1996 Buick Riviera, Water Issues

1996. Buick Riviera

hey guys, i have had some recent water problems in the trunk

i have sealed the following:
- aerial
- bolts that connect the trunk lid
- area which houses the rear lights
and a few more

has anyone had any water issues, that i missed looking on the fourms??

p.s it had a fender bender before i bought the car. but was fixed. could that have anything to do with this?

- Chris

Some Rivs leak around the rear window.

Some leak at the body seams by the trunk hinges.

With mine, the trunk lid was lifting while I was in motion and admitting water past the trunk seal. After that fenderbender maybe the trunk closure was not adjusted properly. Or if your trunk seal was not properly maintained (you have to 'feed' it with polysiloxane or silicone spray every so often) it might just have compressed with time such that it's admitting water.

Can't tell from here. But here is what you do.

Take a piece of paper currency and lay it across the trunk seal just to the left or right of one of the trunk hinges. Close the trunk so that the currency stays in place. Once closed, then try to slide the currency side to side. If you can slide it your trunk may well be leaking around there. You can also sprinkle some talc powder on the seal, close the lid ans see where the talc *does not* get rubbed off.

hope this helps

Albertj

albertj wrote:

But here is what you do.

Take a piece of paper currency and lay it across the trunk seal just to the left or right of one of the trunk hinges. Close the trunk so that the currency stays in place. Once closed, then try to slide the currency side to side. If you can slide it your trunk may well be leaking around there.

This is right on, try this and you can lower the forward corner adjustments to tighten it up. You may just need new weatherstripping, though. I found that to tighten the front edge of my trunk I was pushing the corners down into the rear window gaskets. I compromised, it barely contacts the middle of the seal, and doesn't quite touch the corners.

ok thanks very much, i will give this a go. hopefully it will fix it

ive tried 3 times with different things. and it's just a pain in the a$$

if it is a body seam leak you can spot it by taking a flashlight (electric torch) and inspecting the seams under the lip of the trunk. You will see water stains, maybe with rust or dirt, by the seam.

You will have to remove the trunk liner aft of the rear shock towers to inspect for this.

Albertj

If the leak is to the rear (under speakers) of the trunk, it's because of the silicone they line the rear window with cracks and dries up. I had a huge leak and you can't remove the rear window to reseal (some piece isn't made anymore). Anyway, a good window tech can peal back the interior trim and reseal it for you for $100 or less.

As for the trunk hinges, I have the same problem. Havent addressed it yet (I just place a towel under the hinges on the inside and switch them out periodically. I'd think some JB weld or something on the underside could deal with though.

albertj wrote:

if it is a body seam leak you can spot it by taking a flashlight (electric torch) and inspecting the seams under the lip of the trunk. You will see water stains, maybe with rust or dirt, by the seam.

You will have to remove the trunk liner aft of the rear shock towers to inspect for this.
Albertj

I've gotta' disagree here while I respond to the fender bender question:

Water leaks, as you are learning, are notoriously sneaky, and unless you are dealing with years of the same problem, they don't leave trails behind... Also, the vertical surfaces and various contours, lips & ledges (and gravity) give us all sorts of false clues.

I had a rather slow but persistent water leak in the left side of the trunk, appearing to starting a few inches behind the wheel well. While chasing it, I discovered that the left rear of my car was hit during its life with the original owner. Starting at a relatively low & forward position, I started caulking the body seams and worked my way backward and eventually upward as I reached the tail lights... After several sessions, I finally got to the source and it was virtually invisible - I really only coated it because I had no place left to go!

You know that 90-degree 'bulging' corner that the trunk lid & fender tips make around the perimeter of the tail light assy? If you open the trunk and look at the edges of the fenders where they meet the lid, you'll see 2 folded seams. There wasn't a gap visible to the naked eye, or any rust or chipped paint, but THAT'S where the bloody water was wicking in, and riding the contours down and around to the outer edge of the carpeting...

thanks again for all your reply's

hopefully i have fixed the issues today by re-sealing the bodywork around the lights

i also found where the rubber seal that line the boot. i lifted a small portion off beside the left hinge and i found there was a dent pointing downwards i am guessing this is from the fender bender but i sealed it over and hopefully i will have no more water issues

i will keep you posted when i check later tonight

Eldo wrote:

albertj wrote:

if it is a body seam leak you can spot it by taking a flashlight (electric torch) and inspecting the seams under the lip of the trunk. You will see water stains, maybe with rust or dirt, by the seam.

You will have to remove the trunk liner aft of the rear shock towers to inspect for this.
Albertj

I've gotta' disagree here while I respond to the fender bender question:

Water leaks, as you are learning, are notoriously sneaky, and unless you are dealing with years of the same problem, they don't leave trails behind... Also, the vertical surfaces and various contours, lips & ledges (and gravity) give us all sorts of false clues.

I had a rather slow but persistent water leak in the left side of the trunk, appearing to starting a few inches behind the wheel well. While chasing it, I discovered that the left rear of my car was hit during its life with the original owner. Starting at a relatively low & forward position, I started caulking the body seams and worked my way backward and eventually upward as I reached the tail lights... After several sessions, I finally got to the source and it was virtually invisible - I really only coated it because I had no place left to go!

You know that 90-degree 'bulging' corner that the trunk lid & fender tips make around the perimeter of the tail light assy? If you open the trunk and look at the edges of the fenders where they meet the lid, you'll see 2 folded seams. There wasn't a gap visible to the naked eye, or any rust or chipped paint, but THAT'S where the bloody water was wicking in, and riding the contours down and around to the outer edge of the carpeting...

Fair enough, and a good description of how to go after a body seam leak.

Sneakiest leak I recall was on a '90 Subaru I had. The windshield had been replaced, and my guess is it was the first time install for the tech. He apparently used a universal kit and overlapped the butyl seal at the top of the window (where it is easy to reach) rather than at the bottom (where it's almost impossible to leak). SO the water leak area was at the end of the overlap and the water dripped in at the beginning of it.

Sealed the leak by removing the window trim surround, using a skiver (knife with a u shaped blade made to cut leather lace primarily) to cut a channel of caulk out across the top of the window then resealing around the window with raingutter sealer (a butyl caulk that's loaded with aluminum dust). Idea was that there was a leak somewhere, I could nto find it (until cutting away some material) and knew that gutter sealer had an aggressive solvent and would stick to the metal and the old caulk.

In hindsight "proper" solution would have been to R&R the window.

Albertj