QATransAm

Whats up guys, i need help with something...can a few of you check to see(or if you already know off the top of your head)if there is any weatherstripping on the rear hatch, on the underside of the actual hatch, not the strip on the car...i hope i'm being clear here sorry, i mean if you open your hatch all the way and look up, at the bottom underneath side of the hatch. lol i think that's good enough, anyway the reason i'm asking is because my hatch leaks, and seaps into the tail lights and cause really bad condensation, it looks bad...so i just picked up a new set of tail lights and i don't wanna put them in until i get the problem solved obviously. I have the strip on the bottom and that seems to be fine no rips, or anything like that...however on the top, underside of the actual hatch there is no weatherstripping, BUT there is two peices of some type of sticky plastic, one on each side about 2"x1" each. Most likely put there by the previous owner, i don't know why though?!?!?! maybe i have a peice of weatherstripping missing or something? can some of you please check for me, it would be more than helpful!!!!

Mike91rs

I am having a similar problem. Every time it rains really hard, my hatch fills with water. I also have no cracks or tears on my weather stripping, and cannot find were it might be coming in from. I never thought to look up on the underside of it but I'll check to see if I have anything up there. I'll get back to you on that. If you find anything out let me know.

QATransAm

Yea my carpet in the back used to get pretty wet, so i did something pretty ghetto for a while, i bought some thin unoticable sponges from the supermarket and layed them over the weatherstripping, the part where it leaked the most and as long as i squeezed the water out after it rained, it would be fine. but it still never solved my tail light problem, they look really really bad and i don't want to put new ones in if the same thing is going to happen...i just need a few of you guys to tell me if there is a strip on the underside of the hatch. Mike91rs, i will let you know when i figure it out, and thanks for checking your hatch for me!

aso

Check where the window goes between the metal on rear hatch. Could be leaking.

QATransAm

Thanks i haven't checked that yet...

aso

it took me for ever to figure it out. My uncle has a body shop and he is the one who actually told me to check there.

duz

yeah i'm having the same proplem over here. right where the hatch of the glass meets the metal of the wing. last night it (where the hatch floor dips down) filled up with an inch of water. lucky me. wecked my subwoofer. no biggie but its still a pain in the ***. i had tried to seal it with this goop stuff but it 1) looks like sh*t and b) does work... barely noticable but i was wondering what steps i could take to properly seal this up.

QATransAm

well i just checked it out...it's not the back of the hatch, it's along the sides on the underside there are two square plastic pieces, one on each side, i mentioned this before...and the weatherstripping right where the plastic peices come down on is indented, pushed down. Does anyone know if they have this plastics...it's about 6 inches in from the back on each side, and can some of you check and see if there is any kind of strip along the underside of the hatch...if we could get some ideas together maybe we could solve this for good...it's a real PITA problem! thanks for all your replies guys, lets get it straight...

Mike91rs

I know a guy that works on auto glass. I'm thinkin' about just having all of my sh*t redone. If I do, I'm going to have him tell me exactally what caused it. The only problem I have is that I lost my job about 2 weeks ago, and well, I just got a new one. Long story short, came back from a vaca. and was fired. I don't get paid for anoyher two weeks. Another thing to add::: I have not seen a water line from were the water might have leaked down the side and into the bottom of the hatch, does anyone have that? Where you can see the water marks? That might help us to fix this problem if we know where it's coming from. Thanks guys and keep the ideas coming.

QATransAm

Sorry about your job man, that sucks......i don't really have water lines, to where you can actually see them, just the aftermath of it i guess...my tail lights look so sh1tty, and where does yours leak exactly? look along the sides of the weatherstripping, is it indented at all in certain places? that's how the water gets into my hatch...but i've yet to solve the tail light problem, i have no clue how it gets in there!?! also do you have weatherstrip along the underside of the actual hatch? no body seems to wanna check for me could you do that? that would help me out a lot...thanks guys

Andy Fanshawe

iTrader: (1)

Hi QATransAm
I have 2 Camaros and they both are the same under the hatch. Check out the photo. Mine has those "pads" as well.

