Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!

Lincoln Town Car Water Leaks

2456

Comments

  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Well,I just went out and the FIX seems to be working.It's all dry on the pass.side now.However,the driver side and the back are both soaked. I'm going to try and pull it in the shop after hours and look for that plug.It's very wet in those two places. : :cry: :
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    sorry to hear it man-yeah, I love my car, but I have to get this stuff fixed or else it takes all the enjoyment out of ownership-keep me posted :mad:
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    I hear that!!Do the passenger side fix under the hood though.It's a start anyway.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Well,I lifted the car,tightened my wipers while there (they were very noisy) and realized somebody put them on in the wrong place!I Looked at the plug.Pushed it in a little and a bunch of water started dripping out.I also cleaned out the drain on the driver side under the cowl thing.It was all clogged up.I think the problem could be that the door seals have shrunk over the years the car was in Florida HEAT.Just guessing on the heat part,but the seals have shrunk for sure.Also found out I need 2 tie rod ends!! :) So,the floor is wet but hopefully the plug will allow some drainage in back,and the one up front by the cowl will too. Some work needs to be done to fix this but it doesn't seem to difficult a task.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    99towncarexec: I bought mine(a 99' Town Car Signature w/Touring Sedan package a few weeks ago for $4,000.-) and have been fixing all these little things that the previous owner either ignored or just didn't want to be bothered with but bug me. I really like the Touring Sedan version- it has chrome wheels, dual exhausts, perforated leather seats, stabilizer bars front & rear, plus different shocks for a slightly firmer ride. I just couldn't pass up the deal. I always liked these Town Cars for their styling and I dig big cars. My car has 106,000 miles and I've heard they are very reliable and you can put some high mileage on them. I'm an originality freak so I've been making sure my car has everything that came with it from new. I even have the original Touring Sedan mats, the original keys, the original brochure- The previous owner bought and serviced the car at one dealer so I have all the service records. If you search on EBAY and check with various dealers you can find most everything you need but the interior trim pieces are getting hard to find.Funny nothing ever was mentioned in my service records about the water leak. Maybe he didn't realize it. It's more a nuisance but again I am concerned about mold issues and smells
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Check your door moldings.They might look good but be faulty nonetheless.Sounds like a real nice ride you got there.I was in the LIMO business for almost 20 years and had lots of Lincolns.Take car of it and it'll last 3-4-5 hundred thousand miles!!It'll also ride like the day it left the showroom!!
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    99towncarexec: Yeah, thanks for the compliment- the car is a beautiful dark wedgewood blue metallic with oxford white interior- after I get all the other items straightened out, I'm planning to have the seats dyed. I figure the car was pretty inexpensive to begin with so I would invest a little more to make it almost perfect. It's a pretty easy restoration as it's only ten years old. I'm pretty impressed with the quality other than the water leak issue. I'm hoping that Ford doesn't discontinue this model. It would be nice to see one with a 6-speed automatic, independent rear suspension, real wood, etc. to compete with the world's best.

