t-tops keep leaking and i cant take it anymore

ok so sorry if this is in the wrong forum but my drivers side t-top leaks whenever it rains really hard or if i need to power wash it and im just sick of keeping towels stacked on my seat so is there anyway to fix it? thanks:bow:

How is the condition of the weatherstripping? On a car that is 14 years old, I would think that may be a culprit in the leak.

the hole may be clogged too, take a pipe cleaner and try to clean out the hole if u can.

i know on mine, its fine when it rains, but i cant take it through any automatic car washes

hmm ill check the hole on it but idk i think the owner before me had the windsheild replaced cuz it stick up in the top drivers side corner

a GM dealership said to use ky jelly and coat the weatherstriping. This worked for me. The left over i used to wack off with. As for the powerwashing. Dont spray directly on the window/t-top meeting area. This would help. Wash the passenger side t top off from the drivers side and the drivers side from the passenger side. This will keep the water traveling over the area at low pressure.

Happy 1k post :cz28:

a GM dealership said to use ky jelly and coat the weatherstriping. This worked for me. The left over i used to wack off with.

:lol: :lol: :shame:

parents 2001 ss was less that a year and a half old and had about 7kmiles on it and it leaked.

3 steps to fix it...
1) strip it of all the mods you put on it (return to stock)
2) sell it
3) buy a hardtop!!

:D

T top > hard top

T top > hard top

You could make this argument i guess.... it all depends on how you look at it, for summer cruising, awesome, for beating the crap out of the car and not having leaks or visible gaps... not what you want

back on topic though... There is always the possibility that the body is somewhat twisted and that is what is throwing the seal off, though its more likely bad weather stripping if you are getting that much water in, my parent's SS would drip like once every other minute.

Are there any other recommended, uh, "lubricants" to treat the rubber seals with other than KY?? Any sort of rubber conditioner or something? :think:

if they are shot, there is really nothing to do to get them "good" again, but silicon spray (lubricant) is what is reccommended to keep them in good shape, its worth a try to see if it helps.

Dont spray dircetly at the top, an get urself a garage.

:p

GM super weather stripping adhesive, works great! Nasty if you get it on your fingers. I did the T Top conversion and only have one small leak when it rains hard and the car sits, driving no problems.

You can use black silicone to fix the leak. You will need, black silicone and non-stick plastic wrap.
1. Identify where the leak(s) are coming from.
2. Remove t-top(s)
3. Goop on a liberal amount of silicone.
4. Cover the silicone with the plastic wrap.
5. Re-install the t-top(s) and lock them in.
6. Let dry overnight.
7. Remove t-top(s)
8. Remove plastic wrap.
The silicone has now formed to the low or missing spot in the weatherstripping.
If you put a LOT of silicone, you may have to trim the excess with a razor blade.
Hope this helps.

I dont know how much it would help an exsisting leak, but weld in subframe connectors will prevent non-leaking cars from leaking. Ive had 3 ttop cars and none leaked in regular rain, or washing. Power washers/touchless washes would leak. Its the price we pay to Cruise "topless":cool:

My third gen has a small adjustment to the latch kind of like a small can. Adjusting this fixed my leak instantly after everything else failed. I had to take off the trim on the car but it was easy once i removed the trim piece.

I have the same problem coming from the actual t-top. Im going to figure this out and try and post vids on it. Its a major PITA!

Im in luck! I finally found where the leak is coming from!!!!! Some how water is getting under the t-top and leaking into the internal plastic covered area where the lock handel sits inside. I opened the ttop and turned it to the side and a whole bunch of water poured out! The seals all around the t-top on the car frame where dry so its filling up inside the t-top and running out along the plastic that meets the inside of the car. :cool:

Now I just have to find out where the its coming from. Maybe the seal is broken from the window to the t-top frame? Sounds like a silicone job for me...

Oxy.

http://www.cpdesignonline.com//z28camaro/water_leak.gif

(Water filling inside t-top)

i use mothers interior spray for rubber and the dash. Its good, you can tell the rubber looks much better after using it. Its expensive though, 12 bucks a bottle.

Oxygen454 did you ever fix that leak right there?

