Water leaks - common areas and how to stop them

08 - Frame & Body
Many early DeLoreans were built without adequate sealing against water ingress. Once the cars got into the hands of buyers and were used in a multitude of different weather conditions, the factory created a Service Bulletin, based on the assembly line improvements made during production.

Now, after 40+ years, we are seeing the deterioration of some of these earlier fixes simply due to age and find that these occasionally need to be re-done - even on the later cars that had these implemented on the assembly line.

The most common areas we see for water leaks in the DeLorean include:
  • Hood bump stops - owners replace/adjust them without removing the old sealant and replacing with new sealant
  • Cowl screen screws - owners replace/adjust them without removing the old sealant and replacing with new sealant
  • Door sills - debris blocking drains in bottom of doors or improper replacement of the sill seals - typically new rubber installed but failing to trim seals with openings aligned for drain holes 
  • Improper windshield replacement  - either incorrect installation or incorrect materials used
  • Roof leaks - wet headliners from improper headliner or roofbox replacement
  • Moisture or water drips in the passenger footwell are most commonly due to clogged AC drain or an early car without foam padding on the HVAC box under the dash allowing excessive condensation to form and drip.
Article ID: 133, , Modified: 9/24/2025 at 10:06 AM

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