Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Box owners, check your body seams, save your 1/4's

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
    #1

    Box owners, check your body seams, save your 1/4's

    I've been having more than enough issues this year with water in the trunk of my '88 GM and '90 GM. The rear 1/4's rotted out on my '88 a long time ago, and now I know why.

    I think that everyone who owns and cares about their box body should do the following check:

    Open the trunk. Pull the rear, floor, and side liner panels. Clean any debris out of the rear 1/4's with an air hose or vacuum cleaner. Next, get some water (you may need quite a bit). Pour it down the channels along the trunk seal on both sides so that it runs down the rear of the body and over/behind the tail lenses. Inspect inside the trunk along ALL the body seams. You'll see where the factory sealant is run along the seams in the metal. Chances are, you'll find water seeping through at some point. Take some body seam sealer (available at most auto parts stores) and fill in the gaps in the seams. Make sure you get it in there good. Let the sealant set, and test again.

    Another thing to check is the rubber seals on the tail lens units. Make sure no water is coming in there, as well.

    A little time doing this test will save you a major headache in the long run if you plan to do any body repairs or restorations.
    Tags: body seams
    #2
    great advice. Almost all the seam sealer lines I've checked are compromised to some extent, and there was almost ALWAYS some rust underneath the areas that weren't tight to the metal anymore.

    85 4 door 351 Civi Crown Victoria - Summer daily driver, sleeper in the making, and wildly inappropriate autocross machine
    160KMs 600cfm holley, shorty headers, 2.5" catted exhaust, 255/295 tires, cop shocks, cop swaybars, underdrive pulley, 2.73L gears.
    waiting for install: 3.27's, Poly bushings, boxed rear arms, 2500 stall converter, ported e7's, etc

    06 Mazda 3 hatch 2.3L 5AT (winter beater that cost more than my summer car)

    Comment

      #3
      The Mark VII has problems caused by excessive factory seam sealer. It had a big glob in front of one of the drains, so it held water and rotted through. Luckily panthers don't have those stupid rear window drain channels built into the body like the Mark has. Bad trunk seals are also a problem area that should be looked at.
      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

      Originally posted by phayzer5
      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

      Comment

        #4
        the seam I had to seal was the gas filler neck housing. It sits flush up against the rear quarter with a foam gasket... or it's supposed to. Mine has a warped area along the bottom and was letting water POUR into my trunk when it would rain. I filled the seam with some black gasket sealer (permatex black I had on hand) and have not had an issue with water in my trunk since.

        Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
        rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)

        Originally posted by gadget73
        ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.

        Originally posted by dmccaig
        Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

        Comment

          #5
          While you have the trunk mat out, and after you've cleaned the debris out of the lower quarter panel area, pour some used oil down there, and clean the the drain holes out. The oil will drop down into the panel seems, and does a hell of a job preventing rust.
          **2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302: 5.0/ 6 spd/ 3.73s, 20K Cruiser
          **2006 MGM,"Ultimate": 4.6/ 2.73/ Dark Tint, Magnaflows, 19s, 115K Daily Driver
          **2012 Harley Davidson Wide Glide (FXDWG):103/ Cobra Speedsters/ Cosmetics, 9K Poseur HD Rider
          **1976 Ford F-150 4WD: 360, 4 spd, 3.50s, factory A/C, 4" lift, Bilsteins, US Indy Mags, 35s Truck Duties

          Comment

            #6
            For some odd reason, my pos 91 holds water there like a swimming pool. There's always a good 3" of water on each side just hanging out. Why? Don't know don't care.

            My 92 on the other hand, was so far gone that the spare tire jack decided to randomly fall out of there.
            2020 F250 - 7.3 4x4 CCSB STX 3.55's - BAKFlip MX4
            2005 Grand Marquis GS - Marauder sway bars, Marauder exhaust, KYB's
            2003 Marauder - Trilogy # 8, JLT, kooks, 2.5" exhaust, 4.10's/31 spline, widened rear's, metco's, addco's, ridetech's 415hp/381tq
            1987 Colony Park - 03+ frame swap, blown Gen II Coyote, 6R80, ridetechs, stainless works, absolute money pit. WIP

            Comment

              #7
              Just to add some info for the Crown Victoria's. I found they have the same issue with the body seams, just like the GM's. I urge people to check this portion of your cars. Make sure to check underneath the factory sealant. There is the possibility of rust underneath it. Remove it all and reseal with fresh sealant.

              Comment

                #8
                Originally posted by monterey1962 View Post
                Just to add some info for the Crown Victoria's. I found they have the same issue with the body seams, just like the GM's. I urge people to check this portion of your cars. Make sure to check underneath the factory sealant. There is the possibility of rust underneath it. Remove it all and reseal with fresh sealant.
                if possible pics would be great.
                1988 MGM GS - Preferred Equipment Package 172A; InstaClear

                1980 Lincoln Continental Coupe
                1994 MGM GS Montigua
                2005 F150 Lariat Scab 4x4 3.73 LS
                2002 Mustang GT Coupe

                Comment

                  #9
                  Originally posted by rick99601 View Post
                  if possible pics would be great.
                  Link to my post in my '89 CV RR's thread with pics.

                  Hope that helps.

                  Comment

                  Previous template Next
                  Working...
                  X