Post by nibnob21 on Dec 11, 2016 15:24:14 GMT
The following tips are aimed at getting you started in solving that pesky leak you’re experiencing from the most common places: the window seals and/or windscreen. The tips are given in no particular order.
Roof protection
Looking at the material your roof is made out of is one place to start. Plasticiser oils within PVC vinyl roofs allow the roof to expand and contract in changing temperatures, however exposure to UV rays evaporate these oils resulting in the hood drying out, shrinking and becoming more brittle. Therefore keeping the roof properly treated from day one will help prevent leaking issues where the roof has shrunk and bowed over the window seals.
Personally I recommend 303 Aerospace Protectant. It’s a UV screening product that doesn’t contain any oils or waxes etc., so doesn’t leave that horrible greasy and slippery finish you get with some products. Instead you get a protective layer that prevents drying, cracking and fading whilst also being water, dust and dirt repellent. It can also be used for other trim and engine dressing etc.
I bought a bottle from these guys on Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/node/index.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&me=AFDT02NZUUC7P&merchant=AFDT02NZUUC7P&redirect=true
Mohair roofs don’t tend to suffer from shrinkage as badly, however a good waterproofing product should be regularly used to prevent water coming directly through the roof and to generally prevent damp inside the car. I don't have a mohair roof so wouldn't know which product is best but I'm sure there are plenty of others who can help out with suggestions.
Tension cables
Your roof has two tension cables; one each side. They run inside the roof lining from the top corners where the roof meets the windscreen, following the window round and down to where the roof meets the interior shelf. They help to keep the roof taut around the window edge in order to prevent bowing and thus exposing the rubber window seals and window tops to the elements. Here you can see the roof on my car has bowed a bit, leaving the top of the window a bit more exposed than you want.
Even if your roof isn’t leaking, the tension cables are still something you should check and replace them if needed; replacement cables don’t cost much.
Tutorial: www.miata.net/garage/NB_Tension_Cable_Replacement.pdf
Roof locating nipples
Where the roof meets the top of the windscreen you’ll notice two nipples that help to locate the roof correctly. These nipples are often broken or damaged and allow water to creep in. Replacement nipples are cheap and they’re dead easy to swap.
Part number: NA01-R1-311
Part link: www.mx5parts.co.uk/hood-hardtop-catch-stopper-mk1-25-p-666.html
Latch adjustment
While you’re changing the nipples, it’s worth quickly adjusting the actual latches. Having tight latches will help create a tighter seal between the roof and the top of the windscreen, but more importantly will make sure your roof is securely held down and minimises the risk of it coming undone when driving along. This is really straightforward to do and takes two seconds. No need to remove the latches from the car.
Tutorial: www.miata.net/garage/latch_adjust.html
Rubber seal metal retaining rail adjustment
Poor alignment of the rubber seals that run around the window are one of the main causes of leaks, particularly water creeping in the gap between the top two seals. An easy way to sort this is to remove the seals and adjust the metal retaining rails they slot on to.
Just loosen off the screws, adjust the rail and tighten the screws back up. Through careful tweaking you can often improve leak prevention quite a lot.
Window height adjustment
When your windows are fully wound up they may still be sitting too low, allowing water to collect between them and the rubber seals. The height at which they top-out can be adjusted easily though. Unscrew the inner door handle and pop off the door card. Then loosen off this bolt:
And adjust the height of the stopper to the desired level:
Tighten the bolt back up, reassemble the door card and job done.
Drain clearing
Really this should be right at the top of the list. This is something that, leak or no leak, you should be doing regularly as a matter of course.
Buy yourself one of these: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-MX5-DRAIN-HOLE-CLEANER-/271556798041?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f3a0be659
And get to work cleaning the drain holes down the sides of the windscreen and behind the seats next to the seatbelt. Easy to do and you’ll be surprised at the amount of crap that comes out; I found a random screw stuck in one of mine. Clearing the windscreen seals is obvious so needs no tutorial. Here’s a link for clearing the rear ones.
Tutorial: www.autolinkuk.co.uk/index.php/maintenance/10-clearing-the-soft-top-drains
Rubber seal stuffing
Now we’re into the realms of ‘I've tried everything and it’s still leaking!’. This is where I was; it's a dark, wet place. This one final act stood between me either being leak free or having to shell out for a new roof.
