flood!!!

[Archangel]

Tiggie, why does yer car leak through the HVAC intake screen? Mine used to do that too, until I sealed around the vent screen's bottom edge with silicone glue or whatever it is that is used to hold fish tanks together.

[P72Ford]

Could leak on both sides like my wagon. The drivers side leaks somewhere up above the gas pedal under the insulation and stuff. Dunno where exactly it is coming in. (Suggestions welcome). The passenger side comes in through the fresh air vent screen thing on top of the firewall. Judging by the 10X8in hole in the drivers floor, it has leaked since new.

Tiggie, why does yer car leak through the HVAC intake screen? Mine used to do that too, until I sealed around the vent screen's bottom edge with silicone glue or whatever it is that is used to hold fish tanks together.

Same problem with my car, right near the fresh air intake. I got to mine before the floor started to do little more than rust. I put mucho POR on the floor. It still leaks. Yesterday I tried to seal the base up a little. My plastic doohickey is all warped (I made a gasket aout of a tire flap from an old split rim). Last year I had the whole inner fender out and the whole dash apart trying to find it. What I found was that there is a drain in the base of the inlet. One side of the drain drains water (That entered the inlet) out of the car. The other side just seemed to be open. DO NOT plug these drains. I damn near flooded my car trying it, before I realized what they were. The leak has slowed a great deal by now too. Your best friend is clear silicone. I have also shrink wrapped my air inlet partially. There is an opening on the front side (for air to enter) so that any old water can't run right into the inlet.

[Tiggie]

The nuts holding my HVAC screen on are stripped for some reason, so I can't get it off to seal around it. I'll pick up another HVAC screen and maybe I can force mine off and not worry about breaking it.

[interceptor1985]

it's worse for me...The Crapi's windshield gasket costs 155 new and same with the rear. and if I try and fix it my self the window will bust and those are next to impossible to find.

[86GmLsCoupe]

Could use that butyl rubber stuff, the stuff they usually use for glass installations. I've used it for my door barriers, tail lights, and making gaskets for screws. Works fairly well but can be messy.

[Archangel]

Your best friend is clear silicone. I have also shrink wrapped my air inlet partially. There is an opening on the front side (for air to enter) so that any old water can't run right into the inlet.

Yep, clear silicone is what I used - everywhere around the inlet screen, for the same reasons as you, it was real badly warped. Can you snap a pic or two of hoe you heat-shrunk the screen?

[Archangel]

The nuts holding my HVAC screen on are stripped for some reason, so I can't get it off to seal around it. I'll pick up another HVAC screen and maybe I can force mine off and not worry about breaking it.

Leave the screen as is, use clear silicone to push in-between the screen and the sheetmetal, and around the screen's base and a little over - really pile enough silicone so that it covers both the plastic screen's base edge and some of the sheetmetal together.

[gabegt90]

Yep, clear silicone is what I used - everywhere around the inlet screen, for the same reasons as you, it was real badly warped. Can you snap a pic or two of hoe you heat-shrunk the screen?

yeah my inlet screen was leaking too I also put silicone there as well

[86GmLsCoupe]

I'm another one with the inlet screen covered in silicone. I think it helps a lot.

[Archangel]

I'm another one with the inlet screen covered in silicone. I think it helps a lot.

Guess so, but then again tonight I poured over half a gallon of water straight down the HVAC inlet, and it drained properly between the passenger inner fender and the firewall... Beats me where that water is coming from

[P72Ford]

Yep, clear silicone is what I used - everywhere around the inlet screen, for the same reasons as you, it was real badly warped. Can you snap a pic or two of hoe you heat-shrunk the screen?

Its hard to get a good shot of the shrink wrapping. Instead I'll explain how its done. Get yourself a sheet of plastic, reasonable thick. If you can't find asheet, you can use a plastic bag. It has to be thick though. It can't be a bag from the grocery store. Cut a piece thats alot larger than your inlet screen. Use clear sctotch tape to affix it to the screen as best as possible. It will look like shit at this point, but no worries.

With it bagged up (leave the bottom open), get to a source of heat. I used the stove range at my house. It is elecetric, so no open flame. (You can probably use a gas range if you're careful, or maybe even a hair dryer.) Just hold it over the heat and as it heats up the plastic will shrink. It pulls tight over the inlet and makes a rather nice cover. It takes a while to get perfect with the heat. You have to move from one area to another. I usethe clear tape because it melts and becomes integral to the cover. If you use a bag (and its multi color), you can paint it so it doesn't look totally goofy.

If this doesn't help I'll make myself a new one and snap pics of the process.

Don't forget to cut a whole in the front for air to come in too!

[Archangel]

Ah, got the idea, well we have some heat guns at work so that's what I'm gonna use. However, what exactly did that wrap for you, does it restrict water spills in the inlet, or what? Cause when I tested my inlet drain system it worked well, there was no water in the cab and all water I poured in it drained out like it's supposed to...

[P72Ford]

I thought my water drain worked right too. Most of the water runs out on the ground. However, if I wait a while after I have poured water in, I can see some water inside the car on the firewall running down (after the carpet is pulled back, etc). I think the shrink wrapping may have prevented an excessive amount of water from running in. Less water in the inlet means less chance of it running in the car (down the firewall, etc), for me at least.

[LTDMan83]

Running a bead of Silicone under the FA Intake,helped mine out considerably.The carpet on the PS floor has been bone dry ever since.

[Archangel]

Well I found during the last torrential pour-down that I got one leak on the driver side too, so that makes at least too - fuck it, I've had enough, she's done with!