Stinky and Moldy

[Sonic1979]

Just like it says...I have been working on this car for a couple years now...its allways broken...racing is mostly to blame for that...I opened the door after some really heavy raining and snowing out here in the great PAC NW and there is this moldy smell coming from the car...the back floor is a little wet and there is some mold growing on the back seat...dang it this smell is covering up the burnt oil and other mechanic smells that I am used to...were does a '87 Shelby Z usually leak from? I had an old P-body that leaked from the tail-light and the hatchback seal...could these be possible culprits? Help!!!

I have since put a car cover over the car and I bought a bucket of that stuff that absorbs water outa the air...I occasionalbly open the car up and wipe off the windows and anywere else that i find moisture...I hate this f-en state and its weather...

[Bkwales]

check your floorboards too... see if they are rotting though and you are getting water up from the bottom.

[Sonic1979]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bkwales check your floorboards too... see if they are rotting though and you are getting water up from the bottom.

The car didn't leak while I was driving it, it has been in my driveway since Father's Day though...so I don't think any water would be coming up from down under...

[88mopar]

is it a t-top car ..when i bought my lebaron vert it smelled moldy and the carpet was getting wet from some were and i had no idea where and i found not 1 BUT 2 different leak zones..the top of the windshield(the urathane had worn out)..and the driverside window was getting squeezed againts the door panel when it would go up so the window was not fully up then water would get in into the VERRY LITTLE space where the window was not meating the top

[Sonic1979]

No, its not a T-top...but I remember noticing a drip every now and then from the windshield area, while driving...there is a urethane seal there? Can I replace it or do I ned to take it somewhere to do this?

[88mopar]

well in my vert there was a molding that unscrewed and the top and it popped off and then i just put some urathane over the old seal and put the molding back on..but your's being a hard top u may have to take the whole windshield out and have it re-urathaned

[Sonic1979]

That sucks...

[shelbyzed]

88mopar
you said you had a problem with the window on your t top lebaron, not going up snug enough to the gasket to keep water out. im getting the same problem with my '88 shelby z. what did you do to fix it?

[88mopar]

well what i noticed is that the window was hitting the top when the door was shut so every time i had to put the window up i would have to open the doors. BUT i was having an issue with my 88 shelby-z window not going all the way up and that was due to an adjuster behind the door pannel...so i had to take the door pannel up and loosen the 2 "rubber" adjusters and that helped allot!!..hope this helps

[shelbyzed]

ok thanks i'll try that out

[BigBluOx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonic1979 I hate this f-en state and its weather...

+1 Makes working on the car in the driveway a royal pain. My "new" GLH smells this way from sitting in a field in Paulsbo for the last few years...

[shelbyzed]

sonic 1979. you were saying about your leak haha. yea i have a 88 shelby z , lots of leaks. i took out the entire interior, cept for the dash. found that there were some pretty big leaks coming from the top of the hatch area. the top corners of the hatch area, on each side there's sort of a rectangular insert thing, i went in from the inside and took the knuts off them from the inside, and pried them up. cleaned it and siliconed all the cracks and everything and put them back. really helped the problem. I also had one of the grommets leaking, had to take that out too. Also a couple of small leaks in the back, one of which i still have to fix. On top of that ive got a couple leaks which have water coming down under the dash on both driver and passenger sides, i need to find those leaks. Also dont forget to clean out the area just in front of the windshield under the hood, take out the black plastic cover after youve taken the wipers off, yours may be filled with dirt and muck like mine was, clogging those drains. Always a good idea to clean it out.
I'll let you know if i find where those leaks coming in under the dash are from haha. Oh and drilling a couple of small holes for draining not such a bad idea either :P if the dealership does it it cant be wrong now can it .
Graeme

[savhanna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 88mopar the top of the windshield(the urathane had worn out)...

After reading this topic now I know where the water is coming from

Spring is coming and the snow/rain we got the other day really made a mess inside my car. The fabric inside roof was pretty wet and hanging down...and some of the electrical like when opening the car doors sometimes come on now and sometimes not

Thank you !!

[capev86]

a buddy of mine has that same problem on his first gen neon. you can't even get in the car now is stinks soo bad.

you need to take the carpet out and let the water dry up....mold is dangerous stuff.

on my k wagon, it doesn't leak (thank god for drip rails) and i keep it covered besides. i keep a dish of baking soda inside to absorb excess moisture and i open up the doors and let it air out on good days. hopefully i will be driving it again in a couple months and combined with some upholstery cleaner it will smell factory fresh!

[RoadWarrior222]

Quote:

Originally Posted by capev86 i keep a dish of baking soda inside to absorb excess moisture and i open up the doors and let it air out on good days.

Actually, baking soda is great for killing mold and taking out the smell while everything is still damp. Just get a couple of boxes and dump it everywhere over the carpet and seats and grind it in. Then when the weather is good air everything out, vacuum up and brush off the excess baking soda. Then whatever is crusted into the carpet or upholstry still will steam clean out and should take any black mold stains with it, where steaming alone wouldn't. Also helps neutralise corrosion and rust somewhat, so if it happens to get anywhere where there are electrics it will protect those, and also could help stop any rust that's started in the floor or trunk. At least it will hold it until you are ready to strip everything down and treat/renovate it. Baking soda is great stuff I always keep a couple of extra boxes on hand, cat pees on the carpet, dump baking soda on it, acid stomach, half a spoon in a glass of water, black moldy grout between tiles in the bathroom, baking soda on a toothbrush, throw it in the bottom of the cats litter pan before adding litter, put it in the bottom of our "organics" recycling can, clean your battery terminals with it .....