Hello,

As title says, I got myself a 2008 convertible Sebring with the hard top. I got it yesterday and identified 2 problems that I am hoping someone can help me with.


When the top is closed, it makes some kind of clunking sounds when I turn or when I drove over road bumps. When I push it, pull it or try to shake it I don't hear anything so I can't figure out where exactly that noise comes from and see if I can fix it somehow.

I found the 2nd problem this morning after we had heavy rain last night. There was about a tablespoon of water on the rear passenger arm rest. Nothing else in the car was wet, it did not run down the floor (carper dry) nor did it get on the seat. It was only a little water on the speaker cover and on top of the armrest. Would that be a leaking top or just a bad window seal ?

 

Searching this forum and intenet I see lots of info about gutters that catch water and run it down the rocker panel through some tubes.

Could this be issue, is there a system like that on or near the rear windows ?

 

Welcome to the forum.

Nobody here can tell you where your clunking is coming from. Try recruiting a buddy to either listen while you drive or drive while you listen and see if you can narrow it down that way. Move around inside the car to see if you can triangulate it that way. It may not be from the top at all. There are lots of things in a car that can go "clunk".

"Would that be a leaking top or just a bad window seal ?" The answer to your question is probably "yes". Water always runs down but can also run sideways a surprising distance, especially if the car is not parked on perfectly level ground. Again, get a buddy to spray the car with a hose while you sit inside and look for water coming in. Or invest in a leak detection kit to help the process. There are products you can buy to help you track down a leak.

 

* Chrysler Sebring/200 Convertible Club * ? Login
Forum dedicated to Drop Tops may be of help.......

 

I registered on that forum but my account has not been approved yet. Thx for the pointer though.

 

It is raining tonight so I could take a look and I found where the water comes in. On top of the rear side window, near the end of it, there is 2 rubbers that overlap each other. The water drips from the end of the rubber that is on top.

That is right under the joint between the mid and rear portion of the top. I will try to clean the drain holes tomorrow, hopefully that will take care of it.

 

So the drain holes under the rocker panels are clean, I ran a screwdriver in them, they were not plugged and no water came out.

Are there any other ones beside those under the rocker panels ?

 

Your problem is not at the rocker panels. If it were, the leak would not be coming in at the top. Look closely at the point where the leak exists. Then compare it to the same point on the other side of the car. See how the weatherstrips meet to create a seal. Try to determine why the seal works on one side but not the other. Go from there.

 

It was heavy rain that we had 2 days ago so at first I thought maybe the drain tube was overflowing because the drain hole was plugged.

But I found where it leaks. I sprayed water in the area until it started dripping inside, opened the top halfway and looked and touched around to find what was wet. The water gets under the seal on the front side, finds it's way underneat and then drips in. So now I just have to figure out a way to fix it.

Is this seal supposed to be glued on the top ? Except for a few inches which are glued at each end, I can run my finger between the seal and the top on it's entire length. I think it's normal to allow it to expand and contract with changes in temperature.

Maybe some kind of rubber treatment/lubricant/medicine will help.

 

How does the leaking side differ from the non-leaking side? If the seal gets folded wrong or overlaps improperly, that could do it. There could be a gap where there shouldn't be.