521 Leak Spots

[jon521]

Now that the rain is here and my truck isnt in the shop, i have found some leaks in my cab :( . i was wondering if other 521 owners have/had similar leaks or what leaks they have. i have found water in the rear driverside corner of the cab, and i can see on the kickpanels that they are soaking up water, my passenger side is way worse than my driver side. i havent looked into these leaks extensively yet, but my guess for the passenger kickpanel soaking up water is that water is running down the door gutter and in between the door and the fender, then down and some how into the cab right there by the kickpanel. anyone else have similar leaks?

[Jayden71]

Dude, that sucks!

 

Mine does not have any leaks that I can see at the moment. Right now she is sitting out in the weather in front of the garage too.

[DatWifey]

We were having an issue with to top passenger corner of the windshield. The water literally was dripping in my husband's lap at one point while I was driving last winter, and would run down the edge of the windsheild, behind the dash and pool on the passenger floor-board.

 

Other than that though, we too have been pretty lucky to not have any leaks that we've come across.

[metalmonkey47]

Not exactly the same, but my 620 leaks in around the door on the passenger at the front. It also seeps water in around the window seal and collects in the headliner

 

 

Not a 521, but I hope that helps.

 

 

 

EDIT: Also, my 210 liked to leak in around the dash harness at the grommets and seals in the firewall.

[jon521]

Thanks! the door seals look fine, but i would look them over better tomorrow for cracks, same with the window seal. ive heard of the seal around the wiper arms leaking?

[cyrusthevirus]

my 521 leaked from the frist day i got her in rain to make it even shit E R my heater core was leaking in the cab if u ever have this jem of a proble u know it sucks bad

 

 

so i replaced the windshield seal seal 2 times with no luck still leaking

 

i had a roff leak so off to Hdepot i got some roofing tar that works in wet or dry applications bamm it work for my roof and i was putting tools away at the truck so 1 thing led to another and they hooked up roof tar meet weather stripper BAMM solved no leaks period 2 years in now NW rainy truck

[izzo]

my 521 leaked from the frist day i got her in rain to make it even shit E R my heater core was leaking in the cab if u ever have this jem of a proble u know it sucks bad

 

 

so i replaced the windshield seal seal 2 times with no luck still leaking

 

i had a roff leak so off to Hdepot i got some roofing tar that works in wet or dry applications bamm it work for my roof and i was putting tools away at the truck so 1 thing led to another and they hooked up roof tar meet weather stripper BAMM solved no leaks period 2 years in now NW rainy truck

 

 

what?

[jon521]

what?

 

 

haha

 

well if i can find my leaks, i will see about getting some roof repair

[mklotz70]

In my Mend thread, there's a lot of pics of how I'm dealing with a similar prob. Here's where the leaks are on this 521. I'm pretty sure my wife's 521 leaks in the same spot. Just a pic of the driver's side, but both sides were the same.

 

[521chowda]

the only leaks i have come from the front of the cab, drivers side behind the pedals. previous owners didnt want to fix the problem so they drilled two quarter sized holes in the floor to act as a drain :hmm:

 

 

[Gibby]

yea i have a 72 521, found a leak coming from my rear window passenger side. like a decent amount to get my rags soaked. im thinkin its just the seal. its really dried out.

[jon521]

i think thats where mine is leaking, thats why i have a puddle behind the seat. i will have to wait until it rains again (wont be long) to find out for sure. but my seal looks just fine.....

[josh817]

Cold front blew in yesterday and it's been raining ever since here. I had to drill a hole in my passenger floor as a drain because literally an inch of water would puddle. I have leaks around the fresh air box which I'm tearing out with all my frustration and putting in a block off plate. As well as around the windshield seal, which is probably originally so I don't mind. I don't have any seals around the doors so there is a big draft. The window seals are non-existent anymore because they crumbled so not only do they leak but the window rattles around annoyingly as you drive over bumps (would love to hear of a source for these?), same for the triangle windows but surprisingly they don't leak at all so I don't care. And then to top it off, I notice some water running down the back wall which I WOULD ignore but when I reached back behind the seat there is also a nice puddle back there so it was more intense than I thought. I wouldn't be surprised if the back glass seal is bad too but what I did notice on both passenger and drivers sides, where your left shoulder would sit, here is a seam. Just a thought.

 

 

And people ask me why I won't put a decent interior/carpet in there... Hah.

 

 

Would love to know a source that isn't international for:

Windshield seal

Rear glass seal

Window seal and/or the felt that goes at the bottom of the window

[jon521]

Window seal and/or the felt that goes at the bottom of the window

 

 

i had the same problem with my truck, and i just pulled the window rubber seal from a early mazda/ford courier at the junkyard, and they fit perfectly in. no more rattle.

[josh817]

Nice ;)

 

I go to a local place for generic bubble seals for around the doors. I'm thinking maybe they will have a rubber strip with a groove down the center of it that I can wedge at the top of the window frame so it seals up top. Possibly even use it on the sides of the frame too.

 

I double checked ebay and cheap windshield and rear glass weatherstrips can be had from Thailand, which we already knew, but do I really want to wait 6 weeks and risk having it getting lost too? There is a guy in Houston selling NOS stuff but it's over twice as much.... I'm waiting for a response from my glass man who installs the seals, see if he has a better price. Really wish Napa or Autoblown would have them on order!

 

I had put a full size towel on the passenger floor and just the mist and a few downpours from last night had the towel not only soaked but like... super saturated, dripping, had to ring it out type of wet. I don't understand how a windshield drip can be so freaking severe...

 

Obviously the car is parked, so it can't be blowing in from firewall gromets, and not from around the door unless the wind is gusting from the side, and not from my fresh air box because I checked that a few weeks ago.. dumped two gallons straight from the jug and it drained it in a breeze. Leaving only the windshield and possibly a seam where the wiper motor is located that water could puddle and drain into the cab...

 

To say the least wear a rain suit while if it's raining real hard and I haven't a clue how you guys with carpet keep that thing from turning into a moldy puddle and also protect your floors from rust. I used top notch aircraft paint that I get from a buddy who works at American Airlines, this shit is like $200 a gallon, and you can see the beginning of rust after 8 months of weather and dripping. :( A battle I want to win but not if it costs me $400 to have a guy come out and replace the two major seals.