So the drivers rear side of my 85 gets fairly damp(okay wet) underneath the mats in the very back right in front of the hanging carpet. it doesn't seem to be my tail light - i have a dent above it so i assumed it was that, but....it's not wet. I'm almost certain it's not my rear window, it feels dry. i need to use a hose and double check that again. but i think it's somehow coming up from that inspection plate back there. the fuel neck is underneath that, correct? I'm just poking around with ideas, thinking out loud.

 

I would suspect one of the rear hatch glass drain tubes has slipped off the drain hole barb. The side triangle windows seem to be prone to leakage (at least on my cars). I had an S3 years ago that had the sunroof drain tube that was too short from the factory and was draining into the rear speaker/shock top area.


Isaac

 

Definatly the hatch glass drain tubes. It either slipped off or it may be clogged. First check and make sure that its connected then blow it out with a air hose/compressor. Same thing happened to my gsl-se about a month ago. I would go ahead and blow out both hatch drain tubes they drain out to the bottom of the car near the rear tire/bumper. Also blow out your sunroof drain tubes as well just to be safe that is if you have one. keep us posted

 

Back when I worked at a bodyshop we would put someone in the trunk w/a flashlight to inspect while the next person ran the hose over the leaking area for those hard to find leaks.

 

the rear hatch drain tubes are clean as a whistle, I cleared them both, and they're dry. forgot to clarify that.

I'll definitely check the triangle window.


I had no idea where the sunroof drain tubes went, I will also check those out. that seems like two very good ideas......guess I'll be pulling some plastics here in a few days.

 

the rear sunroof drains go outboard from the drain hole and drop into the plastic vents in front of the triangle windows. If you spray water in the sunroof channel it should pour out of those plastic vents. The front sunroof drains go down the A pillars and drain into the fender well.

Isaac

 

Will definitely double check those. the more I think about it, the more I don't think it's going to be that, though, considering where the water is. but water does travel to strange places.

I also have to fix the windshield on my lumina.....it's leaking at the top above the passenger seat. silicone is my friend for that

 

pull the hatch seal and check for rust. next, inspect the plastic gaskets under the round metal hatch strut mounts. they often fail, along with the rubber gasket under the metal mount and cause water leakage.

 

in addition to possible causes that people have already stated, you may also want to pull the spare tire out and check the well. many, many years ago, my hatch drains got clogged and it filled up the spare tire well. i have no idea how long i drove around with a mini-lake in the back of the car, but it was long enough to start rusting just about everything back there.

 

i recently replaced all the plastic rear hatch gaskets with rubber ones from ace hardware, did a little cutting to get them to fit, but they seal perfect. I'll pull the hatch seal and inspect , I didn't think of that. the seal inst perfect, but water doesn't seem to pass it. the whole seal does get wet in the rain though(the part that presses against the glass), which seems a tad odd to me.

when i bought the car the rear hatch gaskets were bad on both struts and the place where non existent rear wiper is supposed to be was bad, so it was filling the spare tire holder. i best make sure it's not full again.

 

I always run a small bead of silicone before I put the hatch weatherstripping on the body, water will wick in through capillary action. I think Its more of a problem with replacement weatherstripping as opposed to stock though.

Isaac

 

i looked at it a little more today, but i can't pull stuff to find it yet. it's either the sunroof drains or the triangle window. the back is almost totally dry, the only dampness is in the crease of the metal where the floor meets the rear. it starts getting damn around that block off plate i was asking about, and is wet above it (towards the drivers seat) and towards the fenders. hopefully I'm lucky and it's easy to see once i pull the plastics and such.