    When you say door moldings are you referring to the rubber weatherstripping on both the doors and the car? Have you ever replaced them? With all your experience with these cars, have you seen any with rust?- the one good thing about these cars in regards to that is they are a body on frame- the frame would have to rust out to make it unsafe. :shades:
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Never ever had any rust issue with these.I drove Lincolns thru bad NY winter snow storms,parked outside and all that. The inner door moldings.They look just like weatherstripping and have the interior color of the car on the inside,at least mine does anyway.The go all around the door opening.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    Ok-cool, I'll check it our-thanks for the tip- when you're driving in the snow with these, have you ever needed snow tires or does the traction control do a pretty good job? :shades:
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Well,I was younger and didn't give a crap about snow tires way back when.I just spun my way out if I got stuck! lol. If you live in a big snow area,I'd say get snow tires because these cars are all trunk with no weight back there.I'll be putting on snows soon.Blizzak or something studded.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Anybody have a clue where I can get inner door seals for the Lincoln.I believe that's my leak issue.I know Ford can get them,anywhere else?
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    99towncarexec: I'm curious- How did you determine that the inner seals are what you need to replace? Have you actually seen the water coming in from that area? I was thinking after I did my repair on the fresh air vent, I would sit in my car while someone ran a hose over it and see if I could spot where any other leaks could be. By the way if your inner seals are rubber and they are painted the same color as your car then the car has been repainted. My seals are black rubber(if it's the same thing we're referring to.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    ralka: started my repair to the fresh air vent assembly-the first thing I noticed was the black plastic piece that is the windshield cover held on by two long black plastic screws has a foam gasket-mine was loose so I reattached it using weatherstrip adhesive. Then I removed the next plastic piece that has the 5 8mm screws and the two 11m nuts. The gasket on mine was in good shape but wet. So now I can see the screen and the foam gasket underneath it. When tightening the nuts the rubber washers compress and tear. I have a feeling that this was not meant to be overly tight as the foam just compresses as well. This foam gasket is also wet. I'm thinking to make a proper repair you would probably need to access it from the inside but that might be a lot more disassembly. Never the less I'm going to try to do the repair from the top. I spent a good part of the day looking for the Crest product "Reseal" only to find out that it's not sold in stores, only to body shops. I called the sales rep in my area after I got his number from the east coast distributor for Crest Products. I told him what I intended to use it for and he suggested a product by Sherwin Williams, a rubber based seam sealer. I'll go there on Monday. I plan to seal the foam gasket underneath(where it's exposed) :confuse: the screen and then use the seam sealer around the existing gasket on the cover. I'll tighten down the whole thing and also use some of the seam sealer around the nuts that have the rubber gaskets. Hopefully it will work. I haven't pulled up the carpets yet but they're wet and it has me concerned. I wonder how many unsuspecting Town Car Owners there are out there with this problem. Do you think it's an age issue related to the foam shrinking or drying out or maybe the adhesive Ford used? Maybe it's an engineering issue?
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    I looked at the whole setup the other night.The inner door seals have a gap between the body and the door.I tried to adjust them and it comes off one side while going on the other.It's like that at the 4 doors.I might do your hose thing as well when it stops raining!The inner door seals have the inside of them covered w/interior color material.That's how certain ones came.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    ok- I'll check mine too! :cry:
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    I'm just wondering the way the doors are designed how the water would soak the carpets if seals or weatherstripping was bad on the doors or the body. I would think that the water would run down to the sill and outside. My carpet is only wet in the rear in the footwell, not the surrounding areas on top which would leave me to believe that it's coming from the front and settling in the rear at the lowest point. :cry:
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Yea,if you see a space when you're sitting in the car chances are they're bad.
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    Hi
    the gaskets on the fasteners will crush down that is ok. the thing to be sure of is that the inside of the air inlet is tight against the plennum chamber. the outer housing (which you removed with the 8mm and 11mm fasteners) is the starting point of the penetration in the air vent, as long as that is your leak. make sure you seal this as described in the previous post the extra sealant that comes out when you tighten down the housing when brused over will form a seal around the back of the outer air vent cover. i have seen this problem as well as cowl seem and hvac main seal leaks in town cars right off the showroom floor, so sometimes age is a factor but not always. the foam gaskets and other sealants will shrink and crack with age in any vehicle. finding out what area the water is coming from is the most improtant step, otherwise you are just guessing and possibly wasting your time and efforts. Lincoln town cars , Ford Crown vics, and mercury grand marquis have had these problems for at least 20 yrs. with slight variations per model.
    LOL if i can be of help let me know.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Ralka,where you been?Glad you're chiming in here.I ordered the driver door seal for mine.I pulled the floor plug out a little the other night from the back and a good amount of water dripped out.Still gets a little wet on the passenger side.I see that that door seal is gapped too,so I'll get another one for that door too.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    ralka: should I tighten as hard as I can then and compress the foam as much as I can? I definitely think the water is coming in there. I took up the carpet in the front passenger and it was soaked(saw the two drain plugs and removed them for some circulation)-also the jute backed pad on the firewall was soaked so it's definitely coming from the top- also all the gaskets for all the plastic pieces I removed were wet as well as the foam gasket below the screen. I can see why it's important to add additional gasket material in the rear of the the vent cover as mine is compressed and there's a large gap between the gasket and the edge of the plastic. Have you had to replace the carpet in any of the cars you've worked on or remove the seats and the console to take up all the carpet? Once the leak is fixed would you worry about mold,,rust,etc.? :(
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    99towncarexec
    hi
    on the drivers side did you actually see water comong from the weatherstrip and soaking the floor?
    on the pass side do you see water dripping or the floor wet and where?
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    robkstone
    when you tighten the fasteners just give it enough to compress the sealant around them and a little more . you don't want to force them so tight that you strip them out. when you run water over the top for a while, with the carpet pulled back watch the bottom of the hvac box( on the inside of the car) there is a section on the right hand lower corner that is a rounded mounting flange with the back end of a mounting bolt Like a carriage bolt head. see if there is a trail of water coming from the bottom of it. sometimes it is hard to see, use a bright flashlight and move the jute padding as much as you can for visability. also on the right side lower a-pillar/kick plate area move the rubber backing under the wire connectors back as much as you can and see if there is water coming down the firewall in the wheel well area( again sometines it is hard to see without a flash light and knowing whatyou are looking for) but if either of these things are occuring you have your work cut out for you. the carpet is a foam backing on some which to dry out you would need to take out the pass seat and remove the rear seat lower cushion
    remove the trim pieces that secure the carpet and lift the entire pass side up. use a wet vac to dry with fans. it does take time. if it is dry you won't have any mold issues you can use any disinfectant if you are concerned Lysol is fine.

