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Lincoln Town Car Water Leaks

255 messages,  Last post on Oct 12, 2012 at 7:04 AM

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Messages Page 26 of 26

#247 of 255 Smaller leak after the fixes? by lovetowncars

Mar 01, 2012 (10:45 am)

Hello all. I have read through this entire thread and I am amazed that Lincoln has not had a recall to address this issue. It seems that the passenger side is the most common leak area.
 
I just purchased a 2000 TC with sunroof. There was a terrible leak from the front straight through to the back on the passenger side. The dealership cleared the vents/drains and sealed up the front air intake. For now, the front passenger side is still dry, but I still have water in the rear passenger side. No where near as bad as it was prior to the fix.
 
I only saw one mention of the B-pillar possibly being the culprit. I will check that when it stops raining.
 
My big question is.... is it possible for the front air vent to be leaking with the water running to the rear passenger without actually getting the front wet? Are there channels under the carpeting and jute that would allow the water to flow to the back of the car without being enough in volume to get the front carpeting wet?
 
I am still not able to determine if it is still residual water from prior tot he sealing, or there is still another leak in the car, albeit much smaller.

#248 of 255 Re: Smaller leak after the fixes? [lovetowncars] by 99towncarexec

Mar 01, 2012 (1:28 pm)

Replying to: lovetowncars (Mar 01, 2012 10:45 am)
Here's what I have learned and experienced over the last 30 years of Lincoln Town car driving and ownership.All the leaks I ever experienced came from the vent under the right (passenger side) vent right.Lift up the grating thing there and a couple of screws later you'll see it's all clogged up.It gets in thru the area behind the glove box because there's a pollen filter or some kind of filter back there.You'll see it if you lower the glove box and reach behind it.My 99 had the issue as did my 94 .2 different body styles with the same problem.One other area that was a problem with leaking was,believe it or not,the area where the hood release cable goes thru the firewall.That was a pain to find and fix.It soaked my front and back!!!I didn't think it could leak thru there and it took the body shop a week to find,but there it was!!They sealed it up and it was fine thereafter.I'm on my 2nd 2007 and so far no leak issues.

#249 of 255 Re: Smaller leak after the fixes? [99towncarexec] by lovetowncars

Mar 01, 2012 (1:59 pm)

Replying to: 99towncarexec (Mar 01, 2012 1:28 pm)
Thank you for such a prompt response. I have read all of your posts in this thread and I am anxious to get home to check some of the problem areas. I'm hoping it's just residual water that's still spilling to the back, but I have a sinking feeling it is not.
 
I had a 94 TC that I drove to nearly 150Kmiles. The air suspension went and I just couldn't see putting more money into it. Damn, if I don't miss that car! Perfect car. No problems ever with it!
 
The dealership did blow out the drains and showed me the drain on the front of the firewall. They also siliconed the vent and gaskets and the leak is extremely small now if it is even still there. I'm just perplexed how the back carpet is wet and the front carpet is fine if the leak is still that front vent. Hopefully it stops raining today so I can go out to look at it. I will keep you updated.

#250 of 255 rugs by 99towncarexec

Mar 04, 2012 (7:29 pm)

I had to lift the rugs in both front and back and leave them out for a week to clear up the water and dry it out.There are drain plugs in the floor that got rid of a lot of water when I took them out during the time I had the rug out.Water can run to the back of the car with no problem.Not sure why the front wouldn't be wet though.Maybe the channels in the floor.I had regular suspension put in one of my town cars after the air bags went.It was cheaper to fix and rode just as good.

#251 of 255 Re: rugs [99towncarexec] by lovetowncars

Mar 29, 2012 (6:30 am)

Replying to: 99towncarexec (Mar 04, 2012 7:29 pm)
OK, it took a while, but I was finally able to get my car into the shop to have a real mechanic look at it.
 
First off, he found what appeared to be a nail hole blasted through the floor in the rear as someone's half-ass attempt to solve the water issue. He also found a few more 'man made' holes that were appareantly part of the solution.
 