A sure fire way to check where water is coming in is; (time consuming but well worth it)
1) Remove all interior panels in the hatch area and carpet and underlay. Take as much out as possible to make spotting it easier. Even remove the plastic panel from under the hatch.

2) Go and get some talcum powder and generously chuck it over every metal surface you can see, where water could be coming in. Don't forget the metal panel under the hatch. If you choose the smelly stuff, you will have a nice smelling car as well!!

3) Close hatch and go and get a hosepipe (or wait till it rains). We don't have to wait long in the UK for this! Completely saturate the car. Leather off the excess (don't want the water dripping in and spoiling the evidence when you open the hatch).

4) Now for the fun bit! Open the hatch and look for tell tale signs of channels in the talc where the water has run.

Hope all this helps.

Andy.

QATransAm

Thanks a lot! now i can explain a couple of things to you guys...on the picture i should have attached with this, hope it works i never tried it before...anyway, #1 should show little grooves near the back of the hatch, now on my hatch they are actually holes(if there not supposed to be holes can anyone point me to a product in which to fill these?) #2 shows the little plastic pieces i was talking about, so now i know they're supposed to be there, however #3 shows what looks like weatherstrip, that runs along with #2 the square plastics, i do not have #3...no stripping at all on the underside of my hatch except for the square things....i thank all of you for all your help, thanks for the picture Andy

Mike91rs

in the pic that you sent, it looks like there is a peice that fits over the bottom rubber. The plastic peice that you are pointing out. I don't even have that peice on my hatch. That's probably what my problem is. I'm glad that you sent that pic, I didn't know that there was a peice for the upper part. I've got a wear in where the bottom rubber and the top part of the hatch meet. I hope that's all I need. :fingers crossed:

QATransAm

Is the wear you are talking about right where the plastic piece is? that's exactly how mine is on both sides right where the plastic squares are...and i don't have anything else on the underside just those, i'm leaning towards that being the problem...still doesn't solve the headlights though! any thoughts on the two small holes near the back, right over where the tail lights would be? thanks guys

TomP

Has anyone mentioned this? It's how I found out that spot where the back top of the glass meets the spoiler panel was leaking. (The same spot that Aso mentioned!) I layed a hose over my car, from the front bumper, over the roof, so it would throw water onto my back window. I turned the hose on. Then I wiggled into the hatch thru the back seat. I couldn't get into the hatch well, but it was enough to see where the water was coming from.

Hay, wait, I think I drew a pic for someone... yep, got it.

Mathius

You should also note that even though you haven't found any cracks in your weatherstripping around the rim of the car, that doesn't necessarily mean it still isn't that weatherstripping. If it's old and worn, it's going to be compressed, not necessarily cracked or falling off. I was amazed after re-doing this seal on mine at how much tighter my hatch seals now (you can literally hear the difference in the automatic hatch retractor motor), because my old weatherstripping was flattened permanently.

Mathius

Mike91rs

is there any rubber that can go over that crack where the glass meets the rear spoiler?

QATransAm

You are right on the money man...when i got home today, i got out of the car started walking past the side of the car and stopped, i noticed the gap right where you are talking about, it's actually kinda big...and i'm pretty sure i can see what looks like weatherstrip, it's old i guess and just rotted...what did you do about this? is there any kind of adhesive or a tube of weatherstripping "stuff" i don't know what to call it, that i can use? i'm not totally sure that is where the water is getting in at...but i have to start somewhere, thanks if it wasn't for you i wouldn't have even looked there to begin with. any kind of info on how to repair that would be more than helpful...thanks a lot!

aso

you have to take the hatch off and take it a part. It does not take that long. Then reseal the it with windshield sealer. The whole process took less than an hour if I remember correctly. I would recomend having someone there to help you hold everything. I had my brother come over.

bubbakutz

ok, my hatch was leaking on the drivers side into the storage box....i thought my weatherstripping was flat, so i ripped it out and replaced it like 2 weeks ago. yesterday and today it has been raining for the first time. i opened up my hatch and it is leaking!! it seems to be even worst and now i think it is doing it a little on the pass. side. why is it doing this?? please help
in the pic is where it is leaking into the storage box
bub

bubbakutz

here is the other side

bubbakutz

no ideas u guys??

