Welcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are features you can't use and images you can't see. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: Join our community! |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| Convertible window leak ideas | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 31 2013, 01:49 PM (2,725 Views) | |
| omniminded | Oct 31 2013, 01:49 PM Post #1 |
![]()
|
Since vert window gaskets can be so difficult to find and potentially pricey, I am wondering if anyone has figured out any alternate solutions, temporary or permanent. While I do plan to get proper window gaskets, there are too many other more urgent mechanical matters that I must do first (new tires and head gasket). Last night I sewed up a tear in the driver's side backrest and bought some cheap'o Walmart seat covers for $28 and coated them with Scotch Guard. The right half of the passenger side seat keeps getting soaked every time it rains. I was hoping the seat covers and Scotch Guard would help, but neither seems water impermeable. Has anyone gotten creative with parts from the hardware store to create a better seal and prevent rain water from leaking in? I'm worried about the potential for mold forming within the seat cushion foam. I lived 3 years in an apartment with a mold infestation without knowing about it. Damn doctors kept diagnosing me wrong and now I have permanent lung damage and am especially sensitive to air quality. I need a solution to stop the water from leaking in, even if it's ugly. |
![]() |
|
| Old Man | Oct 31 2013, 02:59 PM Post #2 |
![]()
|
Where is your seal leaking? When your window is rolled up is it leaking all along its top? Or is it leaking at the hinge/junction of the top rail where the seal is supposed to fit together? Or is it leaking both places? do you have plastic clips. They seem to be dual purpose. guide the window and hold the ends of the seal together at the top frame hinges.?? Edited by Old Man, Oct 31 2013, 11:08 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| t3ragtop | Oct 31 2013, 05:53 PM Post #3 |
|
Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker
![]()
|
car cover.
|
![]() |
|
| omniminded | Oct 31 2013, 09:56 PM Post #4 |
![]()
|
I live in the city and park on city streets. I'm worried that a car cover would get stolen... and it'd be more than a little awkward to drive with. No, really, it leaks in when I'm driving too.
|
![]() |
|
| 91 ragtop | Oct 31 2013, 10:11 PM Post #5 |
![]()
|
All that leaking is rusting out your floorpans and rockers . Ken.................. |
![]() |
|
| omniminded | Nov 1 2013, 03:06 AM Post #6 |
![]()
|
I was afraid there might be potential damage to worry about, but I didn't know what. I know what the floor pans are, but no idea what the "rockers" are. Also, do you think there is any risk of mold? On the passenger's side, the half of the seat closest to the door gets soaked. I'm worried about the foam of the seat. |
![]() |
|
| omniminded | Nov 1 2013, 03:25 AM Post #7 |
![]()
|
Sorry it took longer to reply to you. I wanted to prepare some images for my response. This is the full gallery of all images: http://imgur.com/a/sbStA When you say plastic clips, do you mean these things? ![]() On the driver's side, the main problem is the seam between the gaskets here: ![]() On the passenger's side the main problem is along the top edge of the window shown circled. The vertical lines show the boundaries where the water likes to run down and soak the seat: ![]() The secondary (less severe) areas on the driver's side are along the top and front-diagonal circled below: ![]() The secondary (less severe) area on the passenger side is just front of the top-center. You can see some of the moisture trapped between the window and gasket circled below:
|
![]() |
|
| Old Man | Nov 1 2013, 04:24 AM Post #8 |
![]()
|
![]() There are two places on each side that need two clips. The one I have a pic of is the drivers side where the top connects to the windshield frame. The two clips are dual purpose. One purpose is to hold the ends of the rubbers together. notice how tight mine fit together. each clip has a 'tail' that fits into a slot in the metal backing piece.-----the second purpose is that when your window is rolled up tight it fits between the clips and the rubber. This holds the window in place against the rubber. without these clips in place the window is (1) loose against the rubber and (2) wind will push the window and rubber farther away from each other and force water between them. fix the passenger side of the top where it attaches to the bow. Soooo......fix the bow area and get 4 clips in place each side. If it still leaks PM me. Edited by Old Man, Nov 1 2013, 04:26 AM.
|
![]() |
|
| omniminded | Nov 1 2013, 05:55 AM Post #9 |
![]()
|
Anyone know where I can find the plastic clips that Old Man is talking about? I tried finding other threads on the forum mentioning them with no luck. |
![]() |
|
| Old Man | Nov 1 2013, 11:17 AM Post #10 |
![]()
|
junkyard vert. If you have the ability and the patience get some jewelers files and some aluminum and use the one you have as a sample and make some. You would still HAVE to fix your bad problem on the passenger side fit to the front bow. |
![]() |
|
| rkthev | Nov 1 2013, 01:11 PM Post #11 |
|
Advanced Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
