Leak when it rains

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xirdneh
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My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by xirdneh »

the drip is above my head on left side of upper window trim
the water has to come from higher than that
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by Petros »

I have a similar situation on my daily driver. Mostly it stays dry and fine, but sometimes I guess depending how the car is parked, after a heavy rain storm I gets drips of water out of the upper trim around the windshield. I have been meaning to do the soap thing and look for bubbles, but it happens so infrequently it is just a minor annoyance.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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irowiki
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Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by irowiki »

Mine leaks from the top left corner of the windshield, when it is raining, when I make a hard right turn.

It also seemed to seep a bit all over when I washed her. One of these days I might pull the trim off and see if I can seal it up better. I'd love a new windshield but I bet a 1st gen windshield is big bucks!
Former Tercel Enthusiast (not a practical family car anymore but they still have a place in my heart)

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87 Corolla FX16, 105k
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by dlb »

i have a couple of suggestions. our '87 ford camper van we bought last year had a persistent leak even after having the windshield replaced due to rock chips and craters. i took it back to the glass place and they used some stuff that i can't remember the name of but they said it's useful for that era of fords and numerous other cars that tend to rust along their seems. IIRC it is really light and viscous initially and flows into the all the hairline cracks. they said it was very useful for troublesome, hard to locate leaks. it turned out our camper leak was from a side window so it didn't work for us but it might be something worth investigating.

another idea is to remove the upper interior trim so you can get a better view of the origin of the leak. i remember synth and peter saying removing the headliner is a nightmare due to breaking clips but it's something else to try if the soap technique doesn't work and if you don't want to take it to a glass shop.

i think i would take it to a glass shop. i've had lots of good experiences with a few local glass places so for the minimal cost and all the frustration of trying to track it down yourself, i would go that route.
xirdneh
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Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by xirdneh »

I had a new windshield installed last summer that did not fix the problem at all
the guy who replaced it said the old seal was still good
I have sprayed water at the windshield and all around it and cannot get a drop of water
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by dlb »

i don't mean have a glass shop replace the windshield again, i mean have them look for the leak. it might not be the windshield or the seal around it but it might be a small crack patch of rust near it. or have a upholstery shop do it, they also do leaks. i have had a shop here do it a few times for me. both times they fixed it and the bill for each was under $75. i would try the soapy water/pressurized cabin idea first though.
merriheart
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My tercel:: 1985 Toyota Tercel 4WD Wagon

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by merriheart »

How did you resolve your leak problem, or did you ever? Thank you for sharing. I bought my "85 Tercel not long ago and wasn't told anything about the leak problem. Replaced the windshield which was cracked anyway, and the car still leaked, and with huge swimming pools at foot level. I discovered that when parked with nose downhill at just the right magical angle, no leaks. Hard to see where the leak is coming from. Sometimes when I stick my hand underneath the dash (where the steering wheel is) and underneath where the glove box is after it rains, there is a lot of moisture. I need a solution pretty soon. Boy the smell is really bad!
xirdneh
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Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:38 am
My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by xirdneh »

is your antenna on the right side? if so remove fender and goop the rubber bushing that the antenna wire goes through into fender wall.
my leak came from above and was the gutter above the door. the roof sheetmetal is spot welded to body in gutter and sealed with who knows what. i figure roof racks with heavy loads stressed the seam. i gooped it up with metal sealant and no more leaks.
if none of the above applies
remove panel in front of windshield that covers wiper stuff. check for massive anount of debris on passenger side. if debris gets high enough water can run over into cabin intake vent. also if it is rusted out around vent intake or metal directly over intake. intake is kind of hidden under sheet metal and has raised ring to keep water out. if ring is rusted out it can leak there
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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helipilot77
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My tercel:: 1984 SR5 wagon
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Leak when it rains

Post by helipilot77 »

I had this exact same problem. Water would leak in when parked and soak the carpet. Then when I started driving the car water would pour onto my leg. I found that there was a small pinhole in the rain gutter which was mostly obscured by paint. The water would flow down the rainguter and through the pinhole which would empty onto the top of the weatherstripping of the door. Through the years of opening and closing the door the hinges had worn out causing the door to sag and the weatherstripping to not completely seal at that point and would allow the water to leak through.
I fixed it by doing a two part repair. I loosened the hinge bolts for the door and lifted the door up to the max of its adjustment. This was still not enough adjustment so I also lifted up on the door once they were tightened this re-tweaked them back to where they likely were when the car came from the factory. Years of people leaning on the doors in the open position eventually takes its toll and tweaks the door hinge mounting locations. It is after all only 16 ga steel. This has allowed my door weatherstripping to seal up tightly. I also had a small toothpaste size tube of Lexel Polyurethane caulk. It's really good stuff. I used a small dab to seal up the pin hole by pushing it into the hole from the bottom side. These two repairs have completely stopped my leak for now. However I consider them to be somewhat temporary. I really need to cut out the section of rain gutter that has the rust pinhole and weld in a replacement. I also should really rebuild my door hinges. Hope this helps.
. / TOYOTA
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