LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Never in 13 1/2 years has a drop of water gotten into my car anywhere.

Got home from a trip last Saturday night, crazy *** rain and high winds for like 15 hours straight pounded Ft. Lauderdale the night before on Friday. The next day I found about 2 inches of water in my rear hatch well.

I wet vacced it all out and figured it was just the long pounding of wind that let it get in..........

Yesterday I go out there to remove my amplifier because I suspect there's some water in it....and its back again. Pure water, close to an inch maybe. It only slightly drizzled that night on and off a few times......nothing bad at all.

So I vacced it out again.

Today I washed my car.........after I washed it.....THE WATER GOT IN THERE AGAIN....JUST FROM RINSING IT OFF......WTF!!!!!!

ONLY in the well, absolutely nowhere else. I checked everywhere, side walls to the well are dry, not a drop is getting in through the back glass seal. Spare tire well is bone dry.

Any ideas........I hate these damn mysteries.

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Stinkee

I had water getting into my hatch as well...I ended up sealing the gaps in the rubber around the glass (outside). Also got a tube of the adhesive made for bonding weatherstrip and went around the thick piece of weatherstripping that you can see when you open the hatch. Kind of surprised that is kind of just sitting there and not already glued down, but whatever....that thing aint coming off now he he.

Don't forget there's drain plugs at the bottom of the hatch you can pop out to get the water out. It's a little easier to do that instead of lugging the wetvac around

I believe there's also a write up thread floating around here about how to super seal your car.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

So you used sealer around the molding on the glass on the outside, inbetween the glass and paint?

You used the adhesive stuff on the weatherstrip that attaches the pinchweld that the hatch rests on when its shut?

So the water gets in between that? Man, mine is on there so tight just like its always been. The water has to be getting in behind my carpet and dripping down into the well somehow.

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Stinkee

There's rubber that's stuck to the outer edge of the glass itself. When you shut the hatch that's the buffer between the painted body surface and the glass and what keep the water out (lets it roll off into that little water channel).

If you look at the top of the hatch glass from the outside and follow the outer edge until it comes to the first corner that's where I had a gap in the rubber that goes around the outer edge of the glass.

Every time it rained the water would follow the edge of the glass and go right in the gap at that first little corner and fill my hatch.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Ok...the glass itself is bonded to the hatch...no way water can get inbetween there. If the water runs off to the outside it will end up in the channel on both sides that runs back to those black plastic pieces and down into the tail light area......

So I think the only possible way it can get in is to get up under the weatherstripping that the hatch rests on..the weatherstripping you see when you open the hatch...water could certainly get inbetween that weatherstripping and the body pinchweld that its pushed onto......

I guess I'll take the inner plastic pieces off the hatch and run a bead of urethane all the way around where the glass is bonded to the hatch. Then I'll run a bead all the way around that weatherstripping and then push it back onto the pinchweld. If I do that....there's no possible way I can see water getting in.......I think.....lol

Water....sneaky bastard......

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JaYZeig

iTrader: (11)

just crawl into the hatch with all the plastics removed from suspected leaking area..and with a flashlight and the hatch closed obviously, have someone hose the back of the car down until you find your leak...this is how we water test cars at work. no sense throwin parts and seals at the car not knowing id theyre gonna solve your problem.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Yea, your right.....I just didn't have anyone today. I just thought there was a common spot that fills JUST the hatch well and leaves everything else dry.

I used to be an auto glass mechanic years ago, like 20 , I'll have to get someone to do that with me.

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JaYZeig

iTrader: (11)

LOL WOW! 20 yrs ago?!?

juss givin ya ****, just sucks, because in my experience, water could be comin through a body seam, hatch seal, or even the mounting hole for the taillight, and one rare experience ive seen it come in where the bumper, and the r/r quarter panel bolt together..

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Yup, my first job ever, right after high school. For 1 1/2 years while in junior college, then I left to my university. Never in my life have I ever had another 9-5 job again.....lol....still don't.

I'll find it...this car is almost 14....things are needing replacing one by one.......

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JaYZeig

iTrader: (11)

yea, i dont like that "era" of the car, where everything starts going out..lol fortunatley my 181xxx mile d.d. gtp is past that stage, everythigngs beeen replaced..

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

I've been replacing **** for about 5 months now. Hoses, wires, plug ends, sensors, bushings all around the suspension, brake lines to steel ones, I have new tail lights and center piece, getting new chrome rims widened, new calipers all around, battery, DRL housings will LED flashers, HID headlights, and more....... I'm almost out of things to replace. After I get my new motor and tranny in....I'll have a 2012 Trans Am . Oh, and my dash pad just cracked last week when I pushed on it.....lol....I already changed the forward hard dash piece last year. New paint job is near flawless.

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JaYZeig

iTrader: (11)

ive damn near rebuilt my trans am as well..lq4 swapped (sent the rod out the side of the ls1) moser 9in rear..(blew the carrier apart on the stocker)...whole new rear suspension, some misc paint on the outside ive done, but nothing as extreme as yours..its not a show car anyways, justa typical go fast.