Leaking trunk - need quick patch in the rain

[gathermewool]

It's pouring here in CT, and will be doing so for the next couple of days. I’ve got a leak in the trunk I need to temporarily seal while it’s raining, before I seal it properly.

It's in the sheet metal seam in the channel where the water travels back and around the trunk’s weather stripping. Near the back there's a seam that's parted slightly, allowing water to drip and quickly wet the entire back right corner of the trunk : ( . It seems to be right under where the weather strip is. My plan when it’s dry will be to apply the same 3M weather stripping adhesive I used to install the weather strip – I replaced the weather stripping because it had a huge gash in it, which I incorrectly assumed was the source of the leak.

So, I need to know what I can use on a wet seam to sufficiently stop or slow the ingress of water, and won’t cause a mess or problems when I try to seal it properly.

Thanks for the help!

 

[AuthorEditor]

Try silicone bathtub caulk for the seam. If you can just dry the area enough to get it into the seam it will probably harden up eventually. Water just causes the silicone to skin over quickly. It will probably be a better repair than the adhesive.

 

[gathermewool]

Do you think I should try the silicone on the inside or outside of the seam? I can probably dam up the water for a short period of time, but it's pouring out so any attempt to keep the area dry will be futile.

 

[Papa Bear]

Duct tape

 

[brianl703]

Butyl tape or duct seal. Duct seal is sold in the electrical aisle. Butyl tape is probably sold with the caulk and weatherstripping--I'm not sure. I got my roll of butyl tape on Ebay.

 

[gathermewool]

Is duct seal that aluminum-backed tape or is it a sealant? Sorry, I don't know much about adhesives

 

[Michael_P]

You might want to remove the spare tire if it is in the bottom, then pull out the rubber plug at the bottom. Most vehicles have a rubber plug at the bottom of the spare tire well. This way if water comes in it will go right back out. Generally you can drive in heavy rain and water never seems to enter the plug. The downside would be if you have a leaking exhaust you could introduce exhaust into the cabin.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: Michael_P
You might want to remove the spare tire if it is in the bottom, then pull out the rubber plug at the bottom. Most vehicles have a rubber plug at the bottom of the spare tire well. This way if water comes in it will go right back out. Generally you can drive in heavy rain and water never seems to enter the plug. The downside would be if you have a leaking exhaust you could introduce exhaust into the cabin.


I duct taped the [censored] out of the inside, though it's cheap duct tape so it may not hold up for long. I've got all of the carpetting removed and a set of towels I'll be alternating to keep things relatively dry. It's a steady drip, but it's cetainly not enough to do more than soak the carpetting had it not beeen removed

 

[Seguino]

If you don't need to use the car throw a tarp over it 'till you fix it.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: Seguino
If you don't need to use the car throw a tarp over it 'till you fix it.


Unfortunately, I don't have a tarp, and it's my DD that I have to park street-side. If the duct tape doesn't hold and I can't keep up with the towels - one was soaked, but not saturated after 2 hours, FWIW - I'll take it to some covered parking, let it dry while I shop or watch a movie, and seal it with some silicone (thanks for the advice

) when I'm done

I think I might just do the garage thing anyway. Gotta love typing as you think...

 

[paulo57509]

Throw a huge folded beach towel under the leak. Check on it after a day or so. You might have to get a couple of towels and rotate them in and out.

The towel will soak up most of the water and it's reusable after a wash and dry.

When the sun comes out wipe the trunk lid of any condensation or it may start rusting from the inside out. I usually empty the trunk and leave the lid open so it'll dry out.

After the rainy season, you can repair the leak properly.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Is duct seal that aluminum-backed tape or is it a sealant? Sorry, I don't know much about adhesives

It's best described as industrial play-dough.

It's used for plugging conduits, and for sealing wire/cable holes.

 

[Vikas]

Do you know exactly where it is leaking from? I had couple of old cars which drove me nuts until I found where the leak was coming from. The water was getting in to trunk from the wheel well because of the tire spraying the road water upwards!

- Vikas

 

[ted s]

roof cement

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Do you know exactly where it is leaking from? I had couple of old cars which drove me nuts until I found where the leak was coming from. The water was getting in to trunk from the wheel well because of the tire spraying the road water upwards!

- Vikas

I haven't been able to track it down until the recent torrential rains and winds. I folded down the seats and lay in the trunk with a flashlight. It was dripping from two of the sheet-metal-to-sheet-metal seams that run perpedicular to the flow of water around the trunk.

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm going to prep the area and silicone both sides. Hopefully this fixes the issue.