New to the list.
We have a '74 Duster that we have stripped down and painted purple with a purple interior. (It's my wife's car)
It has a 225 with auto.
I have Clifford Headers for it that I will get in sometime in the next couple months.
Got an 8 3/4 rear for it that I'm in process of cleaning up.
Have to grind off old spring perches and weld new ones on opposite side.
This is wider than stock 7 1/4" boat anchor, but tires will still fit.
Got a big question I hope someone can answer.
We had new windshield seal and door gaskets (full circle) put in while in body shop.
Told the bodyman about the previous leaks and that fixing them was a priority.
Now that we have the car back and the rainy season has started here in the NW (Tacoma) the car leaks more than it did before it went to the shop.
We took it to a glass shop last Friday. He took out the windshield and put
silicone sealer all around--something the body shop did not do.
The car still leaks bad. It drips down from the dash above the kick panels and drips down on the speakers in the kick panel. (We put in a killer sound system too)
Anybody got a similar experience or any ideas?
I have a '57 T'Bird that leaks so much (and so do they all) that you might as well leave the windows down when it rains.

this post should probably be in the "other" section.......

but a leaky window is pretty common to my experience in older windows. do you know the brand of rubber hasket you used? "hardens" sells one that is total junk.

you also need to make sure you have the second piece to the gasket, a round rubber strip about half the circumference of the gasket (in length)that sits inside the main one (I forget the real name). if that is missing you might get a leak.

I have had similar problems with the B-bodies that I have owned and though I am no expert (leaks can be tricky) I can share some thoughts.

1. Check the weatherstrip around the driver's side door. Sometimes, leaks can form towards the front of the windshield pillar, where it meets the door, and will give the appearance that the leak is coming from the windshield.

2. Check inside the vents outside (right below the windshield wipers). The back inside edge of these vents (essentially the firewall) are prone to rustholes, especially after years of leaves and debris blocking the water channel in these. This will leak right behind the dash giving again the illusion of the windshield leaking.

I would check by doing isolated tests on the various areas with a garden hose or bottle of soapy water. By going through each section one at a time you should be able to find it.

Russ

Followup On Duster Water Leaks:
Had the car to the glass shop again today.
Guy did a thorough isolated water test:
1. It leaks thru the windshield wiper posts on cowl. Anybody know whether/where there's a way to seal these?
2. Body shop had removed the studs? that help hole the windshield (w/s) in
(his words) and they were replaced with sheetmetal screws. This may be s source of leaks.
3. He ran water into the cowl and the water drained out right away.
He said the worst leaks were coming in around the windshield on the passenger side. No leaks around doors.
4. Does anyone know how to get out all the leaves and crud that accumulates in the cowl? Too small to get a vacuum in there.
5. Glass shop is going to order in a new w/s gasket and windshield and seal like crazy upon installation.
6. Anybody got any good ideas?
Thanks lots for replies and ideas.

Schumacher makes a wiper pivot seal kit that is supposed to be better than the foam gasket kits that layson's and year one foists upon the public.

Cleaning out the cowl means removing one or both of the vents/heater box from the firewall, and reaching up there with a gloved hand and raking it all out....worst case scenario is getting some child labor (like a 12 year old with skinny arms) and slipping them a $5 to reach into the vent box and do some scraping...

-D.Idiot

After said skinny armed person removes the bigger items
use an air compressor to dislodge the smaller stuff-- use your shop vac to suck it up-- just like shampoo ----repeat--- check those areas carefully- you only want to do this once-- seal it up & you've eliminated another leak area..

A temporary fix for the wiper shaft leak is to use valve stem seals.

_________________
"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

I Took My Scamp Through The CarWash The First Month I Had It Which Happened To Be June, And At The expense Of A Wet Pair Of Shoes, Found That I Was Leaking BAD Through The Wiper Posts... My Old Man ( A MOPAR Freak ) Indicated That That Is A Very Common Problem Because Of The Low Quality Foam Used To Seal Up This Gap...

For about $16 order a wiper pivot seal kit from Schumacher Creative Services: http://www.engine-swaps.com . It includes the necessary seals and some grease zerts you can tap into the pivot housing to fill it with grease for lubrication and prevents water from seeping in through a loose shaft. Your Duster has some drain holes at each end of the fresh air chamber in its cowl (the void space behind the firewall and under the grill in front of the windshield). The drains can get clogged up with leaves, twigs, and other debris. You can only access them by removing the plastic splash shields at the rear of the fenders. Dig trash out with a hooked wire or needle nose pliers, blow compressed air into the grill and pointed toward the drain holes, and repeat many times.

***WARNING*** make sure the fresh air vent door(s) are closed or you will get a bunch of trash blown into the car. My son's A/C equipped Dart Sport has the underdash box pressed up to the bottom of the cowl's fresh air hole, sealed by a thick rubber gasket. I'm sure stuff will get caught in the air box, so it will probably blow out the fresh air vents the first time you open them. Sorry, I don't know how to prevent that (we did all this cleaning with the car dismantled). Maybe pull the plastic vent diffuser off the front of the air box and cover the opening with something for a while, then vacuum it out.

I have some very good pictures showing the inside of the cowl and the drain holes. I will post them as soon as I can.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Pleeeease!?

sethmcneil@hotmail.com

Here's one showing the cowl drain holes. You access them from underneath the fender, after removing the plastic splash shield (assuming the fender is still on the car.) These holes get clogged up with leaves and debris, causing water to build up in the cowl and spill over into the fresh air vent intake. Wet trash sitting in there can also cause rust-through over time.



I'll try to find my picture of the inside of a cowl and post it later.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

You da man Jerry. You just happen to have that photo? I knew you and your son did a very thorough job on his Dart Sport, but from the photos I've been seeing, you also documented the process really well.

Thanks for being so helpful with sharing information. I would bet that a large majority of members here have never taken a fender off and seen those drain holes.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Hey, thanks for picture.
I am curious:
What is the arm going upward to the left of the hand and what is the spring
to the left and below of the hand?
Obviously, the fender is off here.Is it that much trouble and time to remove the fender iot clean out the junk in the cowl?
Or is it better to just remove the aforementioned plastic stuff and get it all out the hard way?
Update on our Duster:
Got the Schumacher wiper pivot seals in. Bitch of a job. I'm too old to be crawling around upside down under the dash. Was made harder because the guy who installed the burglar alarm put the big fuse/connector block for it right next to the OEM fuse block. Making access and viewing of the underside of the dash on the driver side almost impossible.
I finally got it all together last week incl. new wiper linkage bushings (NAPA carries these).
Water leak test shows zero leaks on passenger side and 2 drips on driver side. One is from bottom of dash about 4" from door and other is from left bottom of steering column support.
Can't see well enough up there to detect source, except it doesn't start until my wife runs water down windshield.
The Glass man gave me a tube of his special black sealer. Have to pop the w/s chrome and try to seal in there behind the chrome.
Anybody else been where I am right now?
I really appreciate you guys' help on this.

Sorry to be so late getting these pics posted. Been busy.
Clyde, both objects you asked about are parts of the hood hinge.
Tucked up under the welded seam just out of sight to the left is a pivot stud and another one is just to the left of my pinky knuckle. The piece rising up is where the hinge bolts to the hood.

Here are the promised pics of the inside of a cowl. I cut out the grill for a friend to patch his rusted one.



You can see how much debris can build up over time.


This is the fresh air duct. It's conceiveable that clogged drains on this side could cause water to build up above the duct and spill over into the A/C-heater box. The drains are just out of sight beyond the duct.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.