    I have to work on one of these this week (Ironic isn't it). but this one has a cowl seam leak as well and the only way to get at that is with the fender off .
    let me know what you find.
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    I have to tell you that you should really make sure that the weatherstrips are you problem, in 23 yrs of fixing leaks i can count on one hand the times i have had to replace lincoln t/c door strips and not all of those were for this problem. and those that were were leaks higher on the door and very obvious. :confuse:
    I don't want to see you waste your hard earned $$$ on something you may not need.
    good luck
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    No,haven't actually seen water come thru the stripping.I was going to run it thru a car wash to take a look.It rained hard as hell last night and I was out in it and saw no leaking thru there.I have towels on the floor,front and back,that are soaked.The front more so then then the back.What else could it be??
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    Ralka: I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all your help and expertise with my problem. I really appreciate the time you're taking to answer all my questions. It's very generous of you. I think I know what you're alluding to. If the leaks are from the additional areas you mentioned I might also have a cowl seam leak or a leak from inside the fender, where I would have to remove the fender to repair it. Is the HVAC box the black plastic piece that is below the glovebox or is that just a cover that I have to remove in order to make it visible? It looks like the jute backed pad that rests against the firewall goes the entire width of the car into the driver's side as well. What a mess! Thanks for all the tips! What do you think of the rubber seam product by Sherwin Williams compared to the Reseal by Crest products? You must be in the auto body business. Where are you from? :sick:
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    which side are we talking about?
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    if you remove the kick plate on the right side of the car ( the trim piece directly in front of the door, under the dash that meets your carpet, the same color as yur interior trim) than yu can pull the corer of yur carpet back almost allthe way to the center of the car front, and move the side rubber directly under the kick plate some. yu can than see the lower hvac case(black) and the wheel well to dash seam area to deturmin where the water is coming from.
    i don't know about the sherwin williams product . as long as it is pliable long enough to work with while yu put the vent cover on , i guess it could work.
    suggest you test it first to see how long yu have to spread it after applied.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Ralka,my wet floors are driver front and back.The passenger side is a little wet but nothing compared to before the fix under the hood.
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    take a serious look at the hood release grommet while running water across the top of the car.( with the kick plate off and the carpet pulled back to see). same on the right side there could be other issues. do you see the water dripping on the right side or is it just wet?. suggest you use a hose without a spray end and let the water flow over the windshield towards the side you are checking.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Nah,it's just wet.I haven't seen any water dripping anywhere and was raining cats and dogs last night while I was driving down the highway.To cold up here now to run a hose.I'll have to go thru a car wash or something.
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    yea it getting cold now. if you go through a carwash have the carpets back enough to see. but i would guess there is a secondary culprit on the right front
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Ralka,how do the carpets come up??Do I remove the plastic around the bottom of the door,etc/ to get the carpet up?It's been a while!lol. Where would I look at the hood release grommet??Inside or under the hood?Thanks.
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    if you remove the kick plate on the right side of the car ( the trim piece directly in front of the door, under the dash that meets your carpet, the same color as yur interior trim) than you can pull the corner of your carpet back almost all the way to the center of the car front. then follow the cable from the hood release lever under the dash to the black grommet it passes through in the dash. this is what you watch when you run water on the outside. you can see it from the outside to if yu look for it. look at my thread to "robkstone" post #72 and #77 for more things to look for on the right side.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    Ralka: I went to the Ford dealer in my area and ordered Motorcraft #F8AZ-19554-CA Liquid Butyl Sealer after I saw a service bulletin from Ford on the water leaks but they claim the leaks are caused by a skip or a void in the production sealer somewhere around the periphery of the windshield. Nothing is mentioned about the fresh air vent.
    Never the less, I called Sherwin Williams and the product they sell is made by 3M, and they didn't have it in stock, so I'm going with the Ford product. Do you think I should put some sealer on the gap where part of the foam gasket that is exposed holds the fresh air housing to the cowl? :(
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Thanks Ralka.I'll look into this tomorrow since I'm off.I'll get the windshield looked at to just for the hell of it.Where are you located anyway??NY buy any chance?
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    sometimes the glass leaks .to confirm remove the inner a-pillar trim on the wet side and run water and watch the inner urethane.
    and unless you are going to complete the entire vent repair i would not put any sealer there. ( it will make removal difficult later).
    just for comparison i have fixed probably 200 of these vehicles over the last 23 yrs
    . and maybe 20 have had factory defects in the windshield urethane.
    use the butyl if it is not a runny product . you want a sealant with some body to it

