I got 2 holes rusted through my driver's side floorpan :(

DieHarder

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Looks good! The only other areas if you haven't already done so are the vertical surfaces. I noticed a significant reduction of noise once I did the walls in the back seats and into the trunk. I also did the outer tub surfaces just behind the front wheels (install it to the vertical tub surfaces; have to remove tires and plastic covers from the wheel wells) which cut down road noise as well if you have enough material. I would avoid putting it on the inner walls of any outer body surfaces in the trunk in case you ever get a small ding. Removing this stuff is a bitch for something simple like a paintless dent repair.

The only other area I've been thinking about doing is the interior of the roof but just haven't got around to it and I need to buy another roll before I can do anything.

If you're satisfied I'd say put it back together, take a ride and let us know what you think.
 

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Started on the trunk tonight. Good thing I never had a flat tire as I found out I had no lug wrench and no jack :nono: Also the spare was used enough that the tread is worn down and it was flat.

Trunk's gonna be weird, I didn't realize the area around the wheelwells was so oddly shaped. Also found a little rust down in the very bottom of the well behind the wheelwell on the driver's side (where the rubber plug is). Looks like just surface rust so I put a little rusty metal primer on it and will hit it with some paint.

Anyway I got the top flat part done down to the spare tire well, and part way down the sides where the channel is that the taillight wiring sits in. Going to be a lot of cutting and fitting for most of this it looks like. At least I can use big pieces for the spare tire well.

Funny, found rust in exactly the same place. Fiberglassed that a few years ago and no issues since.

Yeah, takes a lot of work to get this stuff installed though I'm sure you're going to pleased with the final result.
 

ghunt81

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Got it all buttoned up yesterday and started for the first time since last November.

Now if the weather would just cooperate...
 

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Congrats. Looks great.

May have found my leak. It's either in the seam that fills up with water where the windshield wiper motor sits or at the base of the windshield. So I removed the wiper motor; dryed it and blew it all out with compressed air and filled in the entire driver's side seam with silicone all the way to the passenger side. I'm drying out the driver's side carpet and will test it again tomorrow after the silicone drys. Hopefully, that should do it. If it doesn't I don't know what else to seal. Every other entry point seems to be sealed.

IMG-2083.jpg IMG-2080.jpg IMG-2078.jpg IMG-2077.jpg
 

ghunt81

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I don't get why they designed this car with so many openings AT THE BASE OF THE WINDSHIELD where water can get in...boggles the mind.
 

ghunt81

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Took the car out today, drove it a little and washed it. Can't tell an immediate difference from the sound deadener but I probably need to take it on the highway to really tell.

Pulled up the front carpet on both sides after the car wash and I don't see any sign of water so hopefully we are good.

Was curious, if anyone here has done the doors...did you pull the vapor barrier off to do it? I took my door panel off tonight but the door metal is so convoluted I don't know if I feel like dealing with that right now. I also just replaced the vapor barrier on my driver's side a couple years ago and don't really feel like pulling it back off.
 

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Took the car out today, drove it a little and washed it. Can't tell an immediate difference from the sound deadener but I probably need to take it on the highway to really tell.

Pulled up the front carpet on both sides after the car wash and I don't see any sign of water so hopefully we are good.

Was curious, if anyone here has done the doors...did you pull the vapor barrier off to do it? I took my door panel off tonight but the door metal is so convoluted I don't know if I feel like dealing with that right now. I also just replaced the vapor barrier on my driver's side a couple years ago and don't really feel like pulling it back off.

I left the vapor barrier alone and just adhered the stuff to the back of the door panel. Works great and easier to deal with the panels off of the car. Can be done anytime but you'll want to as it cuts down on road noise quite a bit.
 

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See last page for a good illustration of water entry points...
 

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  • 2005 - 2009 Water Leak Repairs.pdf
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ghunt81

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I left the vapor barrier alone and just adhered the stuff to the back of the door panel. Works great and easier to deal with the panels off of the car. Can be done anytime but you'll want to as it cuts down on road noise quite a bit.

Hm, that's not a bad idea.
 

ghunt81

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So, to update on this...haven't done the doors yet, but I have driven the car some...still can't tell a huge difference but I've had the windows open a lot.