Buy yourself some of this (you really won’t need that much but I couldn’t find a seller offering less than 10m): www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121267393661?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
And some of this: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160789182506?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Or any other neoprene glue of your choice. Remove all your rubber window seals and give them a thorough wash and dry. Cut sections of foam to length and stuff the rubber seals like so:
Then glue the seals up, peg them to hold the drying faces together and leave for 24hrs to cure:
Refit to the car and you should get a far better seal against the window. The foam makes the seals a lot plumper and firmer, and sealing them up with the glue prevents water from collecting inside the seals and overflowing to the inside of the car. This trick really was a life (and wallet) saver for me.
Einszett Gummi Pflege
And finally: Einszett Gummi Pflege. No I haven’t just mashed my hands on a keyboard, that’s an actual product.
Link: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361112043052?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Meant to be top notch stuff. Some people have claimed this alone has stopped their car from leaking. After I’d done everything listed above, all 8 of them, I then used this stuff as extra insurance to stop leaks coming back. It’s better than using Vaseline as it doesn’t degrade the rubber but it still provides a water resistant coating whilst also reviving the tired cracking rubber. It’s a little pot, but you barely need to use any so it will last ages.
50/50:
Allowed to dry, the rubbers now look nice and replenished:
A couple of other small tips
Just a couple of extra hints for general day to day use of the car that I follow:
If you’ve wound your windows down, don’t wind them fully up again without opening the door first. I’ve found putting the vertical force onto the rubber seals doesn’t do them much good and doesn’t create a very good seal. Allowing the windows to go up freely then closing the door onto the seals creates a far better seal.
Similarly when you’re putting your roof back up, always wind the windows down a little beforehand. This prevents the seals getting squashed as they come down on top of the windows. Then as mentioned above, open the doors, wind the windows up fully and then close the door against the seals. Alternatively just open your doors first before you close the roof.
I hope all the above helps you out and sorts out any leaking issue you may have. Although I've covered several tips, this list is by no means complete. Depending on the nature of your leak you may need to look at other causes like a deteriorating rain rail, for instance.
Good luck.
Roof protection
Looking at the material your roof is made out of is one place to start. Plasticiser oils within PVC vinyl roofs allow the roof to expand and contract in changing temperatures, however exposure to UV rays evaporate these oils resulting in the hood drying out, shrinking and becoming more brittle. Therefore keeping the roof properly treated from day one will help prevent leaking issues where the roof has shrunk and bowed over the window seals.
Personally I recommend 303 Aerospace Protectant. It’s a UV screening product that doesn’t contain any oils or waxes etc., so doesn’t leave that horrible greasy and slippery finish you get with some products. Instead you get a protective layer that prevents drying, cracking and fading whilst also being water, dust and dirt repellent. It can also be used for other trim and engine dressing etc.
I bought a bottle from these guys on Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/node/index.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&me=AFDT02NZUUC7P&merchant=AFDT02NZUUC7P&redirect=true
Mohair roofs don’t tend to suffer from shrinkage as badly, however a good waterproofing product should be regularly used to prevent water coming directly through the roof and to generally prevent damp inside the car. I don't have a mohair roof so wouldn't know which product is best but I'm sure there are plenty of others who can help out with suggestions.
Tension cables
Your roof has two tension cables; one each side. They run inside the roof lining from the top corners where the roof meets the windscreen, following the window round and down to where the roof meets the interior shelf. They help to keep the roof taut around the window edge in order to prevent bowing and thus exposing the rubber window seals and window tops to the elements. Here you can see the roof on my car has bowed a bit, leaving the top of the window a bit more exposed than you want.
Even if your roof isn’t leaking, the tension cables are still something you should check and replace them if needed; replacement cables don’t cost much.
Tutorial: www.miata.net/garage/NB_Tension_Cable_Replacement.pdf
Roof locating nipples
Where the roof meets the top of the windscreen you’ll notice two nipples that help to locate the roof correctly. These nipples are often broken or damaged and allow water to creep in. Replacement nipples are cheap and they’re dead easy to swap.