Cruzin Kaz

I'm not sure if someone already said this so...Try chacking the tailights too. These can allow a good amount of water in if the seal has gone bad.

87PontiacBeast

this might help. under the spoiler theres a gasket type rubber piece that goes between the spoiler and the car. its right under the 3rd brake light if u have that year that the light is in the spoiler. anyway if the previous owner took it out theres a gap that it leaves where water can get into the brake light. i noticed all this when i had to take my spoiler off to do the body work. but the only other thing i can think of is the 4 or 5 bolts that hold the spoiler on from underneath have little rubber pieces that cover the holes over the bolts. do u have all the rubber things? if not try putting tape over the holes and see if it works.

bubbakutz

my leaks are coming in from the sides, right where the weatherstripping makes a curve

P J Moran

In QATransAm's photo above, the leak is extremely likely at arrow #2. The fix is to disassemble the hatch and reseal it. You have to unbolt the metal tail portion from the glass, install new sealer, and reassemble. I can't overemphasize the benefit of a factory shop manual for this. You'll have to support the glass before removing the struts and tail panel. Flex occurs at the joint and it eventually creates a leak. I think you'll have to use a little of that black urethane windshield "glue" around those plastic pieces at the ends. Nothing else I know of sticks to them.

Good luck. I'm redoing mine (for the second time) tomorrow.

z_power

See this before disassembling: https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/t...tchalign.shtml
I'll be fixing mine hatch on Monday; I'll let you know if notice something new.

P J Moran

Upon disassembly I discovered that the sealer I had previously used was leaking most of the way across the glass. It had either shrunk and cracked or pulled away allowing major leakage. I cleaned everything up and did a couple of "dry runs" at reassembly.

I came up with an idea. Instead of using some kind of sealer (silicone, urethane, butyl, etc.), I am going to use foam tape. It is available in several different sizes and materials. Use either "high density" closed cell PVC or nitrile rubber foam. The latter is designated as "automotive and marine". Do not use low density, or open cell foam. It will not keep water out. I installed some 1/4 thick x 3/8" wide (3/8 x 3/8 might be even better, if it's available) completely across the edge. I also installed a short strip on each side to where the plastic transition piece comes in. I will use sealer only in the two little troughs (one on each side) from the transition piece to the front edge.

In my dry runs, the tape seems to fit very nicely and compress just right providing a good seal. Because there is some adjustment involved, and the panel is rather unwieldy, I am going to wait until I can get a couple of helpers for installation. I want one guy on each end and one below installing the backing plate and nuts. This way, it can be squarely lowered into the exact correct position with minimal adjustment.

Once you have applied the sealer, you need to place it perfectly and not be resetting and moving it around. You will cause gaps and holes and therefore leaks. As shown in the tech article, mark the panel location with tape. I have found that even with that, the holes on the side for the metal glass trim may be off slightly. So before even snugging any of the nuts, the small screws should be installed to get the alignment correct. Then tighten everything up.

Because sealer will squeeze out around the transition pieces, I will put a piece of wide masking tape on the weather stripping (on the body). After all of the bolts have been tightened, close the hatch and let the weatherstripping form the overflow sealer. You will get a perfect seal, and the tape will keep the sealer from sticking to the weatherstripping. After it all sets up, open the hatch, remove the tape, do a little trimming, and reinstall the trim. Done.

If this foam tape idea works, it will beat the hell out of the messy sealer approach.