Also posted in the sticky ....

I'm in the middle of a conversion and having a problem. My mechanic friend is doing the job and says it's leaking when he tests it. I've read a few of these posts / write up's and you all say "I spent a couple weeks finding and fixing leaks". What do you adjust to fix the leaks and how? He says the seals may just be too old and I might need to get new ones ...they're from a 100K mile car. He also says the windshield seal is different on a T-top car and to really do it right I would need to remove the windshield and put the correct seal in ....admitting that no one can guarantee that the windshield won't break upon attempting it. None of the write up's mention replacing the windshield seal and many of them say there are no problems with leaks in spite of that. The body work done on the corners looked really good and the seals do "drain" properly.

Please advise, thank you.

 

Well we figured it out, it is the lack of a windshield seal. That is clearly where it's leaking (about halfway down the A-B pillars the water comes out, but you can clearly see it go in at the top of the windshield in that little valley). I told him to just use some permatex black RTV sealant and see how it works. He said no one will try to put a seal in there without lifting the windshield, and if you lift the windshield there's no guarantee it won't crack. The hell with that, I say seal it up with some RTV and call it a day (as long as it works).

 

For what it's worth, my mom bought her '02 SS brand new, and the t-tops had evidence of lots of silicone used at the factory all over the inside when we picked it up. There were long black spider webs stuck to things. That seems like the obvious answer to me!

 

my factory t-tops leak just a litte, if you are driving in rain one drop of water will fall on your leg like evey 30 minutes, and if the car sits in the rain a few drops will come in overnight, it's no big deal at all. Never had any problems in automatic washers or spray washes wither.

So it depend son how bad the leak is, if it's only a few drops I wouldnt even worry about it.

 

My V6 t-top was leaking at the windshield, RTVd it a couple years ago, no more leaks. It was a factory t-top car.

 

I have patched things up well with Permatex black on the front corners but I still have one concern. I notice my "C-panel" (back side of the roof) is WIDE OPEN (underneath)!!! ....from the driver-side to the passenger-side the whole thing is open and looks like it needs to be sealed with more gasket-maker or something (there's even a weird "crack" on the driver-side that had to be there from the factory because it's not very close to where we cut the roof off). What happens to water that might get under and behind the C-panel? ....does it have a way to drain out or is it just going to sit somewhere or drip on my headliner? I would have never noticed but I took a good close look "up and across" with a powerful flashlight and my reaction was "OH MY!" .....do I need to seal this or is it draining else ware? I notice the backside of the C-panel is sealed very well .....

....I may look at an OEM T-top car and see what I see .... ....anyone have any thoughts? btw ...little issues and all ...I'm loving the conversion already .....

 

It's normal to have a 1/8" or 1/4" gap behind the t-tops, but the t-tops seal with the rubber to the roof there. But you can nearly get your finger under there.

 

That's not a perfect seal where the t-top rubber meets the roof though; besides ...we know water is expected to come in at least somewhat anyway, or there wouldn't be a rain channel there to carry water to the drain in the corner. So if it gets in that little gap (even a little) ...where does it go? ...can it come out the bottom sides of the C-panel? I think you're misunderstanding me ....I don't mean the gap between the T-tops and the C-panel. I mean looking at the C-panel with the T-tops off of the car .....there's an opening above the rain channel and under the C-panel. Admittedly it would have to dam up and/or have a clogged drain in the corner of the seal or you'd have to be in a severe storm to even be concerned about it since it's at the top edge of the rain channel .....but it's still a concern.

Anyone know if factory T-top cars are sealed at the C-panel on the front side of it like it is on the back? ...if you lift your rear hatch and look closely you will see a rubber seal on the backside of the C-panel .....should one be on the front side as well?

 

When I did mine my leaks were (and still are) coming from where the window meets the T-top. Its not bad, but its there.

 

Did you seal the C-panel? Do you have any holes in it? You may have never even noticed if you haven't ...but look across and up from the side of the car while the tops are off. Do you have a gap under the C-panel between it and the rain channel? ....up high just under the top of the C-panel.

 

I see what your saying. The factory T top piece comes down perpendicular where the hardtop piece does not, so it has a gap there. Go look at a factory T top car and you will see what I am talking about. It is molded into the C panel, so that whole piece would have had to been replaced. I havent had any problems with mine, and I did not seal it. Here are some pics:







I know my lines arent straight, I never got around to touching everything up. Its on the list...... I would just use some black RTV and call it a day. Go look at a factory T top car and you will see what I am talking about. Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

Thanks Cap' ...that's what I figured. I'll try to take some pics at some point. Really happy with the body work, I had someone with some pretty good experience tackle mine so I think it turned out almost imperceptible as a conversion. I installed my T-top holders in the trunk last night, what a PITA! I had to move my CD changer out of the way and then found that I had to shim the holders to get them to fit the pins in the tops. I guess hard top cars had different sized trunks too lol

 

I just put mine in the backseat with a pillow between them. Trunk is full of speakers