R
Roadmonster
I thought it might be a good idea to post on how to fix trunk leaks,
and body leaks that lead to trunk leaks.
Here's all about how I fixed mine:
Just after buying my '94 RM sedan in August of '03, I noticed that items in my trunk were getting wet after rain, washes, etc.
I thought it was my rear window gasket, or the trunk gasket. I had my son spray a hose on the car, while I was in the trunk with a flash light. (Not easy for someone with clostrophobia!) I was sure it was the trunk gasket or rear window seal....
It was not either of these...
I went to a glass shop, and they did a free pressure check, and diagnosis. They found that the body seams were leaking on the roof, on the passenger side. Those little plastic mouldings that cover a body seam, from the top of the back door, to the top of the back window.....
They suggested that I go to a body shop... The body shop wanted to pull the plastic mouldings off, re-seal the roof at both joints, and put new mouldings back on, and paint them. Oh yeah....they wanted a lot of $$$$ too.
I was not prepared to pay hundreds of dollars (800-900) to fix this.
I went to Autozone, and got flowable silicone glue.
Permatex "Flowable Silicone WINDSHIELD & GLASS SEALER" part no. 65AR
I made sure that the seams were clean and dry. These seams are the plastic caps that are on the roof, from the back of the rear door jam to the top of the rear window. I have a garage, so I cleaned out the seams really well with Dawn detergent and water. I let the car dry, with an electric heater inside the car, with all windows cracked about 1/4". Make sure heater can't touch anything and burn/ruin it. Once I was sure it was dry, I used "Permatex Flowable Silicone Windshield & Glass Sealer". To allow it to flow, and to keep the mess to a minimum, I used good quality masking tape (the blue kind), and taped around the outside of the seams. This allowed me to sort of "fill up" the seam areas, and keep the silicone off the surrounding paint. After about an hour, I wiped off the excess silicone & removed the tape. I let the car sit overnight with the heater on to speed up the curing process, and get moisture out.
Guess what? No more leak. Cost: under five bucks!!! It took me two weeks to find this leak. Also, it took another week or so to get the trunk dry, with a portable heater in it, while parked in my garage at night. I had a bungee cord hold the trunk lid almost closed, with about a 1" gap each night....(it rains a lot in Oregon).
Hope this helps some other RM owner
Some other areas the can leak, and look like a trunk leak:
Rear window.
Rear quarter windows.
I don't know if the trunk gasket can really be a big cause of trunk leaks. There would have to be a lot of rust through to get a hole in the trunk lid channel. The metal in the channel is high enough that the gasket shouldn't make a difference in a leak caused by just sitting.
Now, if the gasket isn't seating properly, I can see that it might leak when the car is moving...
Anyone else have a trunk leak experience they want to post?
Stewart
and body leaks that lead to trunk leaks.
Here's all about how I fixed mine:
Just after buying my '94 RM sedan in August of '03, I noticed that items in my trunk were getting wet after rain, washes, etc.
It was not either of these...
I went to a glass shop, and they did a free pressure check, and diagnosis. They found that the body seams were leaking on the roof, on the passenger side. Those little plastic mouldings that cover a body seam, from the top of the back door, to the top of the back window.....
They suggested that I go to a body shop... The body shop wanted to pull the plastic mouldings off, re-seal the roof at both joints, and put new mouldings back on, and paint them. Oh yeah....they wanted a lot of $$$$ too.
I was not prepared to pay hundreds of dollars (800-900) to fix this.
I went to Autozone, and got flowable silicone glue.
Permatex "Flowable Silicone WINDSHIELD & GLASS SEALER" part no. 65AR
I made sure that the seams were clean and dry. These seams are the plastic caps that are on the roof, from the back of the rear door jam to the top of the rear window. I have a garage, so I cleaned out the seams really well with Dawn detergent and water. I let the car dry, with an electric heater inside the car, with all windows cracked about 1/4". Make sure heater can't touch anything and burn/ruin it. Once I was sure it was dry, I used "Permatex Flowable Silicone Windshield & Glass Sealer". To allow it to flow, and to keep the mess to a minimum, I used good quality masking tape (the blue kind), and taped around the outside of the seams. This allowed me to sort of "fill up" the seam areas, and keep the silicone off the surrounding paint. After about an hour, I wiped off the excess silicone & removed the tape. I let the car sit overnight with the heater on to speed up the curing process, and get moisture out.
Guess what? No more leak. Cost: under five bucks!!! It took me two weeks to find this leak. Also, it took another week or so to get the trunk dry, with a portable heater in it, while parked in my garage at night. I had a bungee cord hold the trunk lid almost closed, with about a 1" gap each night....(it rains a lot in Oregon).
Hope this helps some other RM owner
Some other areas the can leak, and look like a trunk leak:
Rear window.
Rear quarter windows.
I don't know if the trunk gasket can really be a big cause of trunk leaks. There would have to be a lot of rust through to get a hole in the trunk lid channel. The metal in the channel is high enough that the gasket shouldn't make a difference in a leak caused by just sitting.
Now, if the gasket isn't seating properly, I can see that it might leak when the car is moving...
Anyone else have a trunk leak experience they want to post?
Stewart
....and that gets old, IMHO.
