JD 85 944

Hey guys,

I have a water leak that I can't seem to locate where it is coming in the car. Every time it rains or I wash my car I find that there is a puddle of water below the tail-light on the inside of the car where the hatch latch drain pipe exits the body of the car (see pictures). This leaks occurs on both sides of the car. I have checked the hatch frame and it appears to be fine; and I also checked the hatch latch drain pipes and they are not clogged. The only thing that I can think that is happening is that maybe the hatch pins are not adjusted right, which in return, is causing to much water to go down the latches too fast for the latch drains to handle; causing the water to just spill over rather then drain. So my question is does this sound probable and I should adjust the hatch pins (they seem ok but how much should they be adjusted), or is it something else?

Also, I should also add that the rear deck carpet does not get wet when this happens so I don't think it is the hatch seal.





Thanks in advance,

-Jeff.

VaSteve

Is there any water inside the taillight? I ask because I'm having a similar problem. Water is collecting in the brake light only on the driver's side. I cannot figure how it's getting in. I checked the spoiler drains and they are clear. I poured water down the hatch latch and that tube is clear as well. I cannot figure how water is getting into the back of the lens since it would follow an odd path due to the shape of the back of the lens. I can only assume it's coming in from the front. Maybe where the red meets the black???

I did notice a drop or two where you indicated, but that may have happened when I opened the hatch.

JD 85 944

Now that you mention it, I think I have seen some water in/fogging of the driver's side tail light when it rains but I am not sure about the passenger side. I will have to check the passenger side and see if it is watering/fogging. If it is then maybe my leak does have something to do with the tail lights???

Luis de Prat

I still think it may be the hatch frame separating from the glass right where it's stressed by the hinges. Look at this area more closely to be sure.

Water leaks in, trickles down the inside of the glass and pools in various nooks and crannies of the hatch area. Get some liquid silicone sealant and some Saran wrap. Inject the sealant in the cracks between the frame and the glass and cover with Saran wrap to hold it in.

Another possibility is that the plastic drain tubes don't hold a good enough seal where they're attached to the fittings below the hatch pin sockets.

JD 85 944

Thanks for the advice Luis. I will check the hatch frame again and see if I can find any separation between the glass and the frame.

-Jeff.

JD 85 944

Thanks for the advice Luis. I will check the hatch frame again and see if I can find any separation between the glass and the frame.

-Jeff.

tblofsky

since your car is an 85 the material that was used to seal the tail light to the body is most likely dried up. i had that same problem. I took my tail light out and found chunks of the sealer falling off of the tail light housing. water runs down from the hatch drain holes on the exterior of the car under the wing and runs right into the path of the light. Most likely your problem.

JD 85 944

Thanks tblofsky. I think that this is the problem too since the driver's side tail light definitely has water in it, and most likely the passenger's side does too. Although I still have to check the hatch frame again like Luis suggested. Are the tail lights pretty straight forward to remove? What is the best way to reseal the tail lights?

Thanks again,

-Jeff.

tblofsky

there was a thread about resealing tail lights either on here or 9440nline forum. search and you will find a number of products to use. the best i have heard of is a rope that is similer to the original seal made by 3M

JD 85 944

Ok thanks for the info. I will search it and see what I can find.

-Jeff.

DarylJ

3M Strip Caulk.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...be6DTWTJQPBBgl

Also used to seal the blower assembly to the body of the car, which is another popular spot to have leaking.

JD 85 944

Thanks Daryl. I have not had the chance to pinpoint the leak yet, but sealing the tail lights may be my next project if it turns out that the tail lights are the source.

-Jeff.

DarylJ

I had a huge exhaust problem/in-cabin smell with the windows up and the sunroof open. Turned out it was 100% because of the strip caulk drying out and failing on the tail lights. So it never hurts to replace it if it's 20 years old....CO poisoning is a bitch.

JD 85 944

Yea that's a good point Daryl. I will definitely take that into consideration.

JD 85 944

Well I pulled the rear deck carpet out today so I could finally get a better look to see where the water is coming in. First I poured water down the hatch pin drains and they seemed to be draining fine. Then I splashed water onto the rear tail lights and did not see any water coming in, so I think they are fine too. The seals to the body look really good from the inside. I will look again at the tail lights to see if the lenses are cracked or separated at all. I did notice that if I poured water down the drains too fast it would overflow in the drain trays and spill all over the place. So I think that one possibility is that maybe the hatch is not sealed tight enough and is therefore letting too much water get to the drains at once, causing the drain trays to overflow. Can anyone measure their hatch pins from the flat part of the cone (where the threads end) to the bottom of the locking nut to tell me how far down they should go into the hatch pin locks?

Thanks,

-Jeff.