[NathanZ]

Every time it rains, and I mean every time, the floors in my Z will get wet. I've removed the carpet due to mildew and mold, so now I have little puddles whenever it rains or snows. I want to put new carpet in but can't! Crappy.
Where's it coming from? All guesses appreciated.
Nathan

 

[Guest]

Nathan,

Not familiar enough with the 76 to tell you where to look but what I would do is get in the car with a good strong flashlight and while I was in it have someone hose it down. That is how I find leaks. Good luck. John

 

[bakachan]

lower corners of the windshield gasket probably
i put a small bead of clear sealer around the whole of my mine and it stopped
just around where the glass meets the rubber not where the rubber meets the metal.

cowel area could have rust hole if u live in the rust/snow belt
flashlight up there see if there is rust. pull off cowel cover and clean out debris
leaves and crud build up in there

 

[JeffK]

I have the same problem and traced it back to the door seals. Just my $.02.
Jeff

 

[WillieBoy240Z]

bakachan and JeffK have hit on the two most likely scenarios.

 

[Son of Magni]

On my '71 I had rust through inside the air intake grill between the windshield and the hood. If you take off the wipers and then take off the grill you can examine this area pretty easily. Especially check near the sides where the drain holes are.
SoM

 

[escanlon]

Bakachan, JeffK and Son of Magni have all pointed out the most probable areas to check. JML's procedure is the easiest to do to find the general area and possibly the exact location.

Another area to check, is the drain holes on both sides of the under cowl. The cowl is the piece of metal underneath the wiper arms with the vent holes for air. Inside this area, is your wiper motor and linkages, to the extreme sides you will find a couple of drain hoses. These can become clogged over time with debris and will then cause water to pool inside this area. ALSO in this area is the fresh air intake for your fan. Although this has a raised edge and a hood to prevent the rain from coming in, if the drains are plugged, the water level could be higher than the raised edge. Check this area out for possible rust, and also to make sure the plumber's putty seal to the vent mechanism is sound.

Also check the fresh air vents located on the uppermost part of the kick panels closest to the engine compartment.

My 2¢ worth.

 

[john cross]

It is difficult to nail it down, unless it is an obvious rust problem. I would recommedn that if you do not wee any obvious rust under the cowl that you simply replace the windshield seal and see if the problem goes away. Believe me, you will not be able to directly find and fix the leak. Water can only go straight down. It canot go right, left, or up. Therefore, it is impossible for water to come in through the corner of the windshield (usually). In fact, if you replace the windshield seal take a look at the ledge that the windshield sits in after you have it out. Yo will notice thgat there are two drain holes, one on either side, to allow water to drain from ther bottom if this ledge. Water that leaks in around the bottom corners of tghe seal will simply drain through this hole and harmlessly drain into the cowl. From thee, it should go into the drain hoses and down to the fenders, rusting them out over 10 years. If you look at it and remember that water can only go down, you will see that it is impossible for water to come in through the borrom corners, due to this thing called gravity.

What is likely happening is that water is coming straight down from the top of the windshield cowl and coming in from the sides of the windshield around the windshield pillars. When yopu have the windshield out you will see that that is possible, gravity-wise. You will see a trickle of water when you put a hose to it, but it will be hard to see where it is coming from.

This was my experience on my 78 280Z. Problem was solved. Good luck.

 

[NathanZ]

Not the cowl area...

I just removed the cowl plate complete with wiper arms, and took a hose and just blasted a LOT of water into the cowl. Now I thought for sure some water would make its way onto the floors. Nope, nothing. This was a continuous blast from a garden hose set to max!
The only real clue I've got so far are these little dried up dust trails on the door panels. I followed these trails up to a rubber seal that is partially decayed and hard as nails. What seal is this? It is in front of the window frame, between the window frame bolts and the door skin, and has little plastic rivets holding it in.

And to boot, I think the windshield is leaking at the TOP occasionally! My window is cracked anyways, so anybody want to sell me a window and seal?
Merry Xmas y'all!
Nathan