1988 Reatta water on passanger side floor

[Guest Earl Filippelli]

Hello again seems like problems come in bunches. Low voltage was the alarm problem,a battery charge fixed that thanks for your replys.now the next problem.I have water on the passanger side carpet,only in the center of the carpet, no sign of any dampness on the firewall or the rocker carpet below the door,window seal looks tight i did notice some water on the door sill.This is a sunroof car i opened the roof and all looked dry.Thanks in advance for any help.Earl Filippelli

[KDirk]

Earl,

Two possibilities come to mind:

1. The infamous leak at the peak of the vent window (my 91 still has this after numerous attempts to stop the leakage)

2. Floor pan leak from underneath. There are (as on most GM cars of the age) small metal "filler" plates in the floor pan, one on either side. These are put in at the factory to seal an opening in the floor pan (not sure what the openings are for, perhaps used by equipment on the assembly line?) and then sealed with body seam sealant. It is possible that the sealant has cracked from age or improper jacking of the car and is picking up water from underneath when the car is running on wet pavement.

I had this happen on an 91 Cadillac C body (Deville) and had to jack the car up and look underneath to spot the source of the leak. In my case, it was apparently due to improper jacking (someone previously had jacked the car under the floor pan sheet metal rather than the frame) which pushed the filler plate up and broke the seal that kept it water tight. I hammered it back flat from inside (with a wood block) and re-sealed from underneath.

Now that I think about it, this is less likely on a Reatta since the factory carpet has mass rubber backing on it, making it almost waterproof from underneath. Still worth checking though, and I still would look closely at the door where the peak of the vent window meets the main weather strip. This seems to be a major design deficiency on the Reatta based on my own experience and that of others who have posted here.

KDirk

[Guest gotitright]

I would look and see if the drain for the ac is plugged, if it does not drain out underneath, it will dump on the passenger carpet.

[handmedownreatta]

bad heater core?

[Guest Richard D]

My 90 coupe has the vent peak leak only when in car wash (brushless) My strangest leak is the drivers side seat belt take up reel. After a strong and long rain the seat belt is WET and there are some rust spots on the webbing about every 2 inches, darker the more you pull out the belt. I will replace the belt and spool when I figure where the water is getting in. Door and window seal are in very good shape. Any ideas? The carpet stays dry.

Thank's, Richard.

[JWC]

My sons Grand Prix had this same problem, it was the drain tube for the sun roof. I took my compressor and just blew it out and all was well.

[dship]

I second "handmedownreatta's" suggestion that it might be the heater core.

[Guest Earl Filippelli]

How do i get to the drain in the roof to blow it out? as to the heater core i havent noticed the coolant level in the bottle under the hood going down it has been the same since i owned the car.Also no antifreeze odor.

Thanks all for your replys,keep em coming.Earl.

[Guest Telco]

It may also be the fresh air intake's water vent is clogged. If water can't exit the vent quickly enough, then it will fill until it reaches the heater core level, then will spill out. I don't know where this vent would be on a Reatta though. This would have the same effect as a heater core leak, but only happen in the rain and with no antifreeze odor.

On the seat belt leak, that sounds like there might be a rust hole near the affected belt. It looks like the seat belt attaches over the rear tire on the top belt and in the "frame" rail on the bottom, so a little rust there would allow water into the belt area. As the hole gets larger the belt will be wetter and wetter in instances of less and less water. Sounds like it's time to start pulling panels.

[Guest Mike_s]

A heater core leak can also cause a greasy film to form on the inside of the windsheild.

[ol' yeller]

Does the passenger window go all the way up to the door seal? On my '90 coupe the passenger window motor has gotten weak and goes up until it contacts the door seal and then stops less than about 1/8" short of "all the way up". Unless one looks closely, the window appears to be closed. A test to check the gap is to close the door & window on a dollar bill held against the weatherstripping. The bill should pull out with some resistance. If it slides right out, the gap is too big. Until it really bothers me to the point of fixing it, I simply open the door and then raise the window the rest of the way on the few occasions that I have had to lower the window.

Ronnie's site gives a great tutorial on removing the headliner and cleaning out the sunroof drains. Mine were not plugged but one was crimped in the A pillar which I understand is quite common. My sunroof seal had also shrunk over time leaving a 1/4" gap where the ends met also causing a leak. When checking the drain tubes, it is also a perfect time to lube up the sunroof cables and mechanism. I knew I had a bad sunroof drain because my headliner was getting wet in one corner. If your headliner is dry, I'd look at other causes first.

Greg