[jamieandthemagi]

For some time now I have occasionally noticed water in the footwell on both sides of my 71 GTJ. But hadnt figured where it was coming from.

Thisweekend I got the Missus to give me a hand.

The water would only come in, if the rain was very hard. Never whilst driving, or sometimes when I washed the car.

I poured water over the car, result was;

At the base of the A pillar on the doors is a little rubber seal, which doesnt seal against anything, it just directs water that falls into the horizontal door / front wing gap into the 3 vents in the door, so that any water runs inside the door & out through the drain holes at the bottom of the door.

However it I spray water at 45 degrees, or pour water at 45 degrees, directly over this part of the door - wing gap, then the water goes over the seal, runs down the hinges, to the base of the door. where it then, through capillary action runs along the underside of the door.

But the door seals are new, why was it not sealing ?

both areas of water ingress where about 2" in from the lower A pillar door curve. After feeling around, then looking. The underside of the doors in these positions are a little rough from surface rust. Beacuse they are rough, the seals are not sealing properly & therefore the water comes in via these rough areas, & then drips through the door seals, into the footwell.

I guess I know need to address the rough underside of the doors to prevent this, & make sure, I'm not letting damp into the car.

Thankfully the GTJ has a rubber floor mat, so the water just pools, rather than soaking into any carpet & then chassis.

 

[alfa10530]

Hi there,
I have the exact same problem.
Take a look at the thread I opened back in May.

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/gt-1965-1974/180875-rubber-seals-normal.html

Hope it helps. Any new ideas welcome!

 

[ralfoto]

rain coming in....

i had the same problem on a 72....put new door seals/rubber and still had the problem. the real issue was the inside liners for the door panels, if these are gone or were taken off and put back on incorrectly water just comes on in......so best to take these off and be sure they have the moisture seal still intact or create a new one.

should solve the problem....

 

[chrisgt]

Have had the same problem with my GT..

an italian mechanic here in cologne said, there was rain coming in at the doors when these cars were new.... why should that have changed over the years?!

On my car, it´s only when in really heavy rain or in the car wash, though I´ve only once been to a car wash with her last january to wash the salt off. And I always have a towel lying on the floor just right under the doors of both sides, just in case

 

[alfa10530]

Same here! But not under heavy rain, only when I wash. Best solution I have come up with is paper tape! See first post on the thread I wrote in my previous post!

 

[jamieandthemagi]

Not doing the paper tape thing, now I know that its only on the horizontal part of the door to A Pillar gap, I'll just avoid the hose on that section for the moment.

I might try putting some adhesive form on the base of the door at an angle to divert the water away from the rough area of the door base. Let you know if that sorts it.

 

[GTVMk1]

The previous owner of my GTV, a 74 yr old Italian guy who's owned more Alfa's than I've had not dinners, warned me to always make sure the inner door lining is replaced so that water is directed to the outer door skin. If not the water will run into the car.

 

[jamieandthemagi]

Took the interior door panel off today.should the plastic protector be on the inside of the door? Mine was one the back of the interor panel, so water can run down the inside and into the car, rather than running to the inside of the door and out through the drain holes.

Im sure my old spider had the plastic one the inside of the doors.

 

[kpas]

Howdy!

I had the same problem when I got my freshly restored 2000 back on the road, with brand new door cards too mind you! NOT HAPPY.

The issue is that the shape of the doors means that when water runs in from the window seal it drops down in the straight line, which lands it onto the inside door card (run a stringline down from the window felt to test this if you want to see what I mean). from here it runs into the inside of the car, on the interior side of the seal.... not good.

The fix for this (recommended to me by a very reputable body restorer) was to use either plastic, or cloth tape (joined in strips) to seal up the openings on the inside of the door. This includes the inspections to the window winders, etc etc.

I used the tape method on my daily driver 105 and have had a water free car for the last 18 months.

 

[EldridgeM]

Interesting, kpas - I will try this on my car. I concur with the path of the water.

 

[jamieandthemagi]

The issue is that the shape of the doors means that when water runs in from the window seal it drops down in the straight line, which lands it onto the inside door card (run a stringline down from the window felt to test this if you want to see what I mean). from here it runs into the inside of the car, on the interior side of the seal.... not good.

thats exactly whats happening with mine - i took the door card off & washed it - water poured in through the window felts.

the plastic on the back of the doorcard isnt tucked into the bottom of the door, so it just runs into the car.