Convertible Holding Water and Losing Radio Presets

[Tiffany]

Hi! I am new to the group and I am the proud owner of a 1988 Mustang GT convertible. This is my second, as I bought my first in 1991. She was my first car and she was my pride and joy. I had her until 2005 when I reluctantly sold her. I missed her. This past August by happenchance I came across a Mustang that looked identical to my original vehicle with the exception of the mods the former owner had made. I do have some experience and a bit of knowledge about the vehicle in general, but this one has some “quirks” that my previous vehicle didn’t have. I will make a proper introduction when she is put back together and I can take a photo. She is currently pulled apart in the garage receiving some TLC.



Issue One

I had this same issue with my first 88 Mustang which makes me wonder if it is a manufacturing problem. I decided to sell my first car when it really became an issue so I never pulled it apart to find the problem. The back of the car fills up with water when it rains. There is so much water that I can hear a sloshing sound coming from the back of the car while I’m driving. I had a fairly significant puddle on the floor behind the driver’s seat. I also had some standing water in my trunk. We pulled it apart looking for the drains. We removed the back seats and the black shroud that covers the convertible mechanics. We then nosed around the trunk and found the drains and the rain channel. We discovered the rain channel had come loose and was hanging almost completely down while the gutters were bone dry. The drains were not plugged. I finally got the black adhesive removed from the body and the channel (if you’ve every touched this black goop you know it is NO fun). It needs to be put back together now. Has anybody else had this problem? My concern is that we can bond the rain channel back up, but I wonder if over time it is going to fall down like this one has. I am guessing my first car had the same issue.


Issue Two

I should begin by saying while I know every car is different, I am comparing my current Mustang to my previous one. It was factory stock except for the wheels. It always started up quickly without hesitation when I turned the key. This car does typically start on the first turn, but I noticed immediately that while I wouldn’t call it a true hesitation it has never fired up as quickly as my first car. Fine. But, I have more of an issue now which I believe is likely related. It has become slower to fire up when the key is turned. While it does start and run great, after I park it and leave it overnight, when I start it in the morning my radio presets are gone. It starts fine the rest of the day and the presets will hold throughout that day. But sure enough, first start in the morning is fairly sluggish and the presets are gone again. I have also noted that when I have my heat and blower on when I have shifted gears on back roads it has hesitated or felt like it missed a bit. I turned the heat and blower off and it stopped. I also experienced this same feeling when I was driving 60 on the freeway and I put my front side windows up. They are a bit sluggish and worn out. All of these things may or may not be related. We have tested the battery and the alternator. We have also replaced the solenoid and the ignition control module. The problem persists. Thoughts? Has anybody experienced this? I found online how to test for codes with a paperclip. It threw no codes.

 

[broncojunkie]

First, welcome to the forum! I've had a bunch of these cars over the years, but only 1 vert...and that was many years ago. I have read similar stories about leaks in the rain chanel, though. Is it rusted at all or did the adhesive/sealant just fail? If it's rusted, that definitely needs addressed first. But in my opinion, there are tons of specialty glues and adhesives available now that we didn't have 30 yrs ago. You could just pick one off the shelf and try it or you might even be enticed to go with something more heavy duty, like 3m panel bond (or similar). I would suggest a seam sealer and just checking it periodically. It's less permanent and can be removed easily if you need to go another route.

As for your battery issue, there are quite a few issues that could cause what you're describing. Have you tried checking or replacing your battery ground cable? Terminals? Those are the types of problems that can easily be overlooked, since they may look great on the outside but deteriorating inside the insulation. I chased down a charging issue on my 88 that had me stumped for a while. The battery and alternator tested ok. All cables and solenoid were new, but it was still draining over night. As it turns out, the alternator WAS bad. I believe it was a bad diode. A bench test only checked whether or not it was putting enough out when running; not if there was an internal short. In some cases, you may be able to feel it after sitting all night. If the alternator is warm, that's a sure sign. If you are still running an oem alternator, they barely produce enough to keep the car running with a few accessories on. So if you decide to replace it, I highly suggest a 3G swap.

