Aw Crap, leaky trunk.

[BrooklynMW]

So apparently, my trunk is one of the infamous e30 trunks that leak. How did I not notice this when I bought it? Well, the car was garaged, and was not raining. Went to smell the trunk and it smelled mildew free.

But as it has been pooring all week here in New York, I discovered the cold hard truth. Got a leaky trunk. And yes, the mildew smell has already reared it's ugly head.

The big problem here is, that water keeps leaking into the taillights, and the lights keep blowing. I've been keeping extras in the car, but I can't keep pulling over every time a light blows.

SO, any solutions to resealing the trunk?

[jhowell]

tail light seals
trunk gasket (and adjust trunk closure)
antenna grommet
rear window seal
sunroof drains
I'm sure there're others I'm forgetting

If your a little dude hop in the trunk with a flashlight and have a bro spray with a hose
If your a big dude toss your slampiece in the trunk and hose it down
that should help you figure out what's leakin'

"he's leakin'! oh my, he's leakin'!"

[nando]

tailight gaskets and antenna grommet first
trunk gasket second
everything else last.

[Hellabad]

For me it is tailight gaskets 900 times in a row. Next time I'm going to use Liquid Nails.

If it is so bad that your bulbs are blowing, just drill tiny holes in the bottom of each section. Then buy a whole bunch of newspapers every day and lay them in the trunk to soak it up, throw the newspapers away every morning. When summer comes, figure it all out and fix it, but this will get you through the week.

Jay

[Butler]

I love that ^^^


I just replaced my tail light gaskets and it fixed the leak. $28 from pelican parts.

[ZM Blue Devil]

I love that ^^^


I just replaced my tail light gaskets and it fixed the leak. $28 from pelican parts.

yeap I bet gaskets are fried.

Cheaper through steve@Blunttech.com

[topdown323]

had that with my old vert...tails out for a day, bead of silicone, no more leak:)

[BrooklynMW]

Ok, so it's only the taillight gaskets you think? Is that what would be causing the enitre trunk to leak?? The carpet is damp, and I gotta nice puddle on the battery cover. Taillight gaskets?

[ethree]

If it is so bad that your bulbs are blowing, just drill tiny holes in the bottom of each section. Then buy a whole bunch of newspapers every day and lay them in the trunk to soak it up, throw the newspapers away every morning. When summer comes, figure it all out and fix it, but this will get you through the week.

The problem is where he lives it rains in the summer, something us californians tend to forget.

I'd also clean out the sunroof drains because it's free and maybe contributing to your problem.

[Turd]

I was dumbfounded until I noticed it coming from the holes in the rear pillars that the grommets for the rear window trim press into. My trunk turns into a swimming pool in heavy rain from this. It drains right down the inside of the pillars and collects in the quarters.

[xwill112x]

i think i have a leaky antenna gromet, possibly tails as well. would rtv fix either?

[nando]

RTV will cause rust

if you're going through taillight seals, you put them on wrong.

[BrooklynMW]

Ok, so I'm going to order new taillight gaskets, and an antenna gromet. And for that matter, a new antenna. and a taillight cover for the right side.

And how does one go about cleaning the sunroof drain?

[BrooklynMW]

I was thinking, it could be coming right in through the antenna. Some kids ripped the damn thing off, and there's a big gaping hole in the first antenna stalk. So I'll replace that and the grommet as well.

but seriously, how does one clean the sunroof drains?

[AndrewBird]

Compressed air from an air compressor can work, but you might need to shove something down them with a piece of wire like a coat hanger or something. You might check that the hoses in the trunk coming from sunroof are connected to the drains in the side of the body. The drains could be working perfectly fine, but are draining all the water INTO the trunk instead of outside.