Hey, we've been getting some heavy rains where I am and I noticed a puddle on the drivers side interior step of my 1989 E-150. I was wondering which weather seals I should be looking into and addressing to try to fix this issue. It appears that the water might be going past the seals that the windows slide into is going inside the the door past the window seals and possibly pooling at the bottom of the door and dripping out into the cab. I'm guessing the window seals aren't exactly designed to block all water from entering the interior of the doors so I'm guessing the water is draining to the wrong place. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

Climb inside the van, close the doors as securely as they now fit and have someone run a hose NOT under pressure across the tops of the leaking door. If you see no apparent water stream from the body seal where the door fits against the body your leak may be coming inside the door. If you suspect that hold the door open, run the hose across the weather strip at the bottom of the movable glass opening---check if water runs out the weep holes in the bottom of the door shell. If water is getting past that seal it needs to be replaced.

Because replacing that weather strip will require removing in the interior door trim panel inspect inside the lower door for signs of early rust formation.

 

Yep I think water is getting past the movable window seal . I'll look up the part and try to replace them soon. Thanks!

 

Upon closer inspection I'm trying to understand the design of these seals and it appears that whatever water can possibly squeeze between the seal and the window surface seems negligible compared to where it could enter through the huge gaps between where the vent window seal ends and the sliding window seal begins. Wouldn't most of the water stopped at the window seal pour down the gap between the two seals as seen in my photos? Unless maybe the seals originally extended further than mine do currently? The seals on both sides look identical so I think this is just how they were designed.

 

Once again doors with movable glass are designed from the start to allow water that passes the weather strip to drain out the bottom of the door. Trying to rethink this won't give you a waterproof door.

Good luck with whatever you attempt to do!

 

Everyone here at FTE has some type of specialty, even if it's not automotive related! JWA is our resident auto glass specialist
Right after I bought my 99 van, I noticed a dripping sound in the drivers door when it rained. If it rained hard enough the dripping sounded like it was dripping in a bucket. JW told me to check the weep holes at the bottom of the door. They were there but the old weatherstrip had been glue right over the weep holes and in time as the weatherstrips hardened in place, they blocked the holes. Not being able to escape faster then it was entering, water was puddling in the bottom of the door. So much so that the water came up to the bottom of the speaker hole and would drip between the door panel and inner door instead of outside the body below the inner step.

If I am not mistaken, the weatherstrip that scrapes the window is called the "Belt Weatherstrip". I replaced mine a couple of years ago because mine were hard and I was going to tint my windows soon and they will ruin window tent if they are really old.

Now the door seal weatherstrip is the one that is glued all the way around the edge of the door. Mine need to be replace because i have been in a heavy rain and had them to leak inside as I was driving. JWA told me that depending on how deteriorated the weatherstrip is, cleaning and wiping them down with a little silicone spray might give them a bit more life. Another method I read about several years ago, and depends on the type of weatherstrip you have, and how deteriorated it is, is to thread a small rope through them. My weatherstrip has holes 3/16 holes in it every 6" or so all of the way around. By threading a small diameter rope around through the weatherstrip will make it swell out where it has been smashed down for years and seal better for a little while. If it is very deteriorated though it may split in a short time.

Using the hose like JWA said is the best way to find the leak..

JWA.. At least on the later 80's vans, the door panel does not have to be removed to replace the Belt Weatherstrip. It is about the same as on the older 70's trucks. I agree though that Ridetrains should remove the door panel for inspection and the water test. It is also a good time to lubricate the moving parts. I don't know what lube is best though. I tried white lithium grease but now when i lower the windows I get some noise again. I am going to try some dry spray lubricant. It comes out as a liquid and then drys. Maybe it will get inside the parts a bit better.


Ridetrains, I thought about using sealant around the vent post where the gap is in your picture but then thought, those posts and the area around them often rust out. Perhaps its best to leave a little air gap for that area to dry.

Here are some pics of my door. In this first one you can see stains where the water ran down between the door panel and inner door.


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In this next pic you can see one of the 2 weep holes. This one is the bright line in the middle of the pic. Notice the inner door is sprayed with a coating from the factory. Also there is no rust inside the door. The dark areas are just damp spots


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More concerning though was the rust under the weatherstrip at the bottom of the door. While making sure the weep holes were clear, I noticed some reddish discoloration in some age cracks in the seam filler from the factory that is applied before paint. I used my fingernail and a little piece flaked off.


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I pealed the weatherstrip back and scraped a bit more.



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You have seen those trucks and vans with the bottom of the doors rusted out, this is one way it starts!
The bottom of the exterior door skin laps over and up around the inner door metal. I scraped and wire brushed the area till I removed all of the loose areas that had any signs of rust. Then I decided to use some Oshpo rust converter because it is very thin and could flow down into the lip where the metal folds over. I didn't want to get the Oshpo on the good paint so I used gloves and a rag to apply it pressing it into the seem so force some Ospho in the seam. Many web sites say to let the Oshpo dry 24hrs and then rinse it off. Many people have trouble getting paint to stick after Oshpo. I read on a body repair site to wipe it off just before it drys. I waited a couple of hours after applying it and wiped it off. I then sanded the area, repeated the Oshpo, and finally sanded again. You can see the dark spots where the Oshpo converted the rust.


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Next I mask the area off and primed it with self etching Rust-oleum. The proper way would have been to use a seam sealer first but I just used several coats of primer and paint.



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And the final product matched so close that by the time you look under the door and back at the whole van, the paint looked factory!




The moral of the saga is to check under all of the door seals at the bottom of the doors and look for rust so that you don't end up driving around in one of the vans with the rusty doors!

And if you decide to change those Belt Weatherstrips, here is a good video. i believe the clips are a little different but not very much, When you get new weatherstrips you will see how they work. I used painters tape and also a thin plastic card slid under the lip of the old weatherstrip in the area of each clip I was working on to protect the paint. There is a right and a left, inner and outer set. You have to match up the clips to the holes in the door. Seems like they were little slots, not holes. I seem to be getting more forgetful these days.

 

Annaleigh the rust you found at the bottom of the door was due the hem flange found on nearly every door shell made just about forever. Ford and nearly every other manufacturer didn't go to any great lengths properly sealing those flanges against rust; in nearly every case of door bottom rust its not from water inside the door shell. Think of it more as a severe case of surface rust that begins in between the hemmed flanges and works its way outward. Because the door seal covers that general area rust goes undiscovered until it erupts.

As an example of this one two of my E-Series have erupted door edge rust even on the vertical edges including the side and rear doors---as we all know those shells are completely sealed meaning no water inside and no rust due trapped moisture. The movable glass changes everything.

Just as an update I'm a former body shop owner during the middle 80's----so rust isn't all that surprising to me.

 

I bought my window felt/belt and door gaskets from ebay, tho I did not tackle the wing windows, those gaskets are hard to find, and often when you do you have fit issues, sometimes requiring a replacement all together, often the wing windows are responsible for water getting in. My doors are designed to drain, 73 has no window squeegee the rain runs down the glass and out the bottom of the door, there is felt up top to filter out debris, just keep the door drains clear. Winter is not the time to do door gaskets, will have issues with the glue curing in the cold.