One plus, it was pretty hot today (85) and the car was sitting most of the day so I opened it to see if the inside stunk from the sound deadener. It did not, actually all I can really smell is the paint I used on the floor, so that's pretty good.
 

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Glad to hear you've got it back out on the road. I need to check carpets again since it just rained last night to see if my latest attempt at sealing entry ways for water is working or not. Now that we have that TSB that shows all of the water entry points if it's still leaking at least I know exactly where to look. If still leaking I'm going to stuff some paper towels into those entry points from the inside of the car and run a hose for a while. Then check the paper towels to see which one/s is leaking then go from there. Otherwise the fiberglass fix is doing great.
 

ghunt81

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We're supposed to get some torrential rains here tomorrow. Probably gonna pull the front carpets on Saturday and do one more check myself.
 

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I ended up pulling back the vapor barrier to do the dynamat on mine. the plastic's just held in place w/ a tar-like bead that sticks back pretty well.


DSC_0016.JPG
 

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Here's a few pics of the driver's side door panel for reference.

IMG-2095.jpg
IMG-2096.jpg IMG-2097.jpg
 

ghunt81

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Well back to the drawing board. We had a big thunderstorm today, I was gone most of the day (not in my car), came home to see the car sitting with the windows fogged up from the inside :furious:

I pulled the door sill plates and kick panels and rolled back the carpet back and I have water in BOTH front footwells. Soaked most of it up with a towel for now but this friggin sucks, guess I need to put it back in the garage and see if I can figure out where the water is still getting in. What else could cause it to accumulate in both footwells? I know the cowl drains are clear and I siliconed in those cowl grommets. Ugh what a pain in the ass.
 

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At this point I'd look at the TSB (#88) and start troubleshooting (see pic on last page). 1) Place paper towels in each of the entry points into the cabin. There are the Grommet paths at the top on each side; the Door paths just below and the Wiring harness entry points on the lower front kick panels. The other areas to worry about are the window seals which can leak around the doors and pool water either at the front or rear pan. Testing should tell you which is the problem.... 2) Then using a hose run water for 10 minutes over the entire front windshield area (stay away from the doors for now). After 10 minutes pull out the paper towels to see what you have. If any of the entry points are leaking you're likely onto something. If not; then step 4) remove all paneling/plastic surrounding both doors and concentrate water spraying around the top of both window seals. After 10 minutes check both floor pans. This is assuming you've already removed carpets and such to make it easier to determine where water is entering the cabin.

In post #84 I ended up sealing the main seam (runs from one side of the car to the other) and the entire base of the windshield. Not sure if that was my problem or not (they're not supposed to be entry points) but I haven't had water in the cabin since.

When troubleshooting I'd remove the wipers; wiper cowling and wiper motor so you can see what's going on when testing.
 
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That's a bummer man, diagnosing this stuff can be a pain. I forget, have you pressurized the cabin and used soapy solution to find leaks yet? It's detailed on the first page of the TSB.
 

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@ghunt81
Check this thread for the door trim seal that failed on one of my Mustangs.
https://www.s197forum.com/threads/interior-leak.129397/

Yep, good points. I had to replace the rubber window gasket on the passenger side. Driver's wasn't leaking. Still, the dealer had to revise it twice to get it to stop leaking. IDK, they probably replaced that hard trim seal the second time. Give away is if your only getting water in the back foot wells.
 

ghunt81

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That's a bummer man, diagnosing this stuff can be a pain. I forget, have you pressurized the cabin and used soapy solution to find leaks yet? It's detailed on the first page of the TSB.

Yeah I may have to try that. Another storm today after I got home from work, parked the car in the garage before it started raining.

@ghunt81
Check this thread for the door trim seal that failed on one of my Mustangs.
https://www.s197forum.com/threads/interior-leak.129397/

Damn those seals are expensive.

I'm not sure if it would be those because I can take it to the car wash and use the high pressure sprayer and I've never noticed that much water inside- but i suppose it could very well be running down the ends of the doors.

I did notice, on the driver's side of the car there only seemed to be water down in the footwell, but on the passenger side it was also wet under that piece that sits on the front of the floor pan that is hard foam on top and soft foam underneath. The soft foam was a little wet.

Guess I'm gonna have to strip the interior down a bit and do some looking.
 

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