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Pontiac Bonneville Water Leaks

146 messages,  Last post on Feb 29, 2012 at 10:48 AM

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What is this discussion about? Pontiac Bonneville, Sedan

Messages Page 13 of 16

#112 of 146 Water issue by sammz111

Apr 01, 2010 (8:30 pm)

I just purchased my first car last week a 2000 Pontiac Bonneville SE (no sunroof)
 
Today i got new car mats and went outside to go change them as i started to take the old ones off i noticed they were damp (it rained a day before) so i put my hand directly on the floorboards, the back ones had so much water underneath them that the best way to describe it was like a tiny water bed and they were completely soaked, we then checked the front ones they were soaked as well but not like the back ones, i then opened up the trunk to find that when i opened it the water must have been in the spoiler because it leaked right into the trunk. The trunk was also completely soaked along with the whole trunk mat. We found i guess the "A/C condensation Drain plug"? i was reading other posts on this site and my dad put a screw driver in it and for a good 30 mins water was rushing out of that little thing. Then when i went out later that night the car was completely dead so im not sure if this water had something to do with it Also nothing else in the car was wet just the floorboards and all the seals on the doors look good but i dont know anything about cars.
 
From what i can tell though something is definitely wrong with the trunk but that was the least wet part in the car so i cant really see that just from one rainfall all that water got into the car just from the trunk.
 
I really am not sure what the problem is, could it have just been that the trunk had a small leak in it and the last owner never knew and that it accumulated so much over time and the a/c thing was clogged that, that is why all that water was built up there....or do i have a bigger problem on my hand where i have some monster leak somewhere
 
Anything would be great just so i know where to start and if this is a problem Bonneville's have
 
thanks, Sam

#113 of 146 Re: Water issue [sammz111] by njpontiaclover

Apr 01, 2010 (9:29 pm)

Replying to: sammz111 (Apr 01, 2010 8:30 pm)
Dear Sam,
 
I just wanted to let you know that I too did a posting in here several months ago as to water issues with my 1999 Pontiac Bonnevillle SLE. I do have a sunroof though but upon review of the car and checking it out thoroughly I found a HUGE HOLE in the passenger side rear quarter panel wheel well where I would say I must have taken out about 12 gallons of water from as I had to empty my shop vac 4x and if you look under the spare tire area I had about 2 inches of water in there not to mention that the padding that was in the trunk was water logged as well. It appears that since I repaired the holes that I found in the rear wheel well that all is fine now and we have had some severe flooding here in NJ and I have been thru water that was up to the doors and since the fix of repairing the holes with a sheet of aluminum and some clear waterproof silicone sealer and lots of aluminum rivits as you dont want to use steel as to the rust, and then undercoated the aluminum with rubberized undercoating to protect even further. it appears there are no more leaks in the trunk and my floorboards are dry. I was even thinking that oh boy I will have to send out the vehicle to the sunroof shop to clear the drains out which I still will do as it has been 11 years but all is dry and I am very happy I hope that maybe you find the same problem and are able to fix it as well. I recommend taking the rear tire off and checking the undercoating very good as you will be surprised as to the amount of water that gets in from just a little hole. I hope this will help solve your leaks
 
Gary

#114 of 146 Re: Water issue [sammz111] by kts0347

Apr 03, 2010 (3:14 pm)

Replying to: sammz111 (Apr 01, 2010 8:30 pm)
Yes, it's a good idea to check for rust penetration as a possible source of leaks. My trunk also leaked and I lay inside while a friend ran a water hose over the deck lid. I discovered that water was coming in UNDER the truck lid weatherstripping. It is glued down at the factory, and over the years the glue had dried out. I bought the correct glue at an auto supply store, pulled off the weatherstrip and re-glued it. This cut down the flow, but I didn't use enough glue to stop it. So I siliconed all around the outer edge of the weatherstrip and it stopped leaking.
I had another leak at the bottom side edge of my rear window. The sealer there had also dried out. A gob of silicone on a stick to reach the right spot fixed that. And, then there was a leak where the Factory had applied sealer on the metal joints at the tail lights. More silicone. And, there are several screws penetrating the sheet metal. They have sealer under the washers. All dried out. More silicone. And, finally the sunroof tubes. They exit out the rear just behind the wheel wells. They have a slip on connection right at that spot. If it comes disconnected, the water runs right into the trunk. It all heads for the spare tire well. You don't discover it until you have a serious amount of water in there.
 
