I'm fed up looking.
I have chased a rain leak under the dash for over a year now.
Brand new windshield and rubber gasket from Volvo on a 1969 145.
I have run bedding compound in there so many times I've lost count. My latest attempt (in full frustration mode) was to put a big ugly bead of urethane around the gasket ruining the neat, clean look of those brand new parts. Water is still coming in.
I'm going to put some butyl putty around the wiper posts from inside but my confidence is shot. When I pour 20 oz. of water down the air vent it all comes out the rockers like it's supposed to. My experience of chasing water leaks in Amazons is not helping here- Rain won't pour in like a the water from a garden hose and a hose cannot mimick the rain.
Grrr.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks,
Shayne.

Can you *see* the water coming in?

I my 144 is suppose to have a rubber gasket. When I
got it the window was glued in with the butyl rope and clip
on trim. It leaked like crazy. I could see the water
coming in and it was totally obvious.

I pulled out the glass, scraped the crap off and put
a rubber gasket in without any glue or even the aluminum
trim. It leaks a little tiny bit in very heavy rain and
I am sure that either window gasket glue or the aluminum
trim would get rid of even that little tiny leak.

Does yours have the butyl rope + cliped on trim + plastic
skirt inside? If it does, it is likely that something was
done incorrectly in the initial installation and the water
is coming in under the outer trim, past the butyl rope,
and under the plastic skirt inside. From there it can
drip down the inside of the dash and drip onto your lap
anywhere. The butyl rope on my 144 had been incorrectly
put in place and in the top right side there as a 1/8th
gap between the rope and the car. There was also a lot
of other calk everywhere in a vain attempt to staunch the
flow of water.

What kind of shape was the paint / metal like under the
trim / gasket when you pulled out the old glass? On my 68
there were little drains in the bottom corners of the
windshield hole. One had been painted over but the other
was intact.

chris

Hi Chris,
>Can you *see* the water coming in?

The car is never with me(it's my Mom's)
when it's raining and I'd hate to leave
her without it for a week.

>Does yours have the butyl rope + cliped on trim + plastic
skirt inside?

No, it's a 1969 with a rubber gasket that is about
one year old.

>What kind of shape was the paint / metal like under the
trim / gasket when you pulled out the old glass? On my 68
there were little drains in the bottom corners of the
windshield hole. One had been painted over but the other
was intact.

The paint was like brand new except a rusty spot by the
passenger side drain hole. I covered this hole up with Por 15,
foil tape, then more POR 15 since I was going to add bedding
compound anyway. I'm not real comfortable with insatlling
the gasket dry, there's always hard factory compound there
when I take the old glass out.
I've suspected those corner drain holes before but I remember
testing them and they would/could/should drain the same place
as the air vent; out the rocker panels.
It shouldn't matter if they are there or not, right?
Thanks for your words,
Shayne.

My 144 has the rubber gasket and no aluminum trim. I
put the gasket in dry since I had recycled the glass
that was on before and it was a little scratched. I
wanted the option of reusing the gasket without any
trauma so I didn't use any anything.


The water can seep under the gasket on the top, flow
around the sides and puddle inside the cavity between
the gasket and frame or where the glass sits inside the
gasket. Mine leaks a tiny bit in heavy rain from
between the glass and gasket in one corner but not at
all between the frame and gasket. I think even with
goop in those cavities, unless there is perfect
coverage, there will still be small cracks that will
allow water to seep in.

I'm assuming that you've got the correct aluminum
trim that fits into the rubber gasket?

Is the car parked on a slope? I think the drains
are important in that they prevent too much water from
pooling between the gasket and the frame; if the car
is parked at enough of a slope the water might be able
to overflow under the gasket into the car if you've
only got one drain. Because the bottom edge of the
gasket covers the screws that hold the top of the
dashboard in place, I'm not sure you'd see water
leaking from between the gasket and frame since it
would have a direct path to the dashboard.

Does anyone know if the windscreen in a rubber
gasketed 140 is a different size than a butyl glued
screen? Also, is the glass for the later 240 the
same size as the earlier 240 glass? When I was
(re)installing the glass on my 140 I got the feeling
that it would seal better if it was a 16th or 8th
of an inch larger.

On my 145 I'm thinking of using the late 240 window
seal, but only if it has chrome trim.
chris

> I think the drains
are important in that they prevent too much water from
pooling between the gasket and the frame; if the car
is parked at enough of a slope the water might be able
to overflow under the gasket into the car if you've
only got one drain. Because the bottom edge of the
gasket covers the screws that hold the top of the
dashboard in place, I'm not sure you'd see water
leaking from between the gasket and frame since it
would have a direct path to the dashboard.

This is a very good point! I'm gonna poke a hole in my foil on that lower corner.
Thank you!

We got rain every day most of the year in Panama. I know the frustration.
Does it leak standing still or driving? How about in a drive-through carwash?
(I don't take my Volvos to those!)
I get some leakage with melting snow here, and because of the rubber on the
vent windows I got an 8" drift behind the passenger seat in last Sunday's
snow in my 122 wagon.
Are you fairly sure it is coming in around the windshield, or could it be
coming from somewhere else? How about the side vents down by your feet?
Or even up through the floor...
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

George,
It's a very rust free car (so I don't think it's coming up through the floor) and I was sure it was coming in the new W/S gasket until I put the urethane on. There's no way it's coming in that way now. We (it's my Mom's) don't wash the car much, so I don't know how it does under a hose. (Wash it? Geesh! It's so much bigger than an Amazon).
Mainly, she finds a big pubddle, passeger side, after it's been sitting. I guess it's now coming in on her feet while driving, As this is MY Mommy, that is unacceptable.
I'll check side panels and wiper posts next.
Thank you,
S.
P.S. That company I work for has lots of Amazon rubber now...

I'd still check for rust in the A pillars / kickpanels. Remove the plastic panels and paper backing, put a strong light on one side and start looking on the other. Pull the fenders off if you have to.

Bram

Bram, Thanks for the tip, I'll check those side panels a bit better.
Are you still hangin' out in the States?

OK, good luck.

No, unfortunately I'm back in .nl.

Bram