    good luck
  • ralkaralka Member Posts: 72
    no N.E. PA
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Are you anywhere near NJ??Jersey shore??North Jersey?
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    Ralka:

    Do you repair cars for a living? I'm located in the Philadelphia suburbs and would be willing to come to you if my fresh air vent fix doesn't work.

    thanks,

    rob stone
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Ralka- I Took a look at that just now.The rug was sure enough wet underneath,but the grommet area was dry in there and under the hood.I also poured water right down the windshield into that area w/the rug pulled back etc.,and nothing came thru that I could see.It was dry.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    Hey Guys:

    I sealed up the fresh air vent assembly today- I went to the Ford dealer for the butyl based sealer and they gave me silicone rubber and told me this was the replacement or updated product they were using for that product number. I know you told me Ralka that if I had to redo it after using silicone that it's going to be hard to take it apart but I just couldn't wait any longer. I needed to use my car. I haven't tested it by running any water over it- I'm hoping the carpets dry our first. I did get a lot of the silicone on the rear of the gasket so it sealed really good in the back. I also squeezed down the housing while I tightened it like you said. I noticed two of the screws on top were not holding too tight(they're sheet metal screws w/8mm nut heads and I should probably try to get an oversize one to tighten better. The tightness of these screws, I believe, isn't as significant as the two "inside" ones that hold down the back side of the housing. Anyway, I'm hoping it doesn't rain until the carpet drys out. One good thing about the cold is that when I'm driving around now I have the heat on the floor at 90 degrees to help the carpet dry.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    RobKStone - I used silicone on all that too and it seems to be doing it's job.My bolts were loose too so I tightened the hell out of them as well.Hopefully this should stop your leak if thats where it was coming from.I have new door seals on order.I'll post here after install next week and let you guys know if it helped.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Ok fellas.I just went thru the touchless car was here and didn't see a drop of water come thru anywhere.The floor is still wet front and back.Where could this water be coming from????The grommet area was dry,the seals,etc.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    99towncarexec: sorry to hear about it. I did the silicone fix on my fresh air vent and haven't tested it to see if it's still leaking. The smell from the new silicone has been bothersome. Since I'm not the expert on this, I guess the answer will have to come from Ralka. The bottom line is you might have to pay someone to examine the car. I know Reedman has a water leak expert and so do many other Ford dealers.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    Yea,The last thing I want to do is give the car to a dealer and get milked for hours of searching and not finding anything.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    yeah man, you're right about that-do you know anyone in the auto body business?-I think it's not uncommon in their field to fix water leaks-what about Ralka?- he said he was in NE PA-can you get his number to see if he could look at it for you? He certainly has the experience! If my fix doesn't work I'm going to have a friend of mine who works in a body shop look at it.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    I just called my body shop guy at work.He said spray glass cleaner on the outside of the windsheild,and go inside and hit the windsheild with an air hose and look for air bubbles.Sounds like my next venture!I'm upstate NY so I'm a ways from PA. but I go to south Jersey in the summer.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    let me know if you find anything- maybe you're not seeing the water leak into the car because it's coming from the bottom of the windshield and behind the carpets, just a theory. I would have the windshield resealed-it's not as expensive, like you said, as having the dealer look around for hours, charge you and not find anything. The other thing is being in NY, there has to be other guys with this problem and someone who has experience fixing them because there is so much livery business and these cars are all over the NY area.
  • 99towncarexec99towncarexec Member Posts: 160
    I'll get it resealed and let you know what they find.
  • robkstonerobkstone Member Posts: 48
    don't forget, if you aren't taking up the carpets, and exposing the wetness to air or fans, they take a long time to dry. Mine are still wet after a week of being in the garage.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles