Another elusive ongoing issue I'm still chasing... Noticed that there was a worryingly deep pool of water inside this box section:
So I pulled out all the trim:
and it is quite damp up here, in the corner by the edge of the headlining:
I'm going to replace the boot seal, just in case, but is there anything else it's likely to be? Sunroof drain seems to be working ok. Also, any idea what that black stuff is? Looks like kurust but doubt it, I know a fair bit of the history of this car.
"Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now."
My car leaks a little in the boot area when I wash the car or on the rare occasion that it gets rained on.
The tailgate seal seems okay, seems a little distorted at the top in one place, but looks like it seals okay when the tailgate's shut.
I was thinking it might be the rear window seal on mine leaking, but I can't see anything obvious that would cause it to leak.
I will be interested to know if you find out where yours is leaking?
I've had a leak in that area for well over a year now and I got fed up of trying to figure out where its coming in from. I've since drilled a drainage hole and stopped worrying about it until I decide its time to fully restore the car. My guesses for the culprit so far have been: the passenger side brake light cluster, the quarter window or the sunroof drain tubes are letting water get somewhere it isn't meant to.
In case this is any help, I do remember long, long ago (25 years +?) I did notice one day that there seemed to be gaps in the sealant around the rear quarter windows. The glass seemed to be just stuck in with sealer. I remember taking some of the trim away and re-sealing it with a bead of black silicone (all hidden when the trims back) BUT, having said that, I never ever had any water ingress; even when hosing it down there`d never been any drips inside the glass, and never had any dampness in carpets /condensation etc. So although there appeared to be gaps they didn`t seem to let water in.... Of course had it been left it could maybe have got worse till it DID leak? Maybe worth looking at anyway?
I think I tracked it down. Just posting in case it helps someone in the future. I re sealed the rear quarter windows, and replaced the boot seal. Neither cured it. Then I noticed I could see daylight around the boot seal at the top - the boot itself needed adjusting to sit a bit closer to the seal.
"Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now."
-JC- wrote:I think I tracked it down. Just posting in case it helps someone in the future. I re sealed the rear quarter windows, and replaced the boot seal. Neither cured it. Then I noticed I could see daylight around the boot seal at the top - the boot itself needed adjusting to sit a bit closer to the seal.
Glad you fixed it, and maybe that might work for my ever leaking boot now! You bloody hero!
Andrew 2.8i wrote:Hi JC,
I'm glad you've sorted the leak.
How come you didn't notice the daylight between the seal and the tailgate earlier?
Andrew.
I'm pretty unobservant. The other day I was walking down a road I walk down every day and noticed a building I had never spotted before.
Tbh though, it was a pretty small gap, and you would need to be at the right angle to spot it. It may also have been less obvious with the old seal on there - I only noticed it after I replaced it.
"Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now."
Glad to see you've sorted the leak. I was interested to see the mention of the rear passenger windows. Mine don't open, but I noticed the same thing - they seem to be just bonded in with black goo. Mine don't let in rain water, but I did once get the car jetwashed so I could see if there were any leaks... and the vast majority of water came in through the (non-opening!!) rear windows!! I know you're interested in leaks at the back of the car, but it's worth mentioning in any discussion on leaks, that a really common culprit for water in the car is the membrane behind the door cards, which can lead to you thinking the door seals have gone.
