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Sedans Pontiac Bonneville Pontiac Bonneville Water Leaks
101 messages, Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 5:26 PM
You are in the Pontiac Bonneville Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: kts0347 (Aug 27, 2008 4:05 pm) I believe the one at Home Depot is Corundum or something like that. You let it dry on the item to be protected. I have a suspicion it leaves a mineral trace behind with the enzyme on it to maintain long term prevention. It was in the paint department. it might be worth a try while you've got the carpet out. Chlorine is not considered to kill all the mold. They repeat that on housing shows (This Old House) about killing mold problems. |
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Jun 03, 2008 5:06 am)  yahoo.com. Thanks!
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Replying to: lmaher63 (Sep 13, 2008 4:42 pm) I have just removed my door panels today (for the second time) I will attach the detailed instructions on how to do this so it will be easily available in this forum. Here is the simple version. 1) Don't try this without a set of trim removal tools. I bought a set at Harbor Freight for $5 and they work like a charm. Forget about the special tools mentioned below. Just go buy a set of the plastic trim removal tools (they look like various shaped pry bars and miniature crow bars). Don't get the wimpy ones, they will just bend instead of popping out the fasteners. 2) Start by removing the door handle trim. It is held in with four clips. Pry gently on the top and the top ones will release. There is a tab at the rear edge, so remove the trim plate up and forward. Pull the door handle out to make it easy to remove. Unclip the wire harness and set the piece aside. 3) Next remove the tweeter trim on the inside of the ORVmirror. Pry from the top. There is a push clip. Then rotate gently out. There are two plastic tabs on the bottom and rear - don't break. Unclip the wire harness and set the pieces aside. 4) The door panel is held on by a series of push pins surrounding the sides and bottom. These should be popped out with a pry tool, starting from one edge near the bottom, and working slowing around. They have foam washers to prevent rattling. Retain. 5) After the push pins are popped, the panel should be lifted up and to remove. It is still attached in two places, and these are freed up by lifting. The first is a lip on the top edge that fits over a metal strip on the door inner panel. The second is two clips that provide support for the armrest grip. They slide out of grooves on the door inner by lifting up. Disconnect the main wire harness at the blue connection and the panel is free. To reassemble: 1) Remove the two armrest clips from the door trim panel using a needle nose pliers to compress them. Don't squeeze too hard, you gotta use them again. Slip these clips into the brackets mounted on the door inner. (Now they are positioned so you can just press the door panel onto them to secure) 2) Reattach the main wire harness connection. 3) Hang the door panel on the top metal strip. 4) Ensure the clips are all in position on the door trim, and not stuck in the door itself. Two longer clips go on the lower edge and act as the pilot for re installation. Put all the clips into the respective holes before seating any of them. Then position the two armrest clips into their respective holes. Now that everything is lined up, seat all the clips. 5) Reinstall the tweeter. 6) Reinstall the door handle trim. Pull the door handle out to allow the trim to seat itself, beginning at the rear. What's behind the trim? The most McGiver'd waterproofing solution I have ever seen. Water runs down the window channel into the door. There are weep holes along the bottom edge of the door for it to escape. However, there are lots of large openings on the door inner. These are sealed by a large formed piece of polyethylene that is "glued" to the door inner with a band of black mastic. Water obviously runs down the inside face of this polyethylene, because the door inner has several drain holes to allow the water to run back into the door. The mastic is applied so that these drain holes are in low spots. Well, that's the theory. But after several years of baking in the sun, the polyethylene tends to "wave" and the mastic releases (usually in those low spots where the drain holes are located). So, instead of draining back into the door, the water just flows downward, past the lower edge of the door trim and inside of the door weatherstrip. This seems to happen near the trailing edge of the door, and from there it goes under the sill plate, under the carpet, and usually ends up puddling in the rear foot well. I said I had removed my door trims twice. The first time I just pressed hard on the polyethylene to try to reseal the mastic. It looked good and I put it back together. Next rainfall I sat in the car and watched two rivulets of water flowing from each of the front doors (my rears don't seem to be leaking). So today off came the panels again, and I am going to get more aggressive with sealing the polyethylene. I got clear RTV silicone at AutoZone. I am going to try to adhere these sheets to the door inner once and for all. I got the RTV silicone for a second reason too. I also have water leaks in my trunk. Inspection indicates two areas. 