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    #1

    Sealing a trunk....

    So once in a great while (it used to be anyway) I would get some water in the trunk, I figured it must be from heavy rain and a worn seal and thought nothing more of it after I shop vacuumed it up and let everything dry. Well now it is happening every time it rains. So I dissected the trunk lining looking for my answer after I examined the seal and ran a garden hose stream over the rear window with the trunk open. The seal was fine and the lip around the seal is all intact. So I thought maybe it was the tail light seals being worn, sprayed some water over them and ... nope, nothing coming out by the light sockets. Well I must have had about 4-5 gallons of water in the trunk this time, and it was also down in between the quarter panels. The thing that pisses me off (and yes its my fault) is that I never checked there when I first had this problem, so it could have been there for a few years honestly, slowly destroying the body work i did three years ago. Anyway I discovered the leak is happening mostly where the seams of the trunk bottom meet the rear panel of the car (the panel with the tail lights in it) the factory either didn't do an appropriate job sealing this area, or it has fatigued over time and split. It drips in from here after the water runs through the water trough around the trunk. Also all around the tail light bolts there is very minor seepage. Im guessing this may have been a factory error because when I bought the car the rear quarters were completely gone, and had holes in them that were pretty large, and where there wasn't a hole the metal was just too thin to do anything with, this was odd only because the car had 36k on it when I purchased it and it had rotted sitting in a barn? its not like it was left in a snowbank outside.

    Anyway what should I use to seal this? I can silicone the bolts for the tail lights, but the areas that were factory sealed with that yellow goop are much larger than a silicone gun would be practical for. Is any of that spray rubber seal any good? Unfortunately this has started rotting the new quarter panels from the inside out, fortunately the trunk floor is unharmed. I also don't have a garage to keep my car in at the moment, so any suggestions on products that may solve this issue would be very helpful.

    As always thanks again, and make sure to check your trunks out.

    -Jr
    "Shakedown"- 1991 Grand Marquis GS Dual exhaust, Magnaflow xl turbos, Rear anti sway bar, Outlaw 1 wheels, 43k miles
    1985 GMC 1500
    Tags: None
    #2
    Seam sealer of the brushon sort is available from body supply places, eastwood, summit, etc. Get all the old stuff off, clean everything, and seal it all up.

    Also make sure you have functional drain holes in the quarter panels

    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
      Yeah the drain holes should work fine, but they are not low enough. I may punch some lower. The problem is it can fill up almost all the way before it drains, then slosh over into the main trunk area. Im thinking I am going to cut the shit metal out and weld some new stuff in next summer, but my main goal is to save the trunk pan itself. Thanks for the info, I will see if NAPA or the local parts plus has some brush on sealer, I will just do everything on the rear panel and the back of the trunk pan. It's all covered by carpet anyway.
      "Shakedown"- 1991 Grand Marquis GS Dual exhaust, Magnaflow xl turbos, Rear anti sway bar, Outlaw 1 wheels, 43k miles
      1985 GMC 1500

      Comment

        #4
        Stock the drains were right at the bottom of the quarters.

        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

          #5
          Really? hmm. I did not cover them when I did the body work the first time, and I am certain of that, but there are some drains going into the wheel wells like halfway up the quarter.
          "Shakedown"- 1991 Grand Marquis GS Dual exhaust, Magnaflow xl turbos, Rear anti sway bar, Outlaw 1 wheels, 43k miles
          1985 GMC 1500

          Comment

            #6
            Those as sort of secondary. The main ones originally were tiny little ones right at the bottom. If you had rot they'd have been long gone. Even if you just drill a little hole near the rear where the outside and inner panels meet you'll help drainage

            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

              #7
              check the fuel filler housing. that's where the epic leak was on my 88. the bottom edge against the fender had a quarter inch gap to the plastic cup the filler neck fits in. filled that gap with some permatex black RTV I had on hand and haven't had any issues 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

                #8
                Thanks man, I forgot this area could be an issue. I'm going to pick up some sealed tomorrow and get to work.
                "Shakedown"- 1991 Grand Marquis GS Dual exhaust, Magnaflow xl turbos, Rear anti sway bar, Outlaw 1 wheels, 43k miles
                1985 GMC 1500

                Comment

                  #9
                  yeah... the fuel door is usually overlooked in the search for leaks in the trunk.

                  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

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