Jeepwalker
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 928
- Location
- WI
Just thought I'd post this, hopefully it'll help others who are or have been battling wet floors/Carpets.
Basically ever since I bought this, I've had wet carpets when it would rain a lot. I had the interior out a few times to let it dry out.
I tried: New GM sunroof gasket. Fixing drains, Ensuring drain hoses were good. Ensuring door gaskets were sealed. Making sure roof-rail riv-nuts were sealed. Re-sealing cracked roof seam-sealer. Those 'might' have helped some, but did not solve the problem. Last time I took the carpet out I had 1 1/2" of standing water on the floor!! ....AFTER I removed the carpet. So I got serious and figured out the problem. Doing a lot of water leak tests with the hose, I could see water dripping down at the center above the windshield. I determined it MUST be rust on the pinch weld. Also, I noticed by chance the corner of the windshield was loose!
I was RIGHT! I pulled the windshield and this is what I found. The gasket wasn't even adhered where the rust was!
Sandblsting the pinch weld (below)
The roof paint was always terrible, peeling clear...I wetsanded it with a mudhog, sealed it and sprayed with base/clear. (Below). I made sure there were no chips around the sunroof, so it would seal well.
While I was at it I mixed up a custom black/brown mix of base and painted the rough-looking roof plastics. They look great. I used Bulldog Adhesion-promoter Plus (with sealer) HERE, to 'bite into' and stick to the plastic. (below) It's avail in spray cans too.
Installed a new piece of glass ($140) (below)
I soaked the carpets in a soapy water tub and walked on it to work the soap through the foam to kill the mold and mildew. I did that early on and let it dry completely while working on the rest of the H3. After the windshield install, I performed several water tests with low and high pressure water in different places at different angles, to ensure there were no leaks. Then I put it all back together, and put the newly painted plastics on.
It looks great. I'll post a final picture. We had an inch of rain last night...it rained HARD at times. I put my hand under the carpets today .....and it's good and dry! Wheew. This was a worst case situation, but if your H3 has ongoing water leaks look beyond the drains. Esp if you live in the salty north.
Cheers!
Basically ever since I bought this, I've had wet carpets when it would rain a lot. I had the interior out a few times to let it dry out.
I tried: New GM sunroof gasket. Fixing drains, Ensuring drain hoses were good. Ensuring door gaskets were sealed. Making sure roof-rail riv-nuts were sealed. Re-sealing cracked roof seam-sealer. Those 'might' have helped some, but did not solve the problem. Last time I took the carpet out I had 1 1/2" of standing water on the floor!! ....AFTER I removed the carpet. So I got serious and figured out the problem. Doing a lot of water leak tests with the hose, I could see water dripping down at the center above the windshield. I determined it MUST be rust on the pinch weld. Also, I noticed by chance the corner of the windshield was loose!
I was RIGHT! I pulled the windshield and this is what I found. The gasket wasn't even adhered where the rust was!
Sandblsting the pinch weld (below)
The roof paint was always terrible, peeling clear...I wetsanded it with a mudhog, sealed it and sprayed with base/clear. (Below). I made sure there were no chips around the sunroof, so it would seal well.
While I was at it I mixed up a custom black/brown mix of base and painted the rough-looking roof plastics. They look great. I used Bulldog Adhesion-promoter Plus (with sealer) HERE, to 'bite into' and stick to the plastic. (below) It's avail in spray cans too.
Installed a new piece of glass ($140) (below)
I soaked the carpets in a soapy water tub and walked on it to work the soap through the foam to kill the mold and mildew. I did that early on and let it dry completely while working on the rest of the H3. After the windshield install, I performed several water tests with low and high pressure water in different places at different angles, to ensure there were no leaks. Then I put it all back together, and put the newly painted plastics on.
It looks great. I'll post a final picture. We had an inch of rain last night...it rained HARD at times. I put my hand under the carpets today .....and it's good and dry! Wheew. This was a worst case situation, but if your H3 has ongoing water leaks look beyond the drains. Esp if you live in the salty north.
Cheers!
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