1) There is a small opening in the factory sealing of the sheet metal near the right tail light. This is just a quality problem and a little sealer will take care of it. 2) The tail lights, center reflector bar, spoiler, and a filler plate at the lower edge of the trunk are all attached with bolts that penetrate the trunk compartment. They are sealed with washers that have a mastic on them. Water seems to be coming in from some of these. I thought a dab of silicone on each would stop that. Mold: My carpets had some visible mildew so I removed them for cleaning. I have a swimming pool so the first step was to wash and soak them thoroughly in chlorinated pool water ( 5 ppm) This cleaned them up nicely. Then I took Imadol's advice and went looking for Concrobium. I found it at Lowes, It is in a 32 oz spray bottle and consists of 1% Sodium Carbonate and 99% water. Cost $9. I sprayed it on both the upper and lower surfaces of the carpets. Instructions are to let it soak in and dry. No color fading no residue. no mold. Rust: My floor was rusty in the rear foot wells and particularly in the battery tray, which seemed to hold the majority of the water. I wanted a simple, and not necessarily perfect cosmetic solution. Turns out there are products that transform rust into a hard black crystaline material that can be painted. One product is called "Rust Doctor" and is available on the internet but only in gallon jugs. My application was much smaller, and I found that hardware stores carry a number of similar products. I bought Permatex Rust Treatment for $8 because it comes in a 10 Oz spray can and I could spray it into some of the seams and openings on the floor. These products need to be covered with a surface coat of non-latex paint to prevent rust from recurring. Rustoleum or equivalent will work fine. Here are the detailed instructions for the door trim. There are also some drawings that didn't want to copy, so they don't appear below. If you want to see the instructions including the drawings go to: http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=253&p=1301&hilit- =how+to+remove+door+trim#p1301 Trim Panel Replacement - Side Front Door Tools Required J 36796 Clip Zip Tool J 38778 Door Trim Pad Clip Remover Removal Procedure Remove the inside door handle bezel. The front inside do
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Replying to: kts0347 (Sep 13, 2008 7:29 pm) Trim Panel Replacement - Side Front Door Tools Required J 36796 Clip Zip Tool J 38778 Door Trim Pad Clip Remover Removal Procedure Remove the inside door handle bezel. The front inside door handle bezel has electrical connectors, the rear does not. Insert a flat bladed tool behind the forward upper edge of the door handle bezel. Gently pry the upper portion of the bezel away from the door trim panel. Pull the bezel forward over the inside door handle. Disconnect the electrical connector. Remove the upper door trim panel. Use the J 38778 in order to release the retainer at the top of the upper door trim panel. Lift the upper door trim panel upwards in order to remove. Disconnect the wire harness to the tweeter. Use the J 36796 in order to release the retainers around the outside edges of the door trim panel. Start at the bottom and work around. Starting at the bottom rear of the door trim panel pull inwards, while lifting upwards in order to remove. Disconnect the door trim panel wiring harness. Remove the armrest pull cup retainers from the inside of the door trim panel. Use needle nose pliers to compress the 360 clip. Pull the 360 clip out of the nylon nut on the door trim panel. Installation Procedure Install the 360 clip retainers into the nylon nuts on the inner door panel. Connect the door wire harness to the door trim panel wire harness. Starting at the bottom, secure the door trim panel around the outside edges with the retainers (2). Align the door trim panel to the 360 clip retainers (1). Snap the retainers in to secure the center of the door trim panel to the inner door panel. Pull on the armrest to assure proper fit. Push outwards near the top of the door trim panel in order to snap the top door trim panel retainer into the channel in the window inner belt seal strip. Install the inside door handle bezel. Connect the electrical connectors, if any, to the inside door handle bezel. Guide the inside door handle through the opening in the door handle bezel. Snap the door handle bezel into place. Work the rubber around and behind both the manual lock knob and the inside door handle. Install the upper door trim panel (1). Connect the wire harness to the tweeter. Insert the tabs into the slots on the door trim panel. Insert the retainer into the hole in the door frame. Trim Panel Replacement - Side Rear Door Tools Required J 36796 Clip Zip Tool Removal Procedure