Hey spydercam

Ya I had to remove the cover off of the t-top to expose the latching mechanism. Then I used silicone on a screw that holds the weather stripping in ... and also at both ends where the weather stripping meets the car. Was leaking in 3 or 4 points. I had been driving around for 3 months with the cover off my t-top lock mechanism haha

Also I used a silicone spray lube on the locking mechanisms and now they are really easy to lock and unlock. Almost too easy. Before you would have to give them a good little shove to close but now they just slide shut.

oxygen454's leak is exactly where mine was dripping in from, I used clear silicone and globbed it everwhere i could possibly see in that area. no more leaks here!

this was drivers side only, passenger side has never leaked a drop.

smear a coat of vasoline on it will make a great seal it works well and its petrolum based so it will hang around awhile KY is waterbased wouldnt think it would work to well

Had that problem a while ago

wow finnally a thread on successful t-top leak fixing, never thought I would see the day :lol: By the way, Vaseline works only for a short while and for the drivers side, if you use the window a lot if gets all over the window and doesn't work more than a day or two.

I think the screw that holds the weather stripping on is the biggest culprit for leaks. :think:

+1 on that Oxygen. :lol:
Thanks alot for answering that question I am gonna give it a shot! I'll let you guys know how it goes.

We are having down pours and 100 plus km/h winds right now and so far not a drop of water inside! :D

Did you just use black silicone or what?

I had some clear RV silicone laying around.

I ended up putting silicone all around the rubber and felt stuff on each end of the t-top The screws were tearing the seal and leaked the most so I used silicone on them too. I left the t-tops upside down so the silicone pooled properly and dried for two hours. It said tacky after a hour, solid after 12 hrs but i put them back together after two hours. Also you dont really have to take the plastic cover off the tops. The first one made it easier but the second one I didnt, I just shot the silicone in there under the plastic and cleaned it up.

You can see the screw and the rubber without taking the cover off?

yep the rubber ends show on the t-top and the screws are just under there... will see if I still have the pic...

Sorry never did see your response before but this darn problem won't go away no matter what I do so I am gonna do what you did and hopefully it will work. If it does I'll let you know.

Thanks!

I've found that the tops on the 4th Gen t-tops have a bit of flexibility in positioning. If I just throw them on and latch them, they're on, but will likely leak with water.
If I carefully nudge them into a snug position with the weather stripping above the side windows, the interior stays bone dry.

It took a couple of tries to find that sweet spot, but I did it and I still have the original weather stripping from '95.

I've found that the tops on the 4th Gen t-tops have a bit of flexibility in positioning. If I just throw them on and latch them, they're on, but will likely leak with water.
If I carefully nudge them into a snug position with the weather stripping above the side windows, the interior stays bone dry.

It took a couple of tries to find that sweet spot, but I did it and I still have the original weather stripping from '95.
Tried that before and no go. :(
Maybe I just didn't have it quite right though. I've got a 96.

Thanks Oxygen454 for the info. Mine leaks the same way - into the plastic trim area. After a rain I take the tops off to drain them. After I am done working on the house, I'll try what you did. How is everyone else doing with there leak repair?

Besides spray, this stuff works great on door type seals.
Permatex / 3 oz. (85.049 g.) Dielectric Grease
This is silicone based.

Im in luck! I finally found where the leak is coming from!!!!! Some how water is getting under the t-top and leaking into the internal plastic covered area where the lock handel sits inside. I opened the ttop and turned it to the side and a whole bunch of water poured out! The seals all around the t-top on the car frame where dry so its filling up inside the t-top and running out along the plastic that meets the inside of the car. :cool:

Now I just have to find out where the its coming from. Maybe the seal is broken from the window to the t-top frame? Sounds like a silicone job for me...

Oxy.

I have the same problem!!
I wish you still had the pictures up I'm a little confused about what you did to fix it .
It seams that you did something to the seal on the T-top where it meets the window?

Hey,

I found some pictures with out the silicone. Where the blue is, is where I siliconed... basically all around the perimeter of the locking mechanism. The screws were the biggest leaking problem.

Hope this helps, I will try and find the other pictures with the silicone. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo44/oxygen454/IMG_3393.jpg

I've come to the sad realization that the GM fbody is a total POS. I guess they are competing with the Ford Fairmont with quality control. You are damn lucky to only have a leak to worry about. I'm jealous...

Thanks Oxygen454

I just took the whole T-top apart and used some 25 year acrylic caulk around the whole thing.:):)
I hope it works I did see some big gaps so it should stop the leak.
When I was looking at the T-top I think the best thing to do would be to use a two part epoxy that comes in a tube its as thick as caulk to seal it up for ever but that stuff is not cheap.
And of course twenty minutes after I got one T-top done and back on the car it started to rain hard like a hurricane but thats Florida for yaw.:rolleyes::rolleyes: