Just bought an '85 245 DL for $470, a project car for the eventual use of my son.
Engine, transmission, suspension, body are sound, lots of niggling problems from benign neglect.
Car was not driven for a few years until recently.
Has third row seat: when lifted seat up, found water pooled underneath.
I can see no source / cause of leakeage to allow water to enter; could it somehow have seeped in through a weak rear door / tailgate seal?
Headliner looks like new, no stain or moisture.
Baffled...
Wheelwells L + R. Look behind the spare etc
There's a couple places I've seen water enter 245s. The most common are the rear side windows in the cargo area. Water tends to collect on the ridge of the body underneath the rubber seal around the glass and rusts out the metal there which results in poor rubber to metal seal and water entering the car. Another thing to check is the seal around the tailgate, and also the rubber gaskets on the hinges. Oh and does the car have a roof rack?
Yes, it has a roof rack.
Under each of the brackets for the rack there are or should be 1/2" Wellnuts. A top hat shaped molded rubber plug formed around a ca[tive nut. When placed in a sheet metal hole as an anchor that abuts a piiece to be secured, when the screw pulls the piece together by drawing up on the nut the rubber both compresses and expands in the hole to form a water tight seal. Over time the rubber shrinks and the seal is no longer water tight.
Unless your wagon was built in New Brunswick (VIN plant code 3, i.e YV1AX8854F(3)xxxxxx) then it leaks atthe rear quarter glass. Only the Canadian built cars didn't leak.
Bob
VIN is YV1AX8859F160****
So it was built in Torslanda and it leaks.
Bob
Man, as I tear into this beast, I note the carpet is also damp under the driver's feet.
Not good.
Got to replace the passenger side window mechanism, and the rear tailgate lock: both were bent and rendered useless.
What is the best way to cure the leaking, hopefully without removing the glass?
This car won't be cherried out, it will be for commuting to work, so a silicone bead visible on the outside is OK.
It's ugly as sin but you can use a tube of clear silicon sealer. Lift up the trim, gently, and run a bead along the edge of the glass to the body and work your way all around the perimeter of the windshield. Mostly windshield leaks are around the bottom when the glass shifts forward away from the butyl tape as it ages. Sometimes yiu'll get a small void on the side or at the top, so without tracking it down or replacing the butyl tape, you might as well go all the way 'round.
Bob
Recently I've been seeing "windshield sealer" at auto parts stores. It's like regular clear silicone sealant but actually flows into cracks. It's at least as messy as silicone sealant but it does a better job for gaps.
Mike
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