Hazdaz Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 So I am trying to narrow down where water is coming in from on my car into the trunk. I've been trying to narrow down the possibilities and it has been an on-going problem now for a while. The strangest thing is that the car stays under a carport, so there is no rain actually falling onto it directly (the carport is open from the sides however so wind can blow rain onto the car from the sides). I also have a high quality breathable carcover on it to reduce it even further. Even with that, however I have had water entering the trunk. I have already replaced the gasket/foam around the trunk lid itself. A year or two ago I even removed the metal trim around the rear window. I checked it out and caulked up any places that looked possibly suspect and then reinstalled everything. At the time, I thought I had solved the issue. So fast forward to a few days ago. I used some simple clear tape and ran it around the rear window between the glass and trim to temporarily seal up the area, and then I also ran some tape around the side rear glass and trim. I just checked on it and I THINK there was no water in the trunk which leads me to think I've narrowed it down to these two areas. I have never tried seeing how water might be able to come in from the side rear window. Is there even any way for water to go from that area into the trunk? Would I need to rip out the interior to access it? I am kind of at a loss as to how to get into that area to see. I'd like to inspect this area first before I move onto the rear glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 The lower corners of the window channel are notorious for rusting out. The way they're designed, there's no way for water to escape. So the water accumulates dirt and the two together sit there and let rust begin. The body mounts in the trunk area have a tendency to rust out and water will get into the trunk through the trunk floor. The dum dum around the studs (that hold the molding strip that runs along the valance below the rear window) will harden, dry out, and crack which will also let water into the trunk. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 ALSO, don't forget the taillight gaskets IF it's a '63 or a '64. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Rivnut, as always, good information. What really is surprisingly me that is if it is getting in via the rear window or trim just below that don't get rained on them directly. It simply can't because there is a roof over the top of the Riv. That is one of the reasons I had been doubting that it could be coming in from there. telriv, I might as replace those gaskets. I think I found some on ebay the other day for like $15 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Hazdaz said: Rivnut, as always, good information. What really is surprisingly me that is if it is getting in via the rear window or trim just below that don't get rained on them directly. It simply can't because there is a roof over the top of the Riv. That is one of the reasons I had been doubting that it could be coming in from there. telriv, I might as replace those gaskets. I think I found some on ebay the other day for like $15 or so. CARS has them. oldbuickparts.com . Two kinds. Gaskets between the bezel and the lens and gaskets between the body and the bezel. Wind can drive water. As I said, water just sits there. I learned long ago that, after washing my 63, that I needed to take some compressed air and blow the water out of the channel. It gets into the dirt and sits there. Once it's rusted through, there's not much you can do about it. Is the water in the trunk in one or two certain places or just all over the place. If you have someone you trust, have them shut you in the trunk with a flashlight then turn the hose on the trunk - all over the place, under pressure. Don't forget to give them the keys. Edited April 25, 2020 by RivNut (see edit history) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 I've tried to narrow it down. Since there is no carpet back there, it all kind of goes all over and usually pools up in the area where all my junk is in the attached pic. I've gone far enough to tape some dry papertowels onto various parts of the trunk to see if when the water pours in, it passes by that area. When I taped the papertowels on the rear hump, they stayed dry, so it doesn't look like its landing at the top of the hump and pouring down. You can see the paper towels in the pic. I had also taped up some plastic wrap in the opening as well to see if it was coming through the trunk gasket, but that has stayed dry as well. I found those gaskets you said. They run about $13/pair and $17/pair for the two types of gaskets. I'll probably order them this weekend just to eliminate the taillights being one entry point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 9 hours ago, Hazdaz said: I found those gaskets you said. They run about $13/pair and $17/pair for the two types of gaskets. I'll probably order them this weekend just to eliminate the taillights being one entry point. I would be leery of tail light bezel to body gaskets that cheap. You need quality in that area. Steele Rubber sells them and they are not cheap. Once you replace them you won't have to worry about that area again. I replaced them on my 63 and they are quality as Steele products are. Link below. Bill https://www.steelerubber.com/taillight-mounting-pad-50-0469-15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Other areas which water can enter are the die cast extensions of the belt line molding on each side and the die cast trim below the rear window. Also, once there is some moisture/humidity in the trunk area it can condense on the bottom side of the trunk lid itself and drip back onto the trunk floor. Tom Mooney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gungeey Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 there's also the four seams at the corners of the trunk lid gutter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOldMan Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 I second what Riviera63 said. I have purchased cheap gaskets from another place like RivNut suggested and they were not to my standard. Steele products for the rear are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 (edited) Does anyone know if CARS makes their own gaskets or are they a distributor for some manufacutrer? Edited April 25, 2020 by RivNut (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gungeey Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 HAZ: the weatherstrip channel up by the drivers side hood hinge...is it my computer screen or is that corner butchered up? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 6 hours ago, Riviera63 said: I would be leery of tail light bezel to body gaskets that cheap. You need quality in that area. Steele Rubber sells them and they are not cheap. Once you replace them you won't have to worry about that area again. I replaced them on my 63 and they are quality as Steele products are. Link below. Bill https://www.steelerubber.com/taillight-mounting-pad-50-0469-15 Cheap?! I already ordered the ones from CARS before I saw your post, but I honestly would have just bought a sheet of rubber over paying $100 for a simple gasket. I do appreciate your comment though, but a gasket is just a gasket and shouldn't cost $100. If the ones from CARS fail, I can at least use them as a template to cut my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 1 hour ago, gungeey said: HAZ: the weatherstrip channel up by the drivers side hood hinge...is it my computer screen or is that corner butchered up? Steve It might be a combination between the image and the fact that there is some blue painter's tape that is holding up that plastic wrap. The blue tape is surprisingly close in color to my paint color which might make it look wrinkled. The metal itself is actually fine there, and the gasket is as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Don't let your wife lock you in the trunk unless you are on good speaking terms! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 36 minutes ago, Hazdaz said: Cheap?! I already ordered the ones from CARS before I saw your post, but I honestly would have just bought a sheet of rubber over paying $100 for a simple gasket. I do appreciate your comment though, but a gasket is just a gasket and shouldn't cost $100. If the ones from CARS fail, I can at least use them as a template to cut my own. The bezel to body rubber mounting pads (using Steele's term) are more than just simple gaskets (the price is for a pair). This is not a case where a gasket is just a gasket. If it was we all would have been making our own. This is a unique molded rubber piece. The back side of the bezel is not flat nor is the body behind the bezel flat. Take one of your tail lights out and you will see what I mean. Speaking from experience this is one instance where one just sucks it up and pays to save headaches down the road. Regardless of what you do, good luck. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 17 hours ago, RivNut said: If you have someone you trust, have them shut you in the trunk with a flashlight then turn the hose on the trunk "Of course it is true. I read it on the internet. Take the flashlight" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 3 hours ago, Seafoam65 said: Don't let your wife lock you in the trunk unless you are on good speaking terms! What if she's the girlfriend? Not sure if that's better or worse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 If you want to know who loves you better, lock both your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car for an hour. When you open the trunk, see which one is happy to see you. 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 So I have an experiment going on now. It is supposed to rain all day Sunday and Monday. What I did is I removed the tape from the side rear window, but left the tape around the rear glass. If I have water in the trunk on Tuesday, then I know water is going from the side windows down into the trunk. That doesn't totally eliminate the rear window as a contributor, but it will narrow down my problem. I hope. I'm pretty interested in seeing the outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 Put something in the trunk that will let you know where the water is coming in. Something heavy that will absorb the water as is comes in and not just let it come in and spread out on a metal surface. It will be easier to identify the source rather than trying to eliminate the source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 4 hours ago, RivNut said: Put something in the trunk that will let you know where the water is coming in. Something heavy that will absorb the water as is comes in and not just let it come in and spread out on a metal surface. It will be easier to identify the source rather than trying to eliminate the source. Well I kind of did that with the paper towel taped to that hump in the back of the trunk. If it comes in and rolls down, the water is going to distort the towel. It's not raining right now, so I might run out there and take up some more paper towels on the side as well. I was tempted to use some dye or even just magic marker so as the water flowed, it would carry that color dye with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 The water is most likely NOT coming from the quarter window, BUT it could be coming from the chromed strip behind it in the bottom of the roof/quarter panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIVNIK Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 I have also had this problem on my '65. My leaks were coming through the holes from the trim strip below the rear glass. They are a bit of a pain to access, but after removing the trim piece & applying a generous blob of silicone to each hole & stud the problem was solved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) Get one of these from your local auto parts store or Amazon. Carefully remove the molding and clean all of the crap out of the lower window channel. If you don't immediately see the cause of the leak, put a drop light in the trunk under the window and close the lid. Look for light leaking around the glass. You should see either pinholes in the window channel, or a gap between the glass and the body. Best case scenario is it's the latter and you can carefully remove and reseal the glass with 'ribbon' sealant. Edited April 26, 2020 by EmTee (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 Take the loop off the trunk latch and get in there while it is raining. You won't need a trusted helper. Just use a bungee cord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 I understand what you are saying Bernie BUT I don't think the bungee cord will hold the truck lid tight enough, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 I wouldn't expect the leak to be in the perimeter of the trunk. That is easily checked by closing a $20 bill between the trunk and seal. A $1 bill for lesser cars. If all has been checked already, my money is on the bolt holes for the ribbed chrome trim below the window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 Rust never sleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 On 4/26/2020 at 8:47 AM, RIVNIK said: I have also had this problem on my '65. My leaks were coming through the holes from the trim strip below the rear glass. They are a bit of a pain to access, but after removing the trim piece & applying a generous blob of silicone to each hole & stud the problem was solved. Leaks like that should be fixed with dum dum designed for this purpose, as silicone has such a strong bond that you may have to destroy the trim to get it off if you ever have to remove it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 