Also, your other problem of the battery being dead is probably because you developed a short under your floor carpets, due to all the water in there. There are a lot of wires running under there, to the power seats, as well as to the rear of the car. Many areas for a water penetration to cause a short. Sounds like the AC condensor was the culprit in your case. But, you still have the electrical problem, as well as a very smelly floor mat. I removed mine (there's a huge amount of foam rubber on the underside that just sponges up the water) in order to clean it. You can get a product at Home Depot/Lowes that will remove the mildew. Check in an earlier post in this thread for the product name. Then let it air dry before replacing. You have to pull the seats to get the carpet out. Kinda heavy job for one person, but do-able.

#115 of 146 Only three things are certain in (a Bonneville) life. by kts0347

Apr 03, 2010 (3:20 pm)

They say the only things certain in life are death and taxes.
The other thing you can be sure of with a Bonneville of that age - it will have leaks. You either fix them, or wear rubber boots.

#116 of 146 Re: Water issue [sammz111] by 2004bonne

Apr 05, 2010 (11:13 am)

Replying to: sammz111 (Apr 01, 2010 8:30 pm)
Sam, I too had water pooling in all 4 sections of the floor - both driver and passenger. I also had water pooling in the spare tire hold of the trunk but mysteriously, that has stopped.
 
For the floor boards, I had two problem areas. I had leaks coming in through both the passenger and driver doors. Also, I had a small leak that was coming in along the windshield wiper arm (driver side) and draining in to the driver floor through the firewall.
 
For the doors, water naturally drips inside the door coming in through the window cracks. It is supposed to drain out the bottom. Some of the drips splash against a plastic shield and if sealed properly, the shield deflects the water and it drains out the bottom of the door and outside the car. If the plastic shield isn't sealed properly, the water will leak into the car and get your front and back mats soaked.
 
Solution is to pop off the door panel and test it for leaks. You'll need some auto body tools to help you get it off. Take your time and find some directions for removing the panel. Once you get the panel off, test it for leaks by running water from the hose against the outside of the window so that it drains inside the door. You will see how it drips. If the plastic shield is working correctly, the drips will not come through the shield. If it is not working properly, you will need to purchase some caulking at the autoparts store and re-seal it. It is the same caulking they use to seal windshields when they are replaced - very tacky and black - about 3/8" thick.
 
Seal up the plastic shield and try running water again to see if the leak stopped.
 
Try both doors. I didn' have a leak in the back doors.
 
Good luck.

#117 of 146 Re: rocky74, rmgoat78 [imidazol97] by lotsofcars

Jun 22, 2010 (6:55 am)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Jan 16, 2010 7:52 am)
I just recently acquired a 2001 SSEi with all the issues that have been discussed on this forum including the inop windows, locks and passenger mirror. I've torn up the rear and passenger carpets and seat and found tons of water although only yesterday after a huge downpour did it show up above the carpet. How can yo even get at the rear drain tubes of the sunroof? and must you remove the headliner? It is humid and the A/C has been running heavy and I see some have blamed that drain tube. Seems like four to five different solutions, how do you know which to tackle? Everyone of them are huge jobs. Is this a job for a body shop?
Please imidazol97, send me the info you have graciously shared. I'll try to get something fixed but I'm starting to think this car is going on the auction block soon, what a nightmare and it sounds like a very common problem in all years/models too. We have looked for any wiring, terminals, etc. that might be leading to the electrical shorts and can't find anything that would be the culprit. Is there a specific location (pic would help) that can be pinpointed for fixing the window/lock problem?

#118 of 146 Re: rocky74, rmgoat78 [lotsofcars] by imidazol97

Jun 22, 2010 (7:14 am)

Replying to: lotsofcars (Jun 22, 2010 6:55 am)
>window/lock problem?'
 
You didn't specify but I assume the driver's door works for power windows and locks, but the other three don't work. They communicate with the module in the driver's door via a brown wire that meets three other brown wires under the driver's seat, and it might be under the floor mat. I'll look for a picture if I can find a link. They are coupled with a press fitting and corrosion occurs--especially if your car hs become Noah's Ark!
 
