Water in the doors, is this common? Options

[crandsberry]

So im sitting in my 97 hatchback, it's raining pretty hard, and im watching water roll down my door window and INTO MY DOOR.

Is this pretty common? Why is that rubber trim piece along the top of the door not sealling to the window, is it the window's fault?
The the guy who owned the car before me was kind of a goof, he put thick carpet padding in the doors for sound deadening (maybe he was on to something ) which i took out. Could that have bent something out of wack?

thanks guys

[Harold_Fastwaker]

Well if your doors work properly and are aligned then you need new door seals. They just sound like they are old and worn out.

If your doors do not swing properly then they need to be realigned. But you only need to really worry about this if you were in an accident.

[soven]

It is normal to have water in the doors and yes, the carpet idea was stupid since it holds water and would cause rust/mold etc.

[AudioFreak]

There are a few small drain holes in the bottom of the door. Make sure they are clear.

[crandsberry]

So i think its this piece i have an issue with



The rubber around the door frame is doing great. Its this this metal/rubber strip on the outside should seal against the base of the glass.

Surely water is not regularly allowed to drip down around the electrical components in you door, has anyone faced this, and found a cure?

[vsideboy]

Water going into door from the window is normal mate. Thats why there should be a layer of plastic sheet between the door frame and the interior panel/speaker. All the wiring is also on the outside of this sheet.
The sheets also there to stop draughts getting in when its a bit breezy outside.

There are drain holes in the bottom of the doors which you need to keep unblocked. Car makers build water traps into the cars so that they rust and you need to buy new ones.

The rubber trim will be preventing a tidal wave of water from going into the door but it will always drip slightly.

As for the sound deadening, if it was actual carpet then that is a dumb idea but if its dynomat stuff then thats a normal sound deadening mat that all the pros use.

[crandsberry]

Ah ha!
Thanks guys, ive done plenty of research but u guys really know these cars.



My friend and I currently have the interior stripped for removing the sound system that the previous ownner TRIED to install .

Does anyone have any (cool ideas/words of wisdom) for a new audio setup?

I currently have
old MTX 5 channel amp
10" JL audio sub
and a Best Buy employee discount

[vsideboy]

Ah ha!
Thanks guys, ive done plenty of research but u guys really know these cars.

should be the same for all cars buddy.

[CaliJeff]

It is normal to have water in the doors and yes, the carpet idea was stupid since it holds water and would cause rust/mold etc.

don't antagonize the guy.

[soven]

Thanks for the superb post and useful input into the discussion . Re-read his post too as it is not him that did the carpet.

[crandsberry]

its all good

I know most doors have some type of moisture barrier, like a sheet of plastic, to protect the components in the door from water seepage like when the window is rolled down and the door gets wet. The drain holes get water droplets out so they dont evaporate and generate mold/rust.
But the sole purpose of weatherstripping around a window is to seal out the WEATHER! haha
I guess this piece isint a common problem, my drainage issue is prolly more evidence of the klutz that used to own the car , ill just replace it.


Well last night my buddy and I just finnished outfitting the car with new Rockford Fosgate amp and speaker wiring. I also dropped in a new OPTIMA battery , but we have not worked on the doors yet.

Along with the carpet doors, there were other amusing discoveries; someone ran ground wires all the way to the rear of the car

I dont know if this has been covered, but for those of you that dont want to run your amp power all the way to the right side of the firewall, you can punch a hole just above the clutch master cylinder mount (carefully avoiding the clutch line). Works like a charm.

In terms of sound deadening, aside from trunk floor and doors, are theyre any other hot spots i should hit up with some Dynomat?
thanks again guys