Trunk leak - not the weatherstrip?

[wfooshee]

So my '98 has the typical water-in-the-spare-tire-well syndrome, and I finally got around to removing all the trim in the trunk so I can try to track it down. (I gotta do the fuel sender, too, so the trim stays out until that happens!)

The well had about 2 inches of water in it after I pulled the trim, and the trim was pouring water out as I lifted it. I punched a little hole to let it drain, so now I have a small bit of metal repair to do, lest that small hole becomes the source of major rot.




I looked all around the rubber seal and I see no evidence of water getting by it. No discoloration in the paint, no grunge streaks, nothing. But as I looked around inside, my eyes wandered to the plates where the struts bolt to the sheet metal of the taillight wells. I'm pretty sure I found where the water is coming in...... Not sure where it's getting to that point from, yet, but one step at a time.

Left side:



Right side, not as bad but starting to get that way:



This picture shows the extent of my troubleshooting so far. It started raining again, so I closed it up and went inside. It was suppertime anyway.



So when I get this one figured out, I'll have to move into the interior and find where the water is getting into the driver's floor and under the driver's seat from........ *sigh*

[Randy T.]

Someone has done some work on your lower strut mounts, they are supposed to be spot welded, yours have screws, they also look like a different style bracket. My passenger side lower trunk strut mount has also rusted off, I have had a trunk leak for a while myself, need to get inside while someone sprays it with a hose.

[wfooshee]

Previous owner (father-in-law, now passed away) was a serious "that's-good-enough" do-it-yourselfer. The screws not being in the same pattern on both sides was a big clue that these were a home remedy. I guess he had a rust issue before and "repaired" it, but never found the source of the water intrusion.

[wfooshee]

Finally stopped raining long enough to go out and check this out. I removed the black plastic panel that you see next to the taillights when you raise the trunk lid.



Under there I found the nuts on the bolts that my father-in-law used for his "repair." I couldn't remove them, rusted solid, so I cleaned them up as best I could with a wire brush, and slathered them up with silicone sealant. Time will tell.

[RCA1186]

I was going to say the same thing Randy said. Yep definitely would be getting in through that tail light area. I had to make the exact same repair as your father-in-law when my passenger side bracket cracked off as I don't have access to a welder. I made sure to paint to keep it from rusting though. I hadn't thought about it being a water issue ...I'll have to investigate mine further.

[skizo]

Clean it up good and press in a ball of windshield butyl rope around each bad area, then feather that in all around with your finger. Stuff is dynamite for that sort of thing.

[sall]

^Yep.

[Toronado3800]

I think I posted this before. My car came to me with a similar trunk shock problem and repair but my repair was done less well and "ripped" the metal. I used a bit of jb weld in there. No leaks since.

We should track down who is responsible for that shock mount set up and either make sure they are no longer employed or get their retirement docked.

[Hurricane87]

Still preferable to the big-ass hinges on the 2G.

[wfooshee]

Big storm last night, and......

water in the trunk.

I had checked my "repair" by running a hose into the channel behind the rear window and had no leakage, thought I was good. I found today that pulling the trunk lid down flexes that plate enough that water then seeps in.

I don't want to cover the inside with silicone because that would just trap water behind the plate, so I'll probably have to drill these bolts out and replace them, using some washers on the back side and sealing them. Father-in-law's repair has no washers, and obviously the nuts are not making a seal.

[sall]

Even rubber washers likely won't keep out the water. Use the butyl or a small piece of 'peel n seal'. I would recommend pulling the trunk seal anyways and laying a nice bead of 3M weather stripping adhesive just to do it.

[wfooshee]

Yeah, I meant something under metal washers; wasn't talking about rubber washer, but something to make a gasket under metal washers. I might just see if I have a couple o pieces of thin plate to put under the hardware on both sides, to brace against that flex in the sheet metal, then seall all under and around the weather-side plate.

[wfooshee]

Yeah, I meant something under metal washers; wasn't talking about rubber washer, but something to make a gasket under metal washers. I might just see if I have a couple o pieces of thin plate to put under the hardware on both sides, to brace against that flex in the sheet metal, then seall all under and around the weather-side plate.

[wfooshee]

Seems dry!!!!!

I had to drill out the screws on the left side, everything was rusted pretty solid. the trunk lid stays up with only one strut attached, unless the wind comes up. Ouch....

I bought some stainless bolts and nuts and basically just screwed it back together like it was, with the difference of slathering everything with silicon goop as it was being assembled, so there is sealant underneath the plates, under all the hardware, in the holes through the bodywork, and then I coated the outside parts again after tightening down. We had a heavy rain last week, no water in the trunk!!!