Inside of rear hatch dripping after rain/car wash normal?
 

When I bought my 93 RX-7, the small high end dealer I bought it from in VA (Who has owned multiple RX-7's himself) had a brand new original spoiler painted VR and mounted by his body shop before he put it up for sale.

I believe he went over to PF supercars in MD to pick up a guide to mount the spoiler correctly.

Whenever I wash my car and open the back hatch to dry it, a good bit of water drips out from where the hatch struts fit into the plastic trim piece on the top part of the rear hatch.

Is this normal and does it happen to all 3rd gens, or should I assume the spoiler was not sealed correctly when it was installed? In which case I need to either seal it up correctly myself or find a body shop I trust to do it.

Thanks,
Drew:nod:

There is a "gasket set" that goes between the rear spoiler and the deck.
Many, many of the after installs did not use these.
I had the same issue, ordered the gasket set from Ray Crowe. Wasn't very
expensive. Also those rear seals are 20 years old and you could have a tear.

Thanks for the info ppritchard. Did you install/replace the seals yourself? How hard was it to do?

Thanks,
Drew

Mine has done it since I bought it. On mine the water pools in the hatch window channel and comes from beneath the trim when the hatch is raised.. I've just learned to lay a couple of towels down on either side when I open it. Let it drip while I dry the rest of the car.
At the same time a little water drips from beneath the spoiler mounting points...but only a very little.

Sgtblue,

Thanks for the response! When I read this part of your post, "(Water) Comes from beneath the trim when the hatch is raised", that is exactly my problem.

It comes from under the plastic trim piece mounted to the inside/underside hatch, and drips out the hatch strut holes on either side when opened. I have also been laying two towels to catch the water before it goes into the Bose Soundwave!

I must admit that I was worried when I saw the water coming out from under the inside trim panel, and my main concern was that the body shop that recently installed the spoiler did not seal it correctly. But what you said seems to confirm that that may not be the case at all, and it is normal function/shortcoming of the car rainwater drainage system.

Drew

Gasket set is simple to install. Just remove bolts from underneath and the spoiler comes right off. Clean surface, place gaskets and reattach. You may find surprises though when the spoiler is off. We had xtra holes that had been drilled in wrong spots by whoever installed the spoiler.

You've probably already learned...but the other annoying place for water to sit is under the tail lights. You get the car all dry, looking great... and as you back out of the driveway what seems like a half gallon of water drips out all over the bumper. :facepalm3:

I don't have either problem, but I also don't have a spoiler. It seems life mostly in a garage has been kind to my '93. Good luck with the fixes!

My old car did this. If the spoiler seals don't work, make sure the seal around the rear window is in good shape.

Thanks ppritchard. I am going to take the spoiler off and see if the body shop used the correct gasket set.

I learned from Autogeek that a good way to dry a car without touching the paint and possibly induce swirls is to blow it dry it with a cheap leaf blower (Use a dedicated one just for cars). It blows all the water out of the crevices so when you drive the car there is no dripping! I love doing this.

I need to check that because when I dry the car with the blower, I point the blower at the rear hatch seal and a good bit of water gets blown out so maybe the gasket may not be in the best shape.