Trunk Leak - Second Generation Forum

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Trunk Leak
Saturday, January 31, 2015 5:23 AM
I have a trunk leak that I am having problems figuring out. I have found that if I fold and place a towel at the "left rear" of the trunk, behind the wheel (see picture), then it gets wet. The seal/weatherstripping where the trunk lid closes onto is fine. Does anyone know of a common leak that would cause this? Is there a hidden drain point that might be clogged?

I drove an '88 cavalier for almost 12 years/200k, and don't recall a trunk leak.......
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Trunk1.jpg (91k)


Re: Trunk Leak
Saturday, January 31, 2015 1:32 PM
All mine leak just like that. I've never figured it out.



Re: Trunk Leak
Saturday, January 31, 2015 4:52 PM
Check the seal between tail light and car....If van will allow water in....try clear silicone to seal the holes from the inside. Had this issue years ago on my 93 rs.


R.I.P darknstrangecavie
Re: Trunk Leak
Saturday, January 31, 2015 7:07 PM
Tail lights should have a rubber seal along the top. If not buy some 3m d shapped seal and put some on. If that isn't the issue it your back window. You can also put some dye in water and spray it on the car then look where it is leaking.




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.
Re: Trunk Leak
Sunday, February 01, 2015 7:33 AM
James Cahill wrote:All mine leak just like that. I've never figured it out.

As stated, I also had an '88. There was some water in the spare tire well when I bought it, but I cleaned it out, cleaned up the car, and never noticed water in the trunk after that.

darknstrange cavie wrote:Check the seal between tail light and car....If van will allow water in....try clear silicone to seal the holes from the inside. Had this issue years ago on my 93 rs.

Rob Dotterer wrote:Tail lights should have a rubber seal along the top. If not buy some 3m d shapped seal and put some on

I thought about that and will check, but I doubt it. When I fold a bath towel and put it in the spot shown in the picture, the towel appears to be wet on top.... which would indicate the leak is dripping DOWN onto the towel. I don't see how a tail light leak would cause that, but I will look.

Rob Dotterer wrote:If that isn't the issue it your back window. You can also put some dye in water and spray it on the car then look where it is leaking.

I had checked the rear window before, including running a hose over it and seeing if any makes it into the trunk. I didn't find a problem.

What I did not check was the rear driver window. I had crawled in the trunk before and looked, and it appears that a leak at that window could run along and drop down in the area shown. Best bet would be to do the hose thing on that window and see if there is an effect.

Other than that, I was just seeing if anyone knew of a hidden drain point that might be clogged. I know there is one up in the front of the car that works like that.

Thanks!
Re: Trunk Leak
Sunday, February 01, 2015 9:11 AM
Go to an automatic car wash and climb in your trunk with a flashlight and look for a leak




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.
Re: Trunk Leak
Sunday, February 01, 2015 5:18 PM
After a while the rear window will start to leak around the urethane that seals it to the body. One one of my 2drs I had the same leak and noticed that with the windows up, when I closed the drivers door quickly, I could actually see the glass lift up from the body. I ended up taking the rear window out and reinstalling it. When I had the glass out I found a spot where rust started to develop and was allowing the water to run down between the inner and outer body panels.
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