Remove the inside door handle bezel. The front inside door handle bezel has electrical connectors, the rear does not. Insert a flat bladed tool behind the forward upper edge of the door handle bezel. Gently pry the upper portion of the bezel away from the door trim panel. Pull the bezel forward over the inside door handle. Disconnect the electrical connector. Use the J 36796 in order to release the retainers around the outside edges of the door trim panel. Rock the door trim panel (1) upwards, starting at the rear, while lifting upwards to remove. Disconnect the door trim panel wiring harness. Remove the armrest pull cup retainers from the inside of the door trim panel. Use needle nose pliers to compress the 360 clip. Pull the 360 clip out of the nylon nut on the door trim panel. Installation Procedure Install the 360 clip to the nylon nuts on the inner door panel by sliding the 360 clip down into the grooves in the nylon nuts. Connect the trim panel electrical connector to the door wiring harness connector. Starting at the bottom, secure the door trim panel around the outside edges with the retainers (2). Align the door trim panel to the armrest pull cup retainers (1). Snap the retainers in to secure the center of the door trim panel to the inner door panel. Pull on the armrest to assure proper fit. Push outwards near the top of the door trim panel in order to snap the top door trim panel retainer into the channel in the window inner belt seal strip. Install the inside door handle bezel. Connect the electrical connectors, if any, to the inside door handle bezel. Guide the inside door handle through the opening in the door handle bezel. Snap the door handle bezel into place. Work the rubber around and behind both the manual lock knob and the inside door handle. Install the upper door trim panel (1). Connect the wire harness to the tweeter. Insert the tabs into the slots on the door trim panel. Insert the retainer into the hole in the door frame. |
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Replying to: lmaher63 (Sep 13, 2008 4:42 pm) |
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| Just wanted to post that my problems are solved. I removed the front door trims and found the polyethylene liners inside to be warped and un-stuck from the mastic. I re-seated them and sealed up the entire lower portion with clear silicone. It works. I used the same clear silicone in the trunk. Found that several of the attaching nuts/combo washers that hold on the spoiler, center reflector and a filler panel at the top edge of the bumper cover had loosened over time. They have a mastic gasket that had dried out. I removed the mastic, made a silicone gasket and re-seated them. No more leaks. It's all going back together today. Hurray. | |
I have been depending upon mother nature to do my leak testing for me. After my last post, a huge tropical rainstorm occurred and no leaks at all. I was just about to throw the interior back into the car when a friend suggested that I give it one more test. I blasted every opening I could imagine directly with the water hose. Result: four more leaks. Both rear doors leaked at the polyethylene liner (sealed with silicone), the trunk weatherstrip leaked along the lower edge (glue holding it to metal had released (reset with silicone), the trunk latch hold down leaked (two bolts pass through body behind rear bumper - a genuine bit.. to get a wrench on, more silicone) and there was a leak coming from the vicinity of the rear window glass (you can touch it by putting your hand up under the metal in the trunk - more silicone). I really hope this is it. I'm finished. 
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ive read up on the common water leaks with these cars and i dont think any of those apply. this is on my moms car its a 01 bonneville. she had water standing in the floor so i stop by take a look, pass side is standing in water. so i start looking around all the molding seems good but sprayed down all the windows and doors just in case, which hasnt even rained here since i can remember anyways, the car doesnt have a sunroof so thats out, so i start the car and run the a/c pull the carpet back and suck out all the water and dont see any signs of a leak. the car was facing down hill, turn the car around facing up hill with car running, a/c on it started pouring water in the floor, but doenst seem to be coolant feels like straight water. i was thinking condensation from HVAC box under dash, but i dont think there would be that much condensation. i am supposed to take a better look at it this weekend, so any help is great. also when the car was running it was a steady drip in the floor cut the car off and it started pouring out. this cant be an outside water leak as i said its been very dry here and my dad keeps sucking the water out of the floor but its keeps coming back.
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Replying to: midnightcamaro (Sep 15, 2008 12:59 pm)
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Sep 15, 2008 1:25 pm)
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