SEAMFOAM65 - so is that dumdum stuff would be applied around the rear glass if I decide to take the trim off again? Is it like a wax or clay type of material? Sunday Monday Tuesday (today) OK, so it rained, but it rained less than they were predicting. The first pic is right when I put down the paper towels (before it rained) on Sunday. The second pic is after a little rain yesterday, and then the 3rd pic is after a small amount of rain last night (the pic was just taken today). I'm honestly not sure what to make of this. There is less water in there than some other times when he had a ton of rain. But like those times, the car was under a carport and covered with a carcover. These pics show the results of me taking off the tape from the side rear class, but leaving the tape on the rear glass. I can only really see a drop or three on the paper towels on the right hand side (definitely not soaked). The weird thing is that the drops do NOT lineup with the edge of the trunk edge. They are further outboard. I realize that it could hit the car with the garden hose, but I am seeing rain the forecast for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so I will probably leave things as they are now. To be continued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 (edited) Dum dum is used to seal through which a stud goes. You would pack some around each stud on the long molding strip that runs between the trunk and the rear window as you draw down the molding, the Dum dum seals the hole. Any water that runs under the molding will not get into the hole and therefore will not get into the trunk. The channel in which the rear glass should only need to have the glass sealed to the body. When the stainless window trim is removed (using the tool pictured earlier,) you will see a gap between the glass and the body. The molding clips are attached in this gap. The hollow space between the glass and the body, under the molding is where dirt accumulates and holds water. Pretty soon that moisture and dirt eat away the paint and metal and rust develops. Rust eats holes in the metal. Water goes through the holes in the rust and gets in your trunk. Water in the trunk starts rusting out the trunk floors. What I'm saying is that you need to correctly seal out the water. Which could mean that you remove all the moldings and inspect the holes in the body through which they're attached. Remove the garnish moldings from around the rear window, clean out the channels and inspect the meatal. Poke it and look for rust under the paint. Have you tried Bernie's trick of inserting a dollar bill between the trunk lid and the trunk seal and trying to pull it out? If you can, you need a new trunk seal. Do the two ends of the trunk seal meet in the middle at the bottom? Run a hose over the complete rear area while hitting the water with some compressed air; emulating wind driven water. If the car is under a car port, I'm putting my money on wind driven water. Edited April 28, 2020 by RivNut (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Set your AC controls to full outside air, put the fan on high, and cover the car with soap bubbles. Cheap shampoo would work. Or pressurize it with a Shopvac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 Build a fire in the trunk and see where the smoke comes out. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 A fire could damage the paint or worse. Applying a technology from one application to another can benefit. Especially when you seem to have tried everything. They do it on houses. I wouldn't reject the idea of taping the output of a Shopvac into a vent window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 Put that 18V leaf blower in the trunk with a smoke bomb. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted May 4, 2020 Author Share Posted May 4, 2020 So finally got around to dousing the rear of the car with a hose. You can see the results above. You can clearly see water coming in from the passenger side taillight area. There was also some water on the left, which I'll look into at a later time. That might be the gasket around the trunk itself. So this afternoon, I used the new gasket that came in and installed them around both light housings. I only installed the one that goes from the chrome bezel to the paint. The one that seals the plastic lens came in too, but since I didn't see water inside the housing, I will save those gaskets for another time. I will say, that the lens gasket looks super cheap. When I install that, I plan on tracing it out so if I have to make one myself, I will have a template. The chrome bezel gasket was one big long piece of L-shaped foam rubber. I had to put it around the opening and then cut it to length. Not a big deal and it definitely looks more substantial than the other gasket. As long as it seals the water out, which it should, these chrome bezel gasket is a way better deal than the $100 the other company wanted. The DumDum putty sealant is coming some this this week, so I'll try to do the rear glass then. Now I ran out of daylight so I haven't retested it after putting in the gaskets, but I'll let you guys know. Maybe this will help others in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 On 4/24/2020 at 9:52 PM, Hazdaz said: Rivnut, as always, good information. What really is surprisingly me that is if it is getting in via the rear window or trim just below that don't get rained on them directly. It simply can't because there is a roof over the top of the Riv. That is one of the reasons I had been doubting that it could be coming in from there. telriv, I might as replace those gaskets. I think I found some on ebay the other day for like $15 or so. There are tail light gaskets and tail light frame bezel mounts. Two sets of gaskets on 63/64 for tail lights. climb in the trunk with flash light and look for surface rust as indicator where the water is coming in. Another trick is get in the trunk and have some poor a cup of water over known leak locations. My leak was the exterior front trunk The metal piece between the back window and trunk opening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 On 4/28/2020 at 9:25 AM, Seafoam65 said: Leaks like that should be fixed with dum dum designed for this purpose, as silicone has such a strong bond that you may have to destroy the trim to get it off if you ever have to remove it again. Seafoam, righto on all points. I took a short cut as a TEMPORARY repair. My leak was in the same location as yours. I carefully applied a Colton thread size bead of silicone around the trim. I’ve got some other repairs that are ahead of the permanent repair. Once the repairs are finished I’ll take ( or someone else) will remove the nuts to make proper repair under the leaking trim. Thank you for your input. Turbinator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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