My Tiger's tops (hard top and soft top) are rain tight in the worst
downpours (not that we have too many of them here in Arizona). I do get
a leak into each footwell when driving through heavy rain or, after
converting my failed stock windisheld washer pump to an electric pump
yesterday, and having fun watching the squirters go through a whole
bottle of washer fluid in just a few minutes, and leak a small part of
it into the footwells. (I got the tip on the pump conversion from the
Tigers United site, although I did mine a bit differently, and it works
great now).
The leaks on both sides seem to come from the fresh air vent areas above
(toward the outside of the car on both sides, if that makes sense), and
on the drivers side the drips fall right on the front of the rubber mat
in front of the gas pedal.
Looking up under the dash I see that there is what looks like forty year
old caulk or sealer of some sort (apparently applied and then painted
over at the factory) under the air vent intakes. You can see water form
there and drip down, but I can't tell exactly where it's coming from.
The drain tunnels at the back of the engine compartment cowling above
are covered by that sheetmetal so you can't see underneath all the way
to the sides.
Should I just slop a bunch of new caulk over the ancient caulk that's
already there under the dash? Is there a way to safely remove the old,
painted over caulk (which is very hard, almost like it's some sort of
glue)? I'm concerned that just re-caulking over what's there may trap
water in cracks above and lead to rust. I have used clear silicone seal
around the base of the windshield squirters and the wiper bases, but
that has not stopped the dripping in rain or yesterday (or after washing
the car today).
I did fix both air vents a couple of years ago (with the kits from SS)
and caulked around those from above, but I think I had leaks before and
after I did that. Maybe I need to caulk there again.
Has anyone else had the same problem, and how did you fix it?
Thanks, as usual, in advance.
Steve Sage
1966 MK1A
_______________________________________________
Tigers@autox.team.net
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/tigers
|