Send an email to the address you see when you click on my user name at the top of this message, so I'll have an email address for you. Your CarSpace user email doesn't seem to be working yet.

#119 of 146 2001 Bonneville SSEI water leak, power windows, and door locks problem by mikelfield

Jun 23, 2010 (9:48 pm)

2001 SSEI w/ sunroof and all same the issues that have been discussed on this forum. The driver's side floor is soaked. My driver's door power lock, mirror and window works, but none of the other power windows, mirror or locks work even from their own doors. I currently have the seat removed and the carpet up on the driver's side front and rear. I will be testing with a hose for leaks, but I am more concerned about repairing the windows since the rear driver's side window is currently in the down position. I at least need to get the window up, so I don't need to cover it with a tarp every night. Can anyone specifically provide information on how to fix the wiring, or could it start working properly once it's dried out?

#120 of 146 Re: 1995 Bonneville Water Leaks [syberbrat] by kts0347

Jun 24, 2010 (6:01 am)

Replying to: syberbrat (Jan 27, 2010 1:50 am)
Hello Cyberbrat,
 
Your post dates back some, but nobody seemed to answer your question. By now you may well know the answer from DIY discovery. But here goes.
There are four drain tubes in the Pontiac Bonneville sunroof. Two lead forward and drain down the A Pillar entering the car's front cowl sheet metal and exit in the gap between the cowl and fender inner. The drain ends are invisible without removing the fender, as you say.
Two others lead rearward and drain down the C Pillar and lead off into the trunk and exit into the trailing edge of the fender well. The drain ends again are invisible under the car.
The drain tubes push fit onto the large plastic tray that catches the rainwater coming through the sunroof opening. Pontiac's engineering intent was not to attempt to seal the sunroof against the roof sheet metal. Instead, they allowed for a gap, and then caught the moisture in a plastic catch pan under the window (and above the headliner) with four drain outlets - one on each corner of the pan. The first leakage problem is that the drain tubes sometimes separate from the plastic tray outlet. You have to drop the headliner to verify this. The second leakage problem is that the drain tubes are made in several sections press fitting together. These sections can separate (and do, if you attempt to clear the tubes using compressed air). The sites where the sections come together are in extremely awkward locations, and require cutting of insulation etc. to find. The third leakage problem is the tubes tend to clog up with debris. When that occurs the catch basin in the roof simply overflows, and gravity takes it to the floor via the roof pillars and then following the hard trim. I have cleaned my tubes two years ago, and they are clogged again.
 
If anyone has a simple method of cleaning the tubes without blowing them apart with an air hose, please add it now.
 
That said, the sunroof isn't the only source of leaks in a Bonneville. The doors themselves are sources of leaks. The door design uses a sheet of polyethylene adhered to the door inner sheet metal to keep moisture out. Over time, the mastic used to adhere the sheet simply releases, and water flows into the car through the doors. The solution is to remove the door inners, and re-adhere the polyethylene sheet with new mastic or a high quality sealant.
 
Then there is the air conditioner drain tube. It also plugs up. When it does, all the air conditioning condensate has to go somewhere, so it flows right onto your carpet. Fortunately, the AC drain hose can be seen under the car, and a coat hanger will unclog it.
 
And, owners also report sundry leaks from windows and cowl sheet metal joints that had factory waterproofing applied to seal them. This are tedious to locate but fortunately are not too common. Sunroof, Doors and AC are the usual culprits.
 

#121 of 146 Re: 2001 Bonneville SSEI water leak, power windows, and door locks problem [mikelfield] by rocky74

Jun 24, 2010 (11:58 pm)

Replying to: mikelfield (Jun 23, 2010 9:48 pm)
I am no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but you or your mechanic should take a look at the wires to see what they look like. What I was told by the mechanic at the dealer's was that the wires were corroded and they had to remove the corroded parts and replace it with new wire. Once that was done, I could open all four windows (one rear window had been broken for a while), and I stopped getting most of my idiot lights turned on, although the security light tends to stay on again.
 
We had horrible rains today, and a few days ago, and mysteriously there was no leakage into my car. The only thing I did differently was move some stuff around in the trunk, so I'm thinking that the water in my car leaked in through the trunk somehow.

Messages Page 13 of 16

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