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Convertible top stow retaining water?!?!?!?!


GnatGoSplat

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Ok, this is weird.

My 94 Cutlass convertible is retaining water in the convertible top stow or whatever it's called (the vinyl pouch in the trunk that the top retracts into). I looked in the service manual, and it shows the bottom of it is supposed to have a drain tube that goes to a "T" fitting and shares drainage with the power antenna.

 

Well, the power antenna drain does NOT have a "T" fitting, it goes straight out. There is NO hole in the bottom of the stow, so no place to put a drain tube. There also is no drain tube!

 

So what I wonder is, how come mine has no drain tube? Is the drain new for 2nd half '94 or something? How did 91-94 stow area drain? Surely water isn't supposed to just collect there and stagnate! It definitely looks like everything is factory. Surely it's not just something that got missed on the assembly line, because there is absolutely no hole on the bottom of the stow area.

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I got to say that i had a same problem when i used to have my convertible. Water went inside through a sides of the back glass and went inside the car but my didnt leak a lot. But i wouldnt worry about it at least i didnt worry about it, because i worried about leaks on the front by the driver window that was leaking a lot.

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  • 1 year later...

Bringing back this old post just means I did use the search function! :D

 

I just picked up my convertible, and am having this exact problem, the rear is leaking and water is collecting in this top stow area. There isnt a drain or anything for it, at least one that I could find. I'm not sure exactly what to do about the water surley it isnt just supposed to sit there?

 

Also, the front by the drivers window, where the top meets the windshield support just started leaking in the rain last night, what's the best way to fix this?

 

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Oh yea, it's a 95 and thanks!

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Liberal amounts of di-electric grease (silicone grease) on all the rubber weatherstripping works great to stop the leaks on the A-pillar. In fact, this is how GM recommends to fix it (keeps all the weatherstripping soft).

 

As for the stow, I never fixed this problem, but it's much less now that the car is garaged. :lol:

 

Turns out 94 was the year they lost the drain. I guess 94 and 95 tops were supposed to be sealed better than previous years, so they didn't need a drain? My guess is the top is leaking around the backglass, but I'm still not sure on that one.

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maybe in 95 they stopped the drain :?:

Mine has the drain, and it usually works until the water sits on the passenger side instead of over the drain :-)

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Mine is a 94 and no drain, but maybe mine is a newer 94 than yours.

I wish they left the drain. Even if the roof didn't leak, an extra drain doesn't hurt.

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I've had the same problem. If the rain is accompanied by a strong wind and my car's rear is facing into it I'll have a puddle in the stow the next day. Whats even better is when you have your car out in the winter and similar events happen with snow. Once I came back to my car after classes at school and the entire back seat was full of white fluff. I was like WTF, who cut my top open??? Then I noticed that the wind pushed the glass in just far enough to make a crack in the seal through witch the snow was blowing in. D'OH!!!

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  • 6 months later...

Damn, everyone with a convertible cutty posts the same words: I have the same problem, I have the same problem, I have the same problem. Wel guess what, I HAD the same problem. 1000 bucks later I got a new mercedes benz style cloth top and no leaks...anywhere out of the deal. Mine use to leak from the bottom of the back glass where the glass and the top joined together into the vinyl bag thing through the wholes where the wirez for the defrost went. Maybe thats why my rear defrost doesnt work to this day. go figure

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I prefer the cloth style tops. How much did it set you back, do you have a brand or manufacturer of it?

 

I haven't fixed my leak, but I intend to replace the top at some point and figure somewhere in that process I can fix the leak.

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It was $1000, no clue the brand or manufacturer but i know you can get them in any color from anywhere that replaces convertible tops. Now all i need is the boot because mine didnt come with one. That sucks. anyone kno where i can find one? check out my cardomain site to see pics of it

http://cardomain.com/id/95ragtop

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  • 1 year later...