Part number: NA01-R1-311
Part link: www.mx5parts.co.uk/hood-hardtop-catch-stopper-mk1-25-p-666.html
Latch adjustment
While you’re changing the nipples, it’s worth quickly adjusting the actual latches. Having tight latches will help create a tighter seal between the roof and the top of the windscreen, but more importantly will make sure your roof is securely held down and minimises the risk of it coming undone when driving along. This is really straightforward to do and takes two seconds. No need to remove the latches from the car.
Tutorial: www.miata.net/garage/latch_adjust.html
Rubber seal metal retaining rail adjustment
Poor alignment of the rubber seals that run around the window are one of the main causes of leaks, particularly water creeping in the gap between the top two seals. An easy way to sort this is to remove the seals and adjust the metal retaining rails they slot on to.
Just loosen off the screws, adjust the rail and tighten the screws back up. Through careful tweaking you can often improve leak prevention quite a lot.
Window height adjustment
When your windows are fully wound up they may still be sitting too low, allowing water to collect between them and the rubber seals. The height at which they top-out can be adjusted easily though. Unscrew the inner door handle and pop off the door card. Then loosen off this bolt:
And adjust the height of the stopper to the desired level:
Tighten the bolt back up, reassemble the door card and job done.
Drain clearing
Really this should be right at the top of the list. This is something that, leak or no leak, you should be doing regularly as a matter of course.
Buy yourself one of these: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-MX5-DRAIN-HOLE-CLEANER-/271556798041?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f3a0be659
And get to work cleaning the drain holes down the sides of the windscreen and behind the seats next to the seatbelt. Easy to do and you’ll be surprised at the amount of crap that comes out; I found a random screw stuck in one of mine. Clearing the windscreen seals is obvious so needs no tutorial. Here’s a link for clearing the rear ones.
Tutorial: www.autolinkuk.co.uk/index.php/maintenance/10-clearing-the-soft-top-drains
Rubber seal stuffing
Now we’re into the realms of ‘I've tried everything and it’s still leaking!’. This is where I was; it's a dark, wet place. This one final act stood between me either being leak free or having to shell out for a new roof.
Buy yourself some of this (you really won’t need that much but I couldn’t find a seller offering less than 10m): www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121267393661?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
And some of this: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160789182506?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Or any other neoprene glue of your choice. Remove all your rubber window seals and give them a thorough wash and dry. Cut sections of foam to length and stuff the rubber seals like so:
Then glue the seals up, peg them to hold the drying faces together and leave for 24hrs to cure:
Refit to the car and you should get a far better seal against the window. The foam makes the seals a lot plumper and firmer, and sealing them up with the glue prevents water from collecting inside the seals and overflowing to the inside of the car. This trick really was a life (and wallet) saver for me.
Einszett Gummi Pflege
And finally: Einszett Gummi Pflege. No I haven’t just mashed my hands on a keyboard, that’s an actual product.
Link: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361112043052?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Meant to be top notch stuff. Some people have claimed this alone has stopped their car from leaking. After I’d done everything listed above, all 8 of them, I then used this stuff as extra insurance to stop leaks coming back. It’s better than using Vaseline as it doesn’t degrade the rubber but it still provides a water resistant coating whilst also reviving the tired cracking rubber. It’s a little pot, but you barely need to use any so it will last ages.
50/50:
Allowed to dry, the rubbers now look nice and replenished:
A couple of other small tips
Just a couple of extra hints for general day to day use of the car that I follow:
If you’ve wound your windows down, don’t wind them fully up again without opening the door first. I’ve found putting the vertical force onto the rubber seals doesn’t do them much good and doesn’t create a very good seal. Allowing the windows to go up freely then closing the door onto the seals creates a far better seal.
Similarly when you’re putting your roof back up, always wind the windows down a little beforehand. This prevents the seals getting squashed as they come down on top of the windows. Then as mentioned above, open the doors, wind the windows up fully and then close the door against the seals. Alternatively just open your doors first before you close the roof.
I hope all the above helps you out and sorts out any leaking issue you may have. Although I've covered several tips, this list is by no means complete. Depending on the nature of your leak you may need to look at other causes like a deteriorating rain rail, for instance.
Good luck.
le sigh