What is the most common hatch leak? It gets wet inside the rear hatch lower plastic cover where the wiper motor and antenna stuff is.
87 has water leak into trunk floor
- Thread starter rustfarmer
- Start date
Could be wing, hatch seal, tail light seals, quarter window, hatch window. Best bet is to get in side the hatch and have someone spray water on different areas and find the leak.
Throwing parts can be a frustrating waste of time and money.
Throwing parts can be a frustrating waste of time and money.
Also tighten up all trim pieces. Buy new tail light seals and clean all dirt that builds up around them.
That sounds like the evil window trim problem. The lower window trim is held on by several bolts, and these have foam seals from the factory. By now, those foam seals are likely dust, and it's leaking in around those bolts.
It's relatively simple to pull the lower trim, clean the area, and seal those holes again.
It's relatively simple to pull the lower trim, clean the area, and seal those holes again.
I just experienced this terrible leak problem myself last night. Working towards a solution and will report back.
Crazy downpour of water last night. I climb into my rear hatch via and front and watch real time the water dripping down from not only the hatch, but also running down the right side tail light housing.
I got some video and will see if I can upload.
Crazy downpour of water last night. I climb into my rear hatch via and front and watch real time the water dripping down from not only the hatch, but also running down the right side tail light housing.
I got some video and will see if I can upload.
We've all been there with these hatch area leaks. That's why I leave that rubber plug below the spare tire slightly ajar so that any water can drain out. Here are some observations. You can lift up the rear hatch gasket to see if you have any rotted out pinch welds (mainly at the bottom) allowing water in. The gasket is not glued on. I repaired mine using some JB weld and Saran wrap to form a bridge that the gasket could sit on. A source of water tends to be those 3 bottom plastic supports for the hatch window that pierces through the metal. The gaskets dry out and tend to leak. What you can do is use a product like Capt. Tolleys creeping crack cure, or EZR hairline crack sealer (which is cheaper). They are both latex based white liquids that dry to a gummy consistency after seeping into the leak crack. Here's a link to another forum where this repair is detailed. Click here to go there. I would also put the taillight bulb failure module in a plastic bag so that water can't get into it easily. It's located to the left of center near the taillights. What I do now is place paper towels in strategic areas to catch any errant drops of water. I also cut up a microfiber towel and keep that below the taillights pushed under the plastic trim so I can remove it after a heavy rain. You may need to replace your taillight gaskets, if these repairs don't reduce the leakage. If you do that, be careful not to over tighten the retaining nuts, and to tighten them gradually and equally. Using something like Permatex ultra-black silicone on the gasket for added insurance is a good idea.
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