[Updated] Found a Different Water Leak in a 2000 SE Trunk

[Dean]

We have had a few rainy days here recently. The rain might be strong but it is very brief. I experienced water pooling in the rear passenger side floor, under the rear bench seats (disturbingly where the battery sits) and in the spare tire compartment in the trunk.

We are all familiar with the water barrier problems and the trunk lid/rear light casing problems producing leaks in the cabin and trunk of these vehicles. However after fixing my driver side forward door water barrier & rear passenger side (this one was fine when I opened it) I was stumped. So today when I went back into the fuel tank to fix the gasket I broke when replacing the level sending unit, I found this condensation, and decided to try something new:



I had to pull up the carpet anyways, and I found that there was condensation on the whole driver side of the trunk with some small pools in a few places. The battery location and passenger side floor were also refilled.

I slowly poured a gallon of water over the rear of the car where I thought it might be coming in. Thankfully, the gas cap area was not problematic. But when it hit the channel for the driver side trunk lid gasket, it instantly started a fast drip right here:



Later I investigated, cleaned with isopropyl alcohol and used silicone sealant on this part above the drip and on the seam underneath - I did the passenger side too as it looked a bit bad as well:



I tested the fix 2 hours later - no leak! Problem solved, maybe. I hope this helps!

[riktik]

Good catch.. I have had some issues with water leaks as well in uncommon places in the trunk. I will have to check this seam. have you or anyone else that might be reading this post have any experience with water coming from under the dash and running along the rail of the floor pan? I did the water deflectors in each door and that fixed most of the cabin issue but not the one that I am dealing with now. I am thinking maybe the seal around the windshield but have yet to test for it with the soap and pressurized cabin test (windows up, blower on max recirculating).

[Dean]

Good catch.. I have had some issues with water leaks as well in uncommon places in the trunk. I will have to check this seam. have you or anyone else that might be reading this post have any experience with water coming from under the dash and running along the rail of the floor pan? I did the water deflectors in each door and that fixed most of the cabin issue but not the one that I am dealing with now. I am thinking maybe the seal around the windshield but have yet to test for it with the soap and pressurized cabin test (windows up, blower on max recirculating).

My brother in law has had a similar problem in other cars - that the AC is releasing into the cabin (right around the firewall on the passenger side) rather than being diverted outside - and recommended to me that this might be the issue in my case. I hate to say it, but you will probably have to strip your carpet - even if you find the leak, I can hear water sloshing around underneath my carpet so I know it is collected there, probably rusting the metal underneath, and it needs to be cleaned thoroughly at this point. Luckily, my leaks don't seem to be old - but they sure do corrode metal and corrupt carpet quickly.

At this point I'm prepared for a front-side leak to be a problem as well. As it happens, I have found multiple leaks in the trunk.

[Dean]

[Update 8-27-13]

The fun continues. My earlier fix is holding up nicely. But leaks persist. This time I found 2 streams (as opposed to the drips found on the other part of the trunk lid area) going down into the trunk at these 2 locations marked with green circles:



I pulled up the gasket and whatever was left of the sealant was crumbling apart. Here is a closeup of the degradation of the sealant material:



And here is where all of this water has been entering the passenger compartment:



Yes. This has given me the "opportunity" to strip and clean all of the interior and clean underneath.

I tried fixing this leak with silicone sealant. A minor leak is still there - so I wasted time, sealant, and now I have to strip the silicone and try again. Then I found an old post:

I opened the trunk yesterday to find the carpet and some stuff wet. Well, lo and behold, the spare tire well was overflowing with water. I found lots of posts here about various common leaks on this vehicle. After sitting in the trunk for 20 minutes on this 88 degree day I found a leak under the gasket near the trunk latch. The latch itself was very loose and I have tightened it. I pulled the gasket off and it looks like someone gobbed a bunch of sealer on the lip and it is failing. It looks like there is some sort of factory sealant all the way around the gasket. It's sort of a translucent yellow color, soft and tacky. The stuff that was gobbed on is not at all tacky. Sort of looks and feels like silicone sealant.The only gasket sealant I can find locally is from 3M but it seems to be a permanent bond. Apply to both sides, let it dry, then push both pieces together. Should I be using this stuff? Should I need anything at all?
I forgot to mention it's an '05 if that matters.