It was $1000, no clue the brand or manufacturer but i know you can get them in any color from anywhere that replaces convertible tops. Now all i need is the boot because mine didnt come with one. That sucks. anyone kno where i can find one? check out my cardomain site to see pics of it

cardomain.com/id/95ragtop

UHHhhh, he has 20s..... DUDE HOWS IT GOIN FELLOW DUB RIDER! lol.. first other i've seen... fuck, now i need 22s.. jk.. anyways.. yeah.. mine leaks.. and what i did is went to lowes bought some flexible tubing, ripped out that t thing... and put it right through the hole and into my fender and it pours right onto my back right tire.. also.. by an adjustable clamp while you're there.. i put that on mine and i have no problems now.. but also.. where does the drain for the antenna hook up? i bought a replacement antenna, but my stock one didnt have the drain hooked up to it for some reason.. can someone please post a pic up?
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Turns out resealing the rear window with windshield urethane fixed the leak, so I guess a properly sealed 94-95 has no use for the drain whatsoever. I don't even get a drop of water there in a torrential downpour anymore.

 

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Turns out resealing the rear window with windshield urethane fixed the leak, so I guess a properly sealed 94-95 has no use for the drain whatsoever. I don't even get a drop of water there in a torrential downpour anymore.

 

 

I do, but my rear window is also completely disconnected at the bottom again :lol: Oh well, not driving it anymore, so its all good

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same thing happend on mine but of course, thanks to my stupidity.. a long time ago when i first got the car and barely knew how to drive, there were some leaves stuck down there so i ripped out the leaves, and it came a little disconected.. so i pulled it up completely for some dumb ass reason..

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I do, but my rear window is also completely disconnected at the bottom again :lol: Oh well, not driving it anymore, so its all good

 

Well glue it back down already. :lol: I think the 3M windshield urethane adhesive in a tube cost me about $7. Applying it only takes a few minutes. Only prep work was cleaning the part of the glass to be glued with lacquer thinner and scuffing the old shiny glue with a tiny dremel drum sander to make it nice and rough. Sucks that the rest of the tube has to go to waste though (it doesn't have a resealable cap and tying it off with saran wrap and a rubber band didn't work).

 

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good thread. time to figure these issues out.

 

1 disconnecting backglass:

my back glass has almost fallen out of my 93. it it now only attached at the top. is appears that it was originally attached to the wondow surround using a trim adhesive type adhesive (much like rearview mirror adhesive)

 

I would like to mod the rear window so it can be opening, like cavalier verts can (ask psychomatt) Cavaliers had palstic window, but were zippered and could be removed or lowered (?) sometimes the window open and top up would be desirable on a too sunny day.

 

2 drains in top stow.

it seems the drain was lost in mid 94. I had noticed this too. a 94 for sale I inspected lacked the drain. must be a midyear changeover.

 

I think it would be desirable to add drain(s) to our boots, especially since they prevent harm to the rest of the car. I actually think one drain on each side would be desirable, especially if you have the top stow material uplifted by items filling the trunk.

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  • 4 years later...

This original post is very old, but I thought I would resurrect it since I also have a '94 Cutty convert that does not have the drain tubes pictured in the FSM. Does anyone know whether the drain tubes were a rolling change?

Jim

Webster Groves, MO

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  • 2 weeks later...

Whoever had the "Cutlass Convertible Top Diagnosis and Service" DVD could shed some light on this for you as far as adjusting the A pillar. It's all in there.

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ripped out that t thing... .. where does the drain for the antenna hook up? i bought a replacement antenna, but my stock one didnt have the drain hooked up to it for some reason.. can someone please post a pic up?

 

Sad to say, that little t thing you ripped out, thats where the antenna drain tube hooks up too. On my replacement antenna, there's a nipple on the bottom of the motor, the hose hooks to that and then into the "t thing" you took out.

 

 

Dang, guess I should have read this better, didn't realize this was ans OLD post. Sorry.

Edited by Afubar
because I'm an idiot.
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