condensation under spare tire cover?

Anyone else have this problem? I don't know what the deal is. I see no signs of water leaking into the trunk, but there is always water clinging onto the bottom of the spare tire cover, and getting into the plastic tub the jack is stored in. My jack is getting rusty now. Don't want to think what's happening under the carpet.

its not happening to me but i got massive water buildup under the back seat

Yikes, too many electronics there!

Jack the R wrote:

Anyone else have this problem? I don't know what the deal is. I see no signs of water leaking into the trunk, but there is always water clinging onto the bottom of the spare tire cover, and getting into the plastic tub the jack is stored in. My jack is getting rusty now. Don't want to think what's happening under the carpet.

Yes sir. i used to have a lot of water build up behind the left side of the trunk and than it traveled to the spare tire........ i just RE GLUED the weather stripping

yeah, triple check your trunk weatherstripping. Odds are good somebody put something heavy on an edge and bent the metal holding edge a little, even though it looks okay. You can re-bend it back into shape... had this problem on my mom's '98 PA, the whole spare tire well actually filled up with water... oops! Rebending the weatherstrip took care of it.

I'll check it tomorrow.

I didin't see anything wrong with the weatherstripping. I poured water around the edge of the trunk and didn't see a leak. I haven't found water in the tire well itself yet. It's clinging to the bottom of the cover, and in the plastic tub the jack sits in (having dripped off the bottom of the cover, no doubt). I think somehow it is condensing on the bottom of the cover, like it condenses on the outside of a toilet under certain conditions.

you know what, i think this time of the year thats probably normal hot to cold , cold to hot causes condensation there. really no air flow back there . i left my truck open one day last week to get the dampness out.

as far as water in around the spare, keep in mind that there is a little vent flap in the right hand side in behind the trunk carpet. I've found that if I go to a pay and spray and go sticking the wand in and around the right rear tire I've on occasion stuck the wand in through that little flap, and gotten water in the trunk that way. Sometine a little that shows up as condensation on the spare, and once I must have stuck the whole things in and gave it a good spray, cause the trunk had a few inches of water in the spare well.

I'll have to look for the vent flap, never noticed it before.

THE WATER MAY BE COMING IN FROM BENEATH THE TRUNK DOOR HING HOLDERS.
THEY GET WEAK FROM THE UP AND DOWN.
I HAD TO CALK AROUND MINE TO STOP THE WATER FROM GETTING IN THE TRUNK BY GOING IN UNDER THE HINGES.
FIREFIGHTER

Most likely Firefighter is right. Look up at where the hinges bolt to the lip around the trunk. See rust or water stains? There is your leak.most likely the drivers side hinge.

As an aside, anyone else notice how elegant our trunk hinge mechanisms are? Normal GM hinges are pretty simple affairs, but the ones on the Riviera look like something off an aircraft.

al_roethlisberger wrote:

As an aside, anyone else notice how elegant our trunk hinge mechanisms are?  Normal GM hinges are pretty simple affairs, but the ones on the Riviera look like something off an aircraft.

Yes. They're adjustable as well. The hex on that rod can be turned to raise or lower the front corners of the decklid.

As for the leak, it could definitely be coming from under the plate. Instead of caulking around it, just take off the 2 10mm nuts on the bottom side and lift off the decklid. You can clean the area and use a good RTV as a gasket, then put the decklid back while it's wet.
If you're REAL lucky, the water is entering through a crack in the body sealer...where the quarter panel seam is. It can also get into the trunk from that little rubber seal that meets the B pillar and the quarter. Check it to see if it's broken or falling apart.

Actually there are two thin rubber “washers” between the deck and the hinge, that is what is “supposed” to seal the trunk in that area. That is also where several body panels meet/come together, it could be leaking from any of those panels and just “end-up” running into the trunk.

As for the quarter panel seams near the trunk hinges, the fix at the dealership years ago was to put a “puddle” of sealer all over the seams and “hope” for the best!


In the case of my ’95 it did not work, when I did my repaint I removed the “puddle” and taped off the “seams” themselves, and just sealed them.



AND, that “little rubber seal that meets the B pillar and the quarter” is nothing more than decoration! It is possible to have water leaking under it BUT it is a deeper problem, where the B-pillar and quarter panel are welded together and then sealed. The trim piece is just that, a trim piece.

I've been noticing some condensation on the spare, cover, jack, etc. lately. The carpeting under it is pretty wet, and I also noticed some dampness to a lesser degree in the carpeting on the trunk floor by the antenna. Sounds like it's one or both of the trunk hinges leaking to me. I took everything out today for a few hours and let it sit in the sun to dry out. Any thoughts?

Check the clearance to the gasket along the edge closest to the rear window. The closed height is adjustable. Likely the gasket has compressed over the years. Close the trunk with a strip of paper on the gasket sticking out by the rear window. Can you slide the paper around?

Sit in your trunk with a flashlight and have a friend blast it with a hose. Check for where its leaking and go from there. On my old Thunderturd i just used some black silicone to fill in some cracks in the weatherstripping.

I had the same problem but my leak was from the seam under the spare tire area. Check under the spare it might be that seam as well.

Dang bros.........

matt270avian wrote:

I've been noticing some condensation on the spare, cover, jack, etc. lately. The carpeting under it is pretty wet, and I also noticed some dampness to a lesser degree in the carpeting on the trunk floor by the antenna. Sounds like it's one or both of the trunk hinges leaking to me. I took everything out today for a few hours and let it sit in the sun to dry out. Any thoughts?

  Matt: This may sound like a joke, but I'm serious. If it was me I'd get a kid with a flashlight to hop in my trunk, close the lid, and hit it with water from a garden hose. A small woman might do as well, but might be harder to convince. Once inside it should be easy to tell where the water is coming from. Don't forget to let the poor kid out, and have a towel handy.

I was actually thinking of doing something like that. Set the hose on the back window and hop in with the keