So, my hatch was leaking. I'm sure anyone reading this is familiar with the symptoms - pop hatch, lift, water has been pooling in the plastic body panel that covers the rear window wiper motor, which promptly pours out the sides. Usually one of them manages to pour into the hatch, getting your stereo equipment wet, covering your first aid kit with mildew, and making your spare coolant / oil bottles slimy.
I replaced all the obvious stuff. Hatch seal, rear tail light seals, every spoiler seal, antenna seal, wiper seal, you get the idea. No dice, damn thing still leaks.
So, it must be the actual glass seal, I figure, which is a tin plated bitch to get at, and isn't a rubber seal, it's glue like the windshield. So I pull off the glass trim - which wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, and the side pieces both get trashed in the process. Clean the crap out of the crack along the top and upper sides of the glass and wait several days with the car in a warm garage until it's utterly dry. Then I silicone the top and about the top 4 inches down each side.
While waiting for this to dry, I figure I might as well pull off the bottom trim as well... after some digging, I realize it's bolted on. I start to get suspicious... pull off the nuts, pull out the trim, and sure enough, it's obviously been leaking through those holes, they are surrounded by dirt and gunk that's built up over time.
So I clean the dirt and gunk out of there, and as a test, just put tape over those holes - have to wait for new glass trim to be sent anyway.
Been driving it in the rain for two days now... rear hatch is still bone dry.
So, on the one hand, WOOT! Problem fixed.
On the other hand, it was probably just that lower trim, and I could have fixed it in 10 minutes by pulling just that piece and applying silicone to those holes. Something to keep in mind if you have the same problem.
I replaced all the obvious stuff. Hatch seal, rear tail light seals, every spoiler seal, antenna seal, wiper seal, you get the idea. No dice, damn thing still leaks.
So, it must be the actual glass seal, I figure, which is a tin plated bitch to get at, and isn't a rubber seal, it's glue like the windshield. So I pull off the glass trim - which wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, and the side pieces both get trashed in the process. Clean the crap out of the crack along the top and upper sides of the glass and wait several days with the car in a warm garage until it's utterly dry. Then I silicone the top and about the top 4 inches down each side.
While waiting for this to dry, I figure I might as well pull off the bottom trim as well... after some digging, I realize it's bolted on. I start to get suspicious... pull off the nuts, pull out the trim, and sure enough, it's obviously been leaking through those holes, they are surrounded by dirt and gunk that's built up over time.
So I clean the dirt and gunk out of there, and as a test, just put tape over those holes - have to wait for new glass trim to be sent anyway.
Been driving it in the rain for two days now... rear hatch is still bone dry.
So, on the one hand, WOOT! Problem fixed.
On the other hand, it was probably just that lower trim, and I could have fixed it in 10 minutes by pulling just that piece and applying silicone to those holes. Something to keep in mind if you have the same problem.
