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Driver side water leak In between window

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Old Jan 17, 2008 | 01:50 PM
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Default Driver side water leak In between window

Ive recently started having a issue with my driver side leaking water inbetween the window when it rains and getting the carpet wet.

Its leaking inbetween the targa top and the A pilliar seal at the joint..

The seals are not dryrotted or anything, but the problem is steadily getting worse.. Is there any adjustments or do I have to replace the body seals?
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Old Jan 17, 2008 | 04:23 PM
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Search for Targa Top adjustments and you should find some good stuff.
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Old Jan 17, 2008 | 04:48 PM
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My 99 convertible leaks around the top of the window as well. I think it may need new weatherstripping, but does anyone think it is a simple adjustment instead?
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Old Jan 17, 2008 | 06:31 PM
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just noticed today that mine is leaking from the same spot as well. more pronounced on the driver's side, slightly on the passenger side.

hopefully i can find the thread about the adjustment, if not i better investment in a rain coat
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Old Jan 17, 2008 | 06:57 PM
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Originally Posted by vettekidc5
Ive recently started having a issue with my driver side leaking water inbetween the window when it rains and getting the carpet wet.

Its leaking inbetween the targa top and the A pilliar seal at the joint..

The seals are not dryrotted or anything, but the problem is steadily getting worse.. Is there any adjustments or do I have to replace the body seals?
There are window adjustments that make the glass seal tighter against the rubber weatherstripping. Check your service manual or look in the diy thread for "Window Adjustments".
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Old Jan 17, 2008 | 07:22 PM
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Originally Posted by flasunshine1
There are window adjustments that make the glass seal tighter against the rubber weatherstripping. Check your service manual or look in the diy thread for "Window Adjustments".
I dont think these adjustments are valid for a convertible...
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Old Jan 17, 2008 | 08:44 PM
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Originally Posted by flasunshine1
There are window adjustments that make the glass seal tighter against the rubber weatherstripping. Check your service manual or look in the diy thread for "Window Adjustments".
the window adjustment. door panel off work a little,then window up with a sheet of paper between, window glass and top of car door closed adjust until you get a pull. on a c5 you have 3 adjustment on the window.
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Old Feb 1, 2008 | 09:16 AM
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i guess this applies to coupes as well?? my Z06 just started this past go around of storms. i had no idea what to do.
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Old Feb 1, 2008 | 11:59 AM
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Hi,

I found the thread on window adjustments. The adjusters are under a "D" shaped rubber plug at the bottom of the door, and under the courtesy lamp low on the interior of the door near the back edge. One under the lamp adjusts laterally. One on bottom adjusts vertically.

On my vert, I had a bit of wind and water leakage. I started by looking at the seals. Good shape, but out of the groove on the back edge where they mount to the top. So I used a plastic stick (from a "Cheese and Crackers" snack), sanded a little to get rid of the sharp edges, and pushed the seal's retaining ridge back under the metal retainer on the top. Then I applied a very thin film of silicone dielectric ("tune up") grease to all the rubber seals. The owner's manual recommends this. Hey presto! No more wind leaks! Haven't been out in the rain, but I'm guessing it reduced that to a liveable level. These frameless windows always seem to have a little seepage if you get the pressure (speed) high enough.

I also applied the silicone grease to the seal at the windshield header. Same would be good for the coupe with the removable top. On my coupe, it cut down the creaking and squeaking that had been a characteristic. GM also makes a seal lube - I saw a post on it recently. It's expensive, but supposed to be good. Still, the owner's manual says to use silicone grease about quarterly, so that's what I do.

If you adjust the windows, on the vert, they should just clear the top canvas, and seat into the rubber seal. I think there's also a fore and aft adjustment, but haven't looked for it. If you get it to where it rubs the top, you'll wear the canvas. That could be a little expensive...
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Old Feb 1, 2008 | 12:19 PM
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From what I read there are 2 ways to go about adjusting this. One is the window adjustment the other is taking a piece of wood and hammer, there is a small black clip/piece of plastic between the window and roof. They say is you hit this clip down gently it will push the rubber against the window better.

Last edited by richieice; Feb 1, 2008 at 06:14 PM.
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Old Feb 3, 2008 | 12:50 AM
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Originally Posted by richieice
From what I read there are 2 ways to go about adjusting this. One is the window adjustment the other is taking a piece of wood and hammer, there is a small black clip/piece of plastic between the window and roof. They say is you hit this clip down gently it will push the rubber against the window better.
The clip is there to keep the window from popping out at high speeds. Doesn't really affect the seal - just keeps unpleasant things from happening when you're going fast. I had the driver window on the '69 GT500 pop out of the clip at, er, a high speed, and I had to get a new window. This was in about 1976, during the national 55 MPH speed limit, so there was also the little issue with the county sheriff's deputy who was, um, following me when this happened. It was an expensive evening.