 

[John2002]

I pulled out my interior few year back and the well and the lower rear floor are one piece. If water is running into the convertible top well its not draining out and flowing back into the car...They weren't the best designed tops and it just gets worse when things clog that drain hose in the well... As for your power problem. you have to get a bigger amp'd alternator ...I noticed after I bought mine I couldn't have the turn signals and the head lights on without the volts dropping to 8. So after new coil pack and new plugs, plug wires and idle air motor it ran better but it still nosed dived in the amp department. The new alternator did the trick. 90 amp and I didn't have to change the wire harness....Check for under drive pulleys too..they will slow do the rpm's causing poor charging....I was losing my time and stations too, when the battery discharges to below 8 amps you lose any saved items in your computer chip in the radios memory. The battery my have a cell going too...all these can make it hard to find the right problem...Anything that carries electricity can corrode from the inside out, hard to see it but a corroding battery cables can stop the flow of current even when the looks ok... Green covered battery terminal are a good sign of a leaking battery and a corrosion build up continues it way on any copper wire...its like a never ending journey of "WHATS NEXT"...LOL 30 years old is ok if your a bottle of whiskey or a mortgage but a 30 year old car with most of it born on date things still on it is a problem not going away to soon..... Good Luck and welcome to the site....

 

[Tiffany]

Thank you for the warm welcome! Luckily, the prior owner replaced many of my "born on date" items. I really did get a great deal on this beauty. She was CA raised so there isn't a bit of rust anywhere on the car. I do have sun faded carpets to contend with, but that is aesthetic and will be dealt with at a later date. He didn't include the mats so with the sun fade it is obvious where the mats used to be. I just received my quarter window resto kit and hopefully we'll start on that project this weekend. I bought it with a quarter window that you had to manually pull to get it up all the way. The motor began failing, so it's time to dive in and make both sides new again.

There is no rust in the trunk or the channel or gutters. The channel was sagging a U shape. I removed it and finally got the "Black Death" as they call it online removed. After researching I'm pretty sure they used 3M 08008 black super weatherstrip adhesive. It sounds like it's about as much fun to apply as it was to remove. I have most of it removed from the metal as well. That crap was everywhere! By the way, after much trial and failure I found that Goo Gone works like a dream removing the adhesive. I am going to attempt to include a few pics of the gutters and drains for reference. I couldn't find anything online when researching the leaking and the sloshing other than other people asking where the drains are located. Maybe it can help somebody.

As for the mechanical issue, I know.....it could be so many things down to a bad ground. This one may take a while to figure out. Thank you for the suggestions. All things to consider.

Also, I am including a picture of my back seat. It has a water ring/mark on it. Any suggestions as to what to use/how to get rid of it. I did clean the seats with a trusted upholstery cleaner. I lightly wet the area, lightly brushed it then wiped it down. The water mark persists.

 

[Tiffany]

So, it's saying that my photo file is too large? They were snapped on my iPhone?

 

[John2002]

I don't know Iphones but I did make the pics as small as I could to up loud them from my digital camera to the computer..I set the pics on the lowest setting on my camera and everything went fine....I know it sounds bad but you have rust stains in the seats...thats the issue with the stains..Try CLR on it. I have a vacuum that sprays water and vacuums it up at the same time. I suggest you use a old windex bottle and fill it with a little CLR and spray it on the stain.....then with another bottle of water spray the area and vacuum it up with a wet/vac....Try it on a small area with a damp clothe first, dab it a few times to se if it lightens the stain...rinse a few times with the water and wet/vac . My seat had a water stain to but I took them out and really attacked them in the house....

 

[Tiffany]

Thank you for the reply. I don't believe the stain on the seat is rust. It is on the top center of the seat and it is more of a ring than a stain. The color of the upholstery is uniform except for where there is a darker grey ring where it looks like the liquid/water spread. There is no rust anywhere in or out of the vehicle. It was always garaged. I have had several people check it out. Honestly, I didn't even notice it until I removed the seats. Thanks for the info and I will try to figure out how to post pics.

 

[Tiffany]

John 2002,

I noticed your pic after I replied. The stain does look similar to yours. How could that be rust? Where would the rust come from in the inside of the seat beneath the upholstery? There was no rust in or on any of the metal/frame when we removed the seats, dust cover, etc.

 

[John2002]

It could be hard water in the rain? What area was the car in? I think mine was from the dealer ship and a power washer soap when I took it for a jets drive they had just brought it in so they could shovel the lot after a snow fall so the cleaned it up to show it to me...rusty nail and a leaking garage roof may have played a roll in it, try taking the pic with a digital camera on a lower pixel setting...I still have a flip phone so I can't offer any advice on the picture taking...