Yet another A-pillar leak, not TSB. What's the TSB even fixing?

[Bronc OH]

So I finally left my 2022 2dr (w/ trektop) out in a hard rain today for the first time. And of course I come out to at least a half gallon of water in my passenger floor tray and pan and a little on my driver's side, but not near as much.

I've thoroughly read through the TSB & associated threads, but I don't believe seepage behind the seal is my issue (and I presume like many others who are still having the issue post-TSB fix) I put a hose on the roof and was able to recrate it pretty quickly (water coming down the passenger side A-pillar) I then took the top back and starting testing the seal.

Pouring water in the first trough, hole drains just fine. But when it spills over into the secondary trough, it kinda spills down the side of the window (as it's designed), but it also looks like 50% is getting trapped by the lower weather stripping and finding it's way inside. I'm pretty sure @Arealhuman already
figured this out in his diagram here:

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/a-pillar-leak-summary-solutions.25673/


I know I should take it to the dealer, but I'm sure they will first blame the aftermarket trektop. I'm probably going to wait until I put the hardtop on here in oct and take it in then. But then, they're simply going to follow the TSB and likely slather on a whole mess of caulk like @dvdmnhn got here:

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/mic-2-0-leaking-into-a-pillar-trim.43761/

My question..is how the secondary trough is supposed to function? I know the foam 'block' is supposed to trap enough water, but when it rains hard, you're driving/cornering, etc.. it's going to dump water into the secondary trough. It has a weep hole in it, but that hole is right about the lower window weather stripping.. and it runs right down into your A pillar? I can replicate it on both sides of my bronco now simply by pouring water into the secondary trough.. half of it goes down your window and the other half goes down your A-pillar.

Perhaps a few folks might be affected by the A-pillar leak TSB, but i'm not sure i'm buying that it's the real problem. I think the seal is a crappy design with the foam block, then the secondary trough, which routes it right down your A-pillar.

What's everyone doing here? Taking it in for the TSB, only to find out that your leak is still there? Has anyone tried doubling up on the foam block to avoid water going into the secondary trough? I'm not even sure why the secondary trough (complete with poor placement of weephole) is even there. All it does is drive water into the A-pillar. If this was an out of warranty vehicle, I'd probably find a way to fill it in.

I suppose I could also try to find a way to tighten down the Trektop.. unsure how yet. But i'm still pretty irked by the design of the OEM seal. I have an aftermarket $600 Rampage soft top on my '74 that seals better than this.

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[dvdmnhn]

So I finally left my 2022 2dr (w/ trektop) out in a hard rain today for the first time. And of course I come out to at least a half gallon of water in my passenger floor tray and pan and a little on my driver's side, but not near as much.

I've thoroughly read through the TSB & associated threads, but I don't believe seepage behind the seal is my issue (and I presume like many others who are still having the issue post-TSB fix) I put a hose on the roof and was able to recrate it pretty quickly (water coming down the passenger side A-pillar) I then took the top back and starting testing the seal.

Pouring water in the first trough, hole drains just fine. But when it spills over into the secondary trough, it kinda spills down the side of the window (as it's designed), but it also looks like 50% is getting trapped by the lower weather stripping and finding it's way inside. I'm pretty sure @Arealhuman already
figured this out in his diagram here:

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/a-pillar-leak-summary-solutions.25673/


I know I should take it to the dealer, but I'm sure they will first blame the aftermarket trektop. I'm probably going to wait until I put the hardtop on here in oct and take it in then. But then, they're simply going to follow the TSB and likely slather on a whole mess of caulk like @dvdmnhn got here:

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/mic-2-0-leaking-into-a-pillar-trim.43761/

My question..is how the secondary trough is supposed to function? I know the foam 'block' is supposed to trap enough water, but when it rains hard, you're driving/cornering, etc.. it's going to dump water into the secondary trough. It has a weep hole in it, but that hole is right about the lower window weather stripping.. and it runs right down into your A pillar? I can replicate it on both sides of my bronco now simply by pouring water into the secondary trough.. half of it goes down your window and the other half goes down your A-pillar.

