Buick Century (detuned Regal) Question

[turbojimmy]

Hi all,

Forgive the intrusion. I have a '99 Century, which as you know is a Regal body with a 3.1L drivetrain. It's a rebuilt total, hit on the RH side. The RH side is also where the heater box gets its outside air from. Evidently, the heater box is not sealed to the cowl properly - I'm getting a lot of water into the passenger side footwell and it looks like it's running down the heater box. The car was cheap - I'm not complaining about the leak, I just am looking for some advice on how to fix it. I think it's going to require dash removal, or at least some dash-pulling-out-of-the-way. I've never worked on a car with air bags. Should the fact that I have a passenger side air bag affect how I go about this job? Anyone have the shop manuals that can share with me the procedure (via e-mail of course)?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[teatowej]

If nobody replies here try this site. www.gp-owners.com

 

[98 GSX]

This is a common problem on w-body cars. I noticed a pool of water on my pass. floorboard today. I talked to one of the mechanics, he said you have to remove the cowling under the hood on the pass. side and reseal the firewall. I'll post more info after I do it.
Todd

 

[turbojimmy]

Thanks for the replies.

I finally had time to really look hard at it and here's what's going on.

First, it's an absolutely ridiculous arrangement. The water runs down the windshield and beneath the cowl trim. There is a thin strip of foam rubber on the strip that can't be there to stop the water - must be to keep it from rattling. So the water runs off the windshield and directly on top of the cabin air filter. From there, it runs into the HVAC module where most of it is channeled toward the evaporator core drain. Some of it makes its way to the heater fan, too, which also runs to the evaporator core assembly. Why GM would design something that allows water into the passenger compartment is beyond my comprehension.

Here's my problem: the guy that put the f'n thing back together did not install the HVAC module properly. It's crooked and not sealing against the cowl. That's leak #1. Not sure if things are still bent up or if there's some way to get it to seal up. The big leak, however, is where the two halves of the HVAC module come together. I'm not sure if it's because the module was damaged in the accident or because it was taken apart and the seal wasn't replaced. Either way, a TON of water comes in through the HVAC module.

Replacing the HVAC module requires removal of the dash, which requires removal of the steering column, brake pedal, air bags, instrument cluster, radio, and the cross vehicle beam. It's particularly frustrating for me because the guy that did the work had it all apart and could've done it right.

There is a seal on the firewall/cowl, too, per the 2nd post. Mine's not leaking. Doesn't look to me like you could replace that without pulling the HVAC module either.

So what did I do? Duct tape. Simply duct taped the cowl trim to the windshield. Water runs around the cabin air intake instead of on top of it. Maybe I'll get fancy next time and get black duct tape.

I'll have to think about whether or not I want to fix it the right way. I'm not sure even a properly installed one wouldn't leak. In the meantime, I think I'm going to make a fiberglass cover for the cabin air intake that will sit beneath the cowl trim. That'll redirect the water away from the cabin air intake without the need for duct tape.

Thanks again,
Jim