(my emphasis)
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 64239.html

Looks like I was setting myself up for this one! Does anyone have a recommendation for good sealant to use? I am guessing that I need something that has a non-permanent, waterproof tack. I am going away on Friday and I really want this fixed by then!

[harofreak00]

http://www.amazon.com/3M-08001-Yellow-W ... B000HTNNDA

[Dean]

Thanks Haro. Hopefully I can pick that up tonight and seal the trunk before it rains!

[Dean]

[Update 9-12-13]

Well I think I wasted some time & adhesive. After a week of stripping, replacing & testing applications of the weather strip adhesive, the leaks persisted. Until I tried something discovered in another post on the forum.

[The Fix:] I just bent the metal lip holding the weather strip in place upward. It bent quite easily. What I did was simply push it upwards with my thumbs a little bit at a time on the whole length you see in this picture:

Just bend upward on the part where I have removed the seal here.

I've tested this 3 times and no leaking so far.

But the carpet is impossible to dry out! Here is what I am dealing with after having bailed out the area under the carpet on the passenger side:


That is folded over carpeting with a polyurethane cushion (sponge!) backing! I squeezed this out for the second time last night. Have other members been able to use spot cleaners (like the Green Machine from Bissel?) to suck the water out of these 2" thick sponges?


I found this "accomplice" applied to the bottom of the carpet in question (roughly above the shiny metal/aluminum foil seal you see on the passenger floor). This was keeping water in even as I tried to squeeze it out. Should I replace this once I'm done cleaning/rust proofing the problem parts in this area??

This is what I'm doing to dry the carpet out more fully:



Also, my friend told me about damp check dessicant last night, so I'll pick one of those up too. When drying the car out, don't forget to replace the bolts that hold the rear bench seats in as the bolt holes extend to outside the vehicle.


At first I was shy about bending the lip up, but I saw no problems when closing the trunk, so I bent it as much as I could in the end. Is this finally the end of this leak?

[harofreak00]

Just pull the carpet from the car and let it dry in the sun.

[Dean]

Just pull the carpet from the car and let it dry in the sun.

In another thread it was mentioned that you had a writeup on how to do this (I'm having problems with the center console) but I couldn't find one in my searches. Do you have a link for that?

[harofreak00]

I don't think I have a write up for carpet removal.

Basically remove the seats, center console, door sills, B-pillar trim, etc... anything in your way.

What are you stuck on with the console?

[Dean]

It's been a couple weeks since I attempted it, I'll look at it tonight (or in the coming days) and see what was bothering me about it.

[bobgto65]

While you have the carpet out power wash it. I wet the carpet a little, use foam spray carpet cleaner, a scrub brush for any especially dirty areas, then power wash with a medium nozzle for about 15 minutes. So much dirt and filth comes out, you will not believe it until you see it for yourself. Then lean it up against a garage door or something to let as much water drip our ad possible, then as harofreak00 said, dry it in the sun, dry both sides. It may take 2-3 days to completely dry. When you are done it will look like new. I have done 2 cars this way in the last 3 months.

And why is the water leaking into your floorboards? That needs to be addressed before you replace the carpets. Most common cause is the front sunroof drain hoses separating behind the dash or leaks from the doors if the watershield was removed and not replaced properly. See this thread for sunroof but on the 04 GXP the rear drains go into the trunk instead. http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... =43&t=1688

[redzmonte]

I have been dealing with the same thing... My trunk well is filled... I drilled a hole in the plug cause it was covered in rubber sound lining that wouldnt scrape off.. let the trunk drain, dried the carpet...

I then noticed the swampy smell still there. found about another 2" of water in the floor under the rear drivers side.. sucked it out with the local car wash vac and squeezed the foam padding as dry as i could then put a fan under the carpets to dry them... it had ran up to the front so i took out the drivers seat and did the same to the front.. and let dry all day.. i am betting its the rear sunroof drain on mine as well. im gunna try bending the trunk lip up a little to see if that helps the rear.. seems to be maybe from the left side to the center of the carpet but i dont know.. kinda retarded.

I FEEL YOUR PAIN... Ohh and i tore that stupid plastic off the bottom foam to allow to dry and tossed in the trash.