Perhaps a few folks might be affected by the A-pillar leak TSB, but i'm not sure i'm buying that it's the real problem. I think the seal is a crappy design with the foam block, then the secondary trough, which routes it right down your A-pillar.

What's everyone doing here? Taking it in for the TSB, only to find out that your leak is still there? Has anyone tried doubling up on the foam block to avoid water going into the secondary trough? I'm not even sure why the secondary trough (complete with poor placement of weephole) is even there. All it does is drive water into the A-pillar. If this was an out of warranty vehicle, I'd probably find a way to fill it in.

I suppose I could also try to find a way to tighten down the Trektop.. unsure how yet. But i'm still pretty irked by the design of the OEM seal. I have an aftermarket $600 Rampage soft top on my '74 that seals better than this.

sorry to hear, I am still dealing with this situation, my Bronco has been at the dealership since last month on top of the 3 other times it was there for "repairs/fixes/smeared Silicon TSB BS" on the leaking roof, clocking over 60 days combined of my vehicle being stuck at the dealership.
@Ford Motor Company smdh!

 

[Bronc OH]

sorry to hear, I am still dealing with this situation, my Bronco has been at the dealership since last month on top of the 3 other times it was there for "repairs/fixes/smeared Silicon TSB BS" on the leaking roof, clocking over 60 days combined of my vehicle being stuck at the dealership.
@Ford Motor Company smdh!

For kicks, I called Besttop to see if they had any suggestions on how to better seal off the softtop to windshield seal. I sent over a bunch of pictures and they're warranty replacing the top. I'm going to wait until next spring to see if this one seals any better. But i'm definitely going to test and probably do the TSB dance once the hard top goes back in a few mos.

 

[Bronc OH]

I'm pretty sure we came to the same solution! I did the same.. cut up some water pipe rubber insulation to beef up the area that's not supported as well where it attaches to the window frame. It's gotten better, but still not perfect with the best top. I'm going to swap back to my hard top shortly and will report back.

 

[CapeCodCash]

I'm pretty sure we came to the same solution! I did the same.. cut up some water pipe rubber insulation to beef up the area that's not supported as well where it attaches to the window frame. It's gotten better, but still not perfect with the best top. I'm going to swap back to my hard top shortly and will report back.

So I just had the Trektop installed on my 2023 2Dr Badlands. And it leaks right off from the passenger top corner. I was going to weatherstrip the hell out of it. But I was wondering if your fix worked out for you???

 

[Bronc OH]

So I just had the Trektop installed on my 2023 2Dr Badlands. And it leaks right off from the passenger top corner. I was going to weatherstrip the hell out of it. But I was wondering if your fix worked out for you???

I took my trektop off for the winter and reinstalled it this spring. It doesn't seem to be leaking now and the passenger side latches a little tighter. If I had to guess, I positioned it a little ahead (or back), which allowed it to align better now and latch down tighter?

 

[Abundigas]

I was having the same problem with my Bestop Sunrider installed, so I took it off and put the hard panels back on to see if it leaked and it did not, so then I put the Sunrider back on after about 3 weeks and now after 3 of the worst rains the Bronco has ever seen its still not leaking. Not sure if it was just a matter of slightly repositioning the Sunrider or not. I also noticed the latchs seem to be a bit tighter as well as the fabric itself has less slack in it, finger crossed.

 

[CapeCodCash]

I took my trektop off for the winter and reinstalled it this spring. It doesn't seem to be leaking now and the passenger side latches a little tighter. If I had to guess, I positioned it a little ahead (or back), which allowed it to align better now and latch down tighter?

I did notice that the passenger side is a lot harder to latch down than the drivers side. I just chalked it up to being new until the material had a chance to relax. But the water was there the day I picked it up from the dealership! I'm not 100% its all pillar related, since the water appears from the very very top corner, and drips all the way to the floor. When I close it today, I'll jiggle around with the latches and see if I can find another position for it to settle. I'm heading to the dealership now to make an appointment for them to work on it. Thanks for the response. And good luck with your top.

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