tooter1

I took off the cowl piece under the wiper arms and saw the rubber piece that covers a big whole,
leaning in toward the passenger compartment, looked just like a funnel that was directing water that way.

Must have knocked it loose when putting in the new windshield.

That tar looking crap the factory put on it was dirty, so it couldn't be used again.

Pulled all that stuff off, cleaned it up, put a nice bead of black silicone on the rubber let it set a few minutes, put it back on the car pressed it down a little and dried over night in the garage.

Water leak fixed. ... Thought about taking pix after I was done..doah. This could have helped someone fix their problem. Maybe it still will.

Also, from it being wet, it blew my blower resistor.

Had to buy another one today:

cost = $44 from stealership

no more wet floor & blower works on all speeds = priceless

prod

Sounds like something a few people would like to know about. Could you give a brief how-to about how to get to that part?

dr_fosg8

+1 on the how-to.

Also a pic of the area where the leak is would be very helpful if it isn't too big a pain to get one.

Congratulations on fixing the leak!

tooter1

1. Remove the left and right wiper arms. Pop off the cover and use a 15mm socket to loosen the nut.
With the hood still up, lift the drivers side and it should remove pretty easily, the passenger side will be a little more difficult, I had to remove the blade assembly, but I got it off.



2. Remove the four 7 mm screws (be patient they are about 2.5 in. long) and the two push-in retainers from each side of the grille panel.





3. Remove the five wire harness retainers from the grille panel.

4. Lift the panel up and place it on the engine or off to the side after you unplug the washer fluid hose.

5. Then you will see the patch that was causing my problem.



6. I removed the butyl patch and cleaned the area with sticker remover. On the car and on the butyl patch.

7. Ran a bead of black rtv silicone sealant around the patch, let it sit about 3 minutes then reinstalled on the car and pressed down around the edges to make a better seal.

8. Installation is the reverse of removal, just don't forget to tuck the weatherstrip into the side weatherstrip that runs down the fenders.

tooter1

Thanks, I added a write-up and hope it helps everyone out.

dr_fosg8

Those are excellent shots of the fix.

Nice work!

tooter1

Thanks, always glad to help out, when I can.

SIRESMERPH

thanks tooter for the quick.....dare i say...toot-er....
ok sorry, bad joke

gulfcoastal

Excellent work Tooter ... I used this repair technique to fix my leak as well as a friend's HHR. My car was virtually flooded on the passenger side after driving six hours through a Tropical Storm.

I noticed that on both 2006 HHRs the butyl patch was not sealed immediately above the fresh air intake. Both vehicles still had the factory windshield; I have 90K miles the other vehicle has 40K miles; neither of us noticed the problem until after the TS.

An additional note diagnostic note (AC should be in fresh air mode) ... after a hard rain inspect the cabin air filter ... if you notice that it is wet ... this is a pretty good indication that this repair will fix this problem ... my filter was so wet it actually stopped air movement ... the other vehicle's filter had evidence of water spots.

Thanks again for the detailed repair technique.

tooter1

You are welcome, glad I could help.