Take off the wiper cowl?

[themadness]

would the 2 sided tape that they used to hold the side trim on the doors also work to hold the cowl down. it might not do much for any leaking but could theoretically glue the cowl down evenly.....

[indyyellow]

you are trying to seal the plastic cowl cover to the window??? Good luck with that.

[3X00-Modified]

the cowl end corners do drain on into the area of the wiring harness going into the firewall.

Correct, but if your wiring harness is sealed then it will not cause a leak... its not that seem, its more the harness that would be the problem then.

Bottom line is you want to simply direct the water to the drain holes in the cowl,(one right below the blower motor and other right above the brake booster) but doing that alone will not fix all the leaks since as I noted it mostly comes from the fresh air vent... I found that out after I went and fixed EVERY seam I could find. I still had a significant drip and found that the seal on that vent was crap. Fixed that and no more water in my car.

[3X00-Modified]

would the 2 sided tape that they used to hold the side trim on the doors also work to hold the cowl down. it might not do much for any leaking but could theoretically glue the cowl down evenly.....

You don't want that plastic secured to the window and or the metal... you need to fix the other components that are letting water in... The cowl cover is slotted everywhere and will let water in that way so doing what your trying to do, or sounds like your doing, is pointless.

[themadness]

i was thinking in terms that bonding the cowl to the glass would work to fix any warps as well as provide a little extra seal for possible leaks.

[3X00-Modified]

i was thinking in terms that bonding the cowl to the glass would work to fix any warps as well as provide a little extra seal for possible leaks.

It would fix the warps yes but it would not prevent the leaks you have since water will continue to get behind it, as it's really designed to do... You need to fix the draining issues of it to stop that.

[themadness]

wouldnt properly affixing it to the glass in the same way it was done at the factory correct draining issues?

[indyyellow]

the cowl end corners do drain on into the area of the wiring harness going into the firewall.

Correct, but if your wiring harness is sealed then it will not cause a leak... its not that seem, its more the harness that would be the problem then.

Bottom line is you want to simply direct the water to the drain holes in the cowl,(one right below the blower motor and other right above the brake booster) but doing that alone will not fix all the leaks since as I noted it mostly comes from the fresh air vent... I found that out after I went and fixed EVERY seam I could find. I still had a significant drip and found that the seal on that vent was crap. Fixed that and no more water in my car.

I find a seam on the drivers side kick panel area, WAY THE F up in there. I had to peel back all the sound deadning stuff there, there is a seam there that was pinched open a hair and was letting in water like a SOB on a heavy down pour. Before I pulled back the sound stuff there I thought it was from the harness, the damn water was taking all diff paths to drip in front of my eyes based on what I had pulled back or not. It was not comfy laying in there head first under the dash and feeling around, then putting down a sealant. But it did not beat me. I won that battle after sever hours over a a few days.

Another I found was behind the tail lights, another seam was pinched just a hair, and the water would travel down the truck cutters, behind the tail light right into the trunk. Got to say these cars where put together rather poorly in some respects.

[3X00-Modified]

no, its not affixed to the glass to prevent any leaking... there is a foam backing on it where it touches the glass to prevent rattles, thats about it... its not affixed.

I gave my input.. Best of luck.

[DTMAce]

Jon, just to clarify his point.

Mine was adhered to the glass above the fresh air vent. It had the black tar sealant put on from the factory. This may not apply to all years, as earlier ones if I recall correctly had a metal panel under the cowl instead that was adhered to the vent area. I actually picked up one of those, but haven't installed it yet.

I re-applied the sealant to mine when it went back together in 09' I just think that is what he is referring to.

As for a reply to that question, it may not fix your problem. As Jon said, the seal on the vent itself may have failed, or you still have a leak in the lower parts of the cowl, or even down in the firewall itself, which is quite common.

[themadness]

no, its not affixed to the glass to prevent any leaking... there is a foam backing on it where it touches the glass to prevent rattles, thats about it... its not affixed.

I gave my input.. Best of luck.

ahhhh......i was thinking the black strip on the glass was an adhesive/sealer.

[DTMAce]

In fact, look at this picture, from when I pulled my cowl in 09



You can see remnants of the sealant still on the glass above the vent. Regardless, it is only meant to keep the panel secure, not let it rattle. It is not a stop gap for keeping water out, but it is supposed to minimize it I think.

The metal panel I picked up is supposed to go under this, but my car never had one. I think they cheapened it up, did away with it, and did this seal trick to get around it. At least I think so.

[Chad91GTZ]

To be honest, I think that's over schmear from when they installed your windshield. Why would they seal the cowl to the windshield when the cowl is full of holes.

[scd88ga]

3X00-Modified is incorrect, DTMAce is correct, his car has it, my car has it, snowblindburd's car has it, and so on. It IS sealant put on by the factory and it's for the exact reason already mentioned due to the change in the fresh air box cover...

I gave my correct input, you're welcome.

[DTMAce]

Its pretty obvious its sealant but not always why you have a leak.

And don't be bashing on each other now. lol

Not all beretta's are always the same and no one can know every little detail. I know for a fact that in the grand scheme of these cars I still know very little.

Good luck with getting your leaks fixed though.

Oh and Chad, that section over the air vent has no holes, if you look at one closely. At least with the years they have appeared to do that with.