Driver's side door leak

ThaiCobra · 09-19-2009, 07:09 PM

I have heard these water leaks are pretty common on S197's.

After is has rained when I open the driver's side door there is water on the door sill and a little bit within the cabin of the car.

What is likely causing this? Is it something I can fix? If not what should I say to the Ford mechanics?

My once very fresh smelling interior now smells like stale water, it's almost humid inside.

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sonicmetalicS197 · 09-19-2009, 07:46 PM

I have the same issue but it's fairly dry here and the mustyness goes away in an hour or so for me, so I haven't really looked into it much. However I can see it being an issue for others. I think it's the rubber lining along the door not sealing well. Maybe inspect/replace it.

pascal · 09-19-2009, 09:16 PM

There are long square rubber plugs at the bottom of the door on each end...
Take those f#ckers off! Leave those holes open.
It won't collect water and build up until it comes out from the door panel, thus, leaking inside your car.

ThaiCobra · 09-20-2009, 04:24 AM

thanks pascal. I will do that.

They are not neccesary at all? Why does Ford put them in?

Nuke · 09-20-2009, 09:39 AM

There's a TSB for the water leak issue which is NOT associated with the door seal or lower door drain plugs. If your carpet is wet by the passenger kick panel, then you need to be aware of the TSB. This problem will eventually corrode the connections at the SJB and you'll think your car is possesed.

05 Mustang · 09-20-2009, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pascal

There are long square rubber plugs at the bottom of the door on each end...
Take those f#ckers off! Leave those holes open.
It won't collect water and build up until it comes out from the door panel, thus, leaking inside your car.

good tip!

pascal · 09-20-2009, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaiCobra

thanks pascal. I will do that.

They are not neccesary at all? Why does Ford put them in?

Ford put them there so you don't see a plain hole, it's a visual thing I guess.
Doesn't matter, they are useless anyhow and you're better off without them, more air goes inside your door and dry things up when wet, thus, retarding rust issues.

I picked up a Shelby vert at my local dealer that was destined to Belgium...
It was on their lot at an uphill angle with the front facing down for about 2 weeks before I took it to my shop for mods.
Guys, this is nuts! it had 4 inches of water on the floor boards!
Right below the pedals on the left side and below the SJB on the right side.
Another week sitting there, and it would have been all over for that electronic device, lol.

The manager couldn't figure out WTF was going on and start saying the top was leaking

I told him to move the f*** over and watch...
I simply took them plugs out and water was coming out like a faucet for about 5 minutes.
I shook the door back and forth on one side and sure enough, the water was coming out from below the door panel. Those doors prolly were filled with a couple of gallon of water each.

So there you go, some Ford engineer fag wearing a butt plug must have thought it would be cool to put unwanted plugs on our cars.

rford426 · 09-20-2009, 12:49 PM

^^pascal your the man haha mine has done this a couple times shes usually in the garage so when I get her back these plugs are gone!!

pascal · 09-20-2009, 01:10 PM

Good man.
Do et!

mmdpg · 09-21-2009, 10:19 AM

I had a few drips on the door threshold. If you take the door panel off you will see the vapor barrier/ water shield is not fully sealed to the door. Buy some sealer made for this application (never really dries, stays sticky) and re-seal the vapor shield to the painted part of the door frame and no more drips.