Anyway, if you bend that clip down too much, it won't let the door close correctly when the window is up. And the window will still not be making a good contact with the seal, so you still have probable water incursion, and wind noise.

The Shelby has two of those clips on the roof of the car, while the Corvette only has one. Says something about the aerodynamics. If the angles are too prominent, you get a larger region of low pressure air. The old cars had nearly vertical windshields (which my '68 Camaro owner friend says look like gun slits), which makes the air travel a lot farther to get around the car than the swept-back approach we see now. So one clip will do what two couldn't 39 years ago.

But if the door isn't sagging, my bet is on the seal just working loose from the metal track it is held in. Carefully pressing it back into that track will probably fix your problem - if the seal isn't where it was designed to be, it distorts. Even a small distortion causes a perturbation of the airflow (disturbance), and can make for the symptoms we all hate.

And that doggoned tune-up "grease" (silicone) works wonders, too!
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Old Feb 10, 2008 | 01:01 PM
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Originally Posted by flasunshine1
There are window adjustments that make the glass seal tighter against the rubber weatherstripping. Check your service manual or look in the diy thread for "Window Adjustments".

can someone link me to the window adjustment thread?
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Old Feb 10, 2008 | 01:28 PM
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One thing to look out for. On my 98, I had some water leek in from the top of the window. Turns out that the water ran down the seat belt, and into the seat belt tensioner that is near the floor. When I investigated why my seat belt was sticking, I found the tensioner spring had TOTALLY turned to rust.
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Old Feb 10, 2008 | 03:14 PM
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There are quite a few adjustments you can make. I've been through several different leak issues with mine on both sides of the car.

The first thing i would check is the tip in. You can adjust tip at the front and back of the window. Could be the weatherstripping has lost some of it's "spring" and formed a little too much to the window - a LITTLE tip in adjustment should fix that.

On my car, the driver door was actually sagging about a 1/8" (maybe even as little at 1/16"). I noticed it was rubbing the striker so i adjusted that at the hinges and that fixed 90% of the leak. A LITTLE tip in adjustment fixed the rest. Use at little as possible so you have room for more adjustment later.

Most of my passenger leak issues came from the window glass actually being slid back in the door too far (weird i know). I loosened the clamps and slid it forward to approximately where it should be - using the driver side measurements as a guide. That plus a tip adjustment took care of about 95% of it's leaking problem.

The short answer is, you're going to have to play with it to suit your cards needs. BTW, don't tip it in so much it grabs at the weather stripping when you roll the window up like most shops do (because they're lazy).

Good luck!

-Rich
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Old Feb 11, 2008 | 08:27 PM
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Default Leak

Had The Same Problem With Water From Rain And Car Washes Dealer Had To Adjust Both Windows The Cost Was $90 For Labor(vert)
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Old Feb 12, 2008 | 12:57 AM
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Originally Posted by vettekidc5
can someone link me to the window adjustment thread?
I have em in a word doc, if you want it PM me your Email.
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Old Feb 12, 2008 | 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted by vettekidc5
can someone link me to the window adjustment thread?
Try this.
http://www.theredlion.us/TipIn.htm

It even has pics!

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Old Feb 12, 2008 | 01:42 PM
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had the same problem and it was the windshield seal leaking. Got some sealer in a can and filled in the gap for the windshield and the leak has gone away. It was leaking on both sides. I took the pillar off and it had water in it and this made me crazy trying to find the leak. I put a water hose running on the top of the car and let it run down over the window and windshield while I was in the car and found the leak. SEALED it all up and leak is now gone.
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Old Jan 18, 2009 | 09:46 PM
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Default drivers side window leak top rigth hand corner

Originally Posted by tstar
I have em in a word doc, if you want it PM me your Email.
Thanks, that would be great; m.oceallaigh@mchsi.com
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Old May 1, 2016 | 08:35 AM
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Default window leak

Originally Posted by Mark OC
Thanks, that would be great; m.oceallaigh@mchsi.com
Sign me up. My window driver side top rear leaks wind and water. It was doing this before I changed the window motor. I made an adjustment at the bottom rear of the track mechanism. I gave about 3 turns to the rear most adjust screw to push the top further in toward the top. I used the paper and all appeared well. The door was assembled and wow the wind leak and water.

What did I miss?
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