California PopTop |
![]() |
|
| Old Man | Nov 1 2013, 02:09 PM Post #12 |
![]()
|
hard to drive down the road in a rainstorm with that in place
|
![]() |
|
| geogonfa | Nov 1 2013, 02:39 PM Post #13 |
![]()
|
IMHO, your top needs replacing...when you can see your front top header exposed, the top has shrunk. when the top is good, it overhangs the side windows for rain run-off I regularly use Zymol 's seal conditioner to keep my seals soft and they repel water better... |
![]() |
|
| t3ragtop | Nov 2 2013, 10:09 AM Post #14 |
|
Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker
![]()
|
your top is jacked up, my friend. replace it before the worse things happen. when the latch blocks break you'll be looking at spending a hundred bucks for a pair (if you can find them.) when the latch blocks break the top can pop up at highway speeds and then you'll be looking for a replacement top frame at a couple hundred bucks (if you can find one.) i mentioned the car cover only for use when the car is parked (which ends up being more time than the time you spend driving it.) you use a light cable and a lock to secure the cover. and honestly, a car cover fitted to a metro vert is too small for nearly any other car out there so they aren't really a theft target. rockers are the steel bits under the doors. they connect the front of the car to the rear of the car and on a vert, when they rust out you lose the strctural integrity of the chassis. it's as much of a car killer as rusted out frame horns. having spent literally months over this past summer welding new steel, floor pans and rockers, into 2 cars i can tell you that if you don't have the technical expertise to do it yourself, the labor alone would be as much or more than your car is worth. letting the top leak is the biggest contributor to rust taking your car out. deal with it as soon as possible or lose your vert to rot. ![]() you can see what i'm talking about by reading through my blue monster, red resto-rod vert, and white gt threads in the projects section. those threads have pics that illustrate the damage and repairs that go along with a leaking car. |
![]() |
|
| omniminded | Nov 3 2013, 05:44 AM Post #15 |
![]()
|
This is REALLY disheartening. I thank you both for being blunt as it is information I needed to know, but this just added yet another urgent major expense. $$2500 to buy it +$500 expenses getting it from out of state +$2500 worth of front end repairs already into it Add to that list +$200 replace 2 tires and get alignment +$500'ish compression test and head gasket repairs Now an entirely new top? WTF? I'm already hemorrhaging money. I bought this to try reducing my automotive expenses, not to adopt a money pit. ...sorry. This has me more than a little upset and frustrated. Only averaging 33 mpg so far also. I've generally found that every vehicle I've ever bought might likely be considered by others as a "problem car". Murphy's Law, bad luck, and limited automotive knowledge are not a good combination when buying a vehicle. Rather than dumping a "problem" vehicle, I've tended to stick with what I've got and just repair, repair, repair. I figured out that dumping a problem solves nothing when inevitably the replacement will be as bad or worse. But I've also often had to forgo repairs for much longer than ideal until I could afford them. My Suburban for example has needed transmission work for quite some time now, but I've had to chance letting it be and simply try to drive it less. My solution was first a 49cc Chinese scooter. That went horribly wrong. It was constantly breaking, same or similar problems over and over. The Geo was to be the scooter's replacement and to be my daily driver instead of the Suburban. I've got so much money into the Suburban already that I'll need to drive it till the wheels fall off... and then another 25 miles sliding down hill on bare under body just to get my money's worth out of it. The plan was to fix up the Geo and drive it too till the wheels fall off. But its moments like now that really start me second guessing things. /end rant Noted. Thanks for the explanation. I know the underside supposedly looks good rust-wise, but it sounds like I may need to get a look at what is going on under the interior carpeting and other hidden vulnerable places. Sadly I DO NOT have the expertise. I really hope it hasn't already created a problem, and if not, I hope I can take preventative measures before it has a chance to become a problem. As for "more than the car is worth", I technically passed that mark just buying it if we're going by book values. I've actually paged thru most (not all) of your Resto-Rod Vert thread, admittedly mostly just looking at the photos... it's a giant thread, even just looking at the photos was so time consuming I've not even made it all the way through. Just from scanning the one thread, it has clearly inspired many people. I was inspired as well. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Body/Chassis/Interior · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2


Welcome to the all new Geo Metro Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.





No, really, it leaks in when I'm driving too.








![]](http://z3.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
hard to drive down the road in a rainstorm with that in place

7:38 PM Jul 10