He seam sealed all of the creases around the vents and drains and in the cowling area. He spot welded the holes closed since they didn't belong there in the first place.
 
And something very important to note. The dealership said they blew out the drains, but it seems the air conditioner drain was not done. He ran the AC on the car for 2 hours and there was no condensation drip from the AC. He blew out the drain and said that it was clogged and full of (Insert creative word here). He was able to follow the rust stains all the way up into the dash board/firewall area where the AC drain is located. He said the water was coming down under the sound dampening material, staying in the floor channels, flowing to the low point under the passenger seat, and evetually to the lowest point in the rear passenger floor.
 
Results: The front carpet was dry. Under the seat was wet. Back floor was almost standing water above the carpet.
 
After 2 days of letting the carpet dry out and all of the work he did, I am hopeful it is fixed. I picked it up last night and we have rain all day today. Perfect timing. Hopefully the car is good.
 
I hope this journey can help some other owners in their quest. The most important lesson though... make sure you have a mechanic that you can trust. I have been going to mine since I was 16 with every imaginable car failure you can think of. Now I think I am fortunate enough to have found another mechanic I can trust.

#252 of 255 Re: rugs [lovetowncars] by mikesea

May 17, 2012 (10:25 am)

Replying to: lovetowncars (Mar 29, 2012 6:30 am)
I found my carpets wet today in my 99 Towncar.Pulled the glovebox,ran a hose .Found the plastic cowling .in passenger side engine compartment was allowing water to enter the screened area .What I did was removed the cowling by removing 2 nuts and the 5 or 6 screws.OH ,also the plastic schoud that his the windshield needs 2 come off 2./There are 2 long body pins holding it in place.What i found was ,the foam seal was totally dried out and gone.I replaced the seal with black poly seam seal.Totally expect to find problem gon.Especially after the hose test confirmed the leak.Good luck.Its an easy job.

#253 of 255 Re: Smaller leak after the fixes? [99towncarexec] by puftuy1

Oct 09, 2012 (2:40 pm)

Replying to: 99towncarexec (Mar 01, 2012 1:28 pm)
seems like this model car had ALL kinds of leak issues (for a lot of years) you said so far so good with your "07...... i have owned quite a few of these cars and ........your '07 is going to have one soon....... my '07 JUST went through it (found this one under the right side gasket under the wiper....good luck dude

#254 of 255 Re: Major Water in passenger side by jhnnyg

Oct 12, 2012 (6:51 am)

Replying to: puftuy1 (Oct 09, 2012 2:40 pm)
I recently bought my neighbore 2003 Town Car. Great conditon until I statrted to vacuum it out and detail it. The passenger side rugs were soaked. Initial I used a wet vac to pick up the water and thought I got it all until I lifted the rug and noticed the rubber backing was soaked still like a sponge. Had no choise but to pull out the carpets and let them dry. Was a good opportunity to shampoo them. Now in the process of locating the source of the leak. Thabks for all your insights. Will keep you posted.

#255 of 255 Re: Major Water in passenger side [jhnnyg] by 99towncarexec

Oct 12, 2012 (7:04 am)

Replying to: jhnnyg (Oct 12, 2012 6:51 am)
Listen,the leaks are more of an inconvenience then anything else.Yes,they should have addressed the matter long ago in the 90's,but they didn't for whatever reason.So,here's where you look and should find the source. First,under the hood,passenger side where the wiper is.Remove the grating there,a few screws does the trick.Take out any leaves or debris stuck in there. You can also remove your glove box door and stick your hand behind there and feel the cabin filter.If it's soaked,you need not look further. It's the passenger side thing I just explained.On the other hand,if that's not it,look where the hood release cable goes thru the firewall.That's another source of leakage.Surprised the hell out of me when they found that on my other Lincoln.I pulled the rugs up and pulled out the drain plugs in the floor to let the water out.There was lots of it in the car.Not to mention I forgot to close the sun roof in a rain storm!!lol.So, check those two places and you should find the source.Good luck.Still the best made American car out there!

Messages Page 26 of 26

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