the metal molding track underneath the rubber weather stripping and outer a-piller moldings. removing all debre and resealing metal track, and properly installing new outer a-piller molding. worked for both sides. but it sounds easier than it is. well for what its worth heres my 2 cents...

 

Sorry for bringing back such an old thread....but what a relief...I almost traded in my 2002 Z06 because it is having the same problem. I'll be fixing this this spring, thanks to those who found the solution!

 

You're not alone my friend.

 

A body shop quoted me $1300 to fix the leaks. The bulk of that quote was replacing the windshield because they said the windshield would have to be removed to be resealed and would most likely be destroyed in the process. I didn't think this quote was reasonable, so my buddy and I stopped the leaks with a $15 tube of RTV silicone. We removed the weatherstripping, metal retainer, and plastic molding around both doors and resealed everything with silicone between each layer. I ran a garden hose over both doors after a week of curing and no more leaks. I win!

 

Holy revived thread Batman!

My 01 leaks all the time. We are having a 4 day rain now. It is always parked in the driveway the same way. One day the drivers side floor is soaked. The next it might be the trunk and the next the passenger side or cowl. It is never in the same place it seems.

I have pretty much given up on it and just let it go. I think water leaks are to the Z06 what Lucus Electric was to my old MG.

 

I know...I know...I was just excited...just wanted to follow up saying I got it fixed earlier this week. I can tell the previous owner attempted to have this fixed as well....but failed. Thanks again to those who came up with the fix.

 

I have\owned 2 2002 Z06's. One leaked, one did not leak. Go figure.

 

I own a FRC but had this same exzact problem. Ended up replacing the weatherstripping as it was toast. Everything is fixed now. Some of the parts are on backorder so be prepared to wait.

 

02Z with 47k miles. No leaks...

 

Leaks? never had those...

 

My 03Z never leaked until the windshield was replaced last year. After a year of fighting with the glass company my insurance company paid for another glass company to replace the windshield again along with the weather strip and moldings. Price was over $2K. $1100 for the windshield and $1100 for the weather strip and moldings. The first installer tried to seal everything with silicone and just made a bunch of paths for the water to flow down the A pillar and into the door opening. By the time the silicone was removed the weather strip and moldings were so distorted they were ruined.

Bill