The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks water leak

hi, My truck seems to be leaking water into the cab and i cant figure out where.

When it rains, the carpet gets wet on both passenger and driver side. The water seems to pool close to the door, where the floor makes its transition from flat to angled up to the firewall. I have looked but cannot seem to locate where the water is comming from. The truck is parked outside and not being driven right now. Is there any common place for water to leak into the cab?

Its a 65 c20.



thanks

Check the drip rail seam sealer around the perimeter of the cab lid. Sometimes this seal is compromised, allowing water to enter into the area over the windshield and it gravity-flows into the "A" pillar, down to the kick panel area.

Also, sometimes water will find its way into the kick panel vents, via the louvered openings in the windshield cowl extension, thus emptying into the kick panel area. Sometimes this is caused by the kick panel cavity weep hole, behind the vent being clogged with debris and the water finds the next easiest path.

I hope this info is helpful.

thanks that is helpful.

whats the best way to fix or check for those being the cause of the leak?

Remove the kick panel vents and see if the weep hole in the bottom of the cavity is clogged, if so remove the debris and make sure the cavity is draining properly.

Visually inspect the drip rail around the perimeter of the roof for any compromises in the integrity of the seam fill, if so, remove the damaged area and replace with a good quality automotive seam filler/seam sealer.

thanks for your help. hopefully its an easy fix

I drilled 2 small holes in the drip rail to relieve standing water while parked. It also helps some while driving in wet weather. I placed them at the rear of the side rails at the lowest point.
I would also suspect the windshield weatherstrip. You may wish to stop by a glass company and have them run some of their modern sealant around the weatherstrip, especially on the side areas. Good luck.

The factory drip rail has small weep holes at each corner, but they are sometimes filled with layers of paint of seam seal. Check to make sure they are openend up and draining properly.

In lieu of running windshield sealant, if your windshield grommet is dry-rotted, cracked or not sealed properly, I suggest having a new one installed. I found a local automotive glass shop in my area, that works on the old stuff. They will remove the old, dispose of it, provide a new windshield and install it for under $200.00, with a warranty. Perhaps a glass shop would do the grommet replacement for less. If you intend to keep your truck, replacing the grommet is a wise investment, to eliminate the water seepage issues in the future.

thanks. I went out and looked at the drip rail. I did not see any holes for water to drain. The truck has been painted at least once. Could i trouble someone to take pics of the drain holes so i can see where to put them.

thanks in advance

The weep holes are actually small slits pressed into the 90 degree edge of the drip rail. There is one on the front corners and one approximately above the "B" pillar. You can usually find them by sight or by running your finger around the outside perimeter of the drip rail. Drilling holes will not look proper, so if you can find them, perhaps you can widen the opening with a flat screw driver, enough to allow water to weep from the opening.

Was your truck sitting a long time before you purchased it? Mine was sitting for several years under a tree and collected a lot of junk in the drip rail which caused the actual roof to rust, oddly enough the drip rails were solid, probably from the seam sealer.

The water was running down through the frame and out the seam under the dash. It pooled exactly where you say yours is. I thought it was my windsheild seal, but I wasn't that lucky.

I couldn't see any holes in the roof but I knew it had to be coming from the top. I pulled all of the seam sealer out of the drip rail and found quite a few rust holes under it.

I took the truck to a good body man and he cut the rusted areas out, welded new metal in, bondoed it, added new seam sealer to the drip rail and primed the roof for me for $300. It looks like new and does not leak.

I hope this is not the case for you but if you can't find the leak, I would suggest taking this approach or take it to someone that knows. Hope that helps.

truck was sitting (rarely used). but not under a tree or anything. I bought the truck in kennewick washington. which from the research i've done is pretty desert like.

After i move this weekend i'll be able to spend more time working on it. I'll be replacing the seam sealer and if any rust i will have it fixed.