water getting in cabin headliner?

[rbridges]

My plane is hangared, so it's not a recurring problem. Mainly when I wash it, I see a little water get on the headliner in the rear of the cabin (past the rear window in the luggage compartment, both sides) I'm not sure where it's coming from, I thought roof vent, top door latch hole, windows? Anyway, is this a problem? Since I'm close to getting my IR, I may get into some IMC.

There are a lot of posts about water leaks, so I think most planes let in "some" water. What's everyone else's experience? Are your planes 100% water tight or does some moisture get in?

[Newmooneyguy]

Definitely not 100%. I do happen to have a cover for mine which keeps water out, and I use it if I think there will be rain while it sits outside. I don't know if any non-pressurized cabin that doesn't leak at little bit.

[carusoam]

There is supposed to be a tube from the vent to drain out the bottom. The PVC usually gets old in about thirty years...

Something to consider anyways...

-a-

[rbridges]

There is supposed to be a tube from the vent to drain out the bottom. The PVC usually gets old in about thirty years...

Something to consider anyways...

-a-

I found a diagram from an old thread. Is the tube easy to inspect?

[Sven]

We have an early 1963 D model. We recently replaced our headliner and found all kinds of surprises. One of them was a vent box. This may be the source of your leak since it's the largest hole on the roof. Unless you tape this box off when you wash your plane, water is getting in here. And if the box has holes from years of corrosion then this is the source. The low end of the box has a drain tube that follows the roof and drops down the side. It eventually ends up coming out of the bottom of your plane and is probably the only tube on the belly not near the engine. Sorry I don't have a photo of that. I'm going to try to attach photos but it seems no matter what I do and no matter carefully I follow directions I can't post photos.

During our "restoration" we did replace the badly-aged connecting tube that goes from the box to the aluminum tubing. It is just a short clear tube held in place with the old metal ties. I used a much more durable and flexible hose ad reattached it with hose clamps. Just for kicks I also took a stiff wire with a small chunk of fabric on it to ream out the tube which wasn't clogged with anything, thankfully.

[Sven]

We have an early 1963 D model. We recently replaced our headliner and found all kinds of surprises. One of them was a vent box. This may be the source of your leak since it's the largest hole on the roof. Unless you tape this box off when you wash your plane, water is getting in here. And if the box has holes from years of corrosion then this is the source. The low end of the box has a drain tube that follows the roof and drops down the side. It eventually ends up coming out of the bottom of your plane and is probably the only tube on the belly not near the engine. Sorry I don't have a photo of that. I'm going to try to attach photos but it seems no matter what I do and no matter carefully I follow directions I can't post photos.

During our "restoration" we did replace the badly-aged connecting tube that goes from the box to the aluminum tubing. It is just a short clear tube held in place with the old metal ties. I used a much more durable and flexible hose ad reattached it with hose clamps. Just for kicks I also took a stiff wire with a small chunk of fabric on it to ream out the tube which wasn't clogged with anything, thankfully.

[rbridges]

thanks for the pic. I'm thinking that's the source of the problem, too. Can you get to that area by simply dropping the vent housing, or do you also have to remove the headliner? I'm going to take a look at it tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a simple fix.

[Sven]

Unfortunately ours was riveted in place so there's no easy removal. I'd try to get a good look from the top somehow and if you cant see where the problem is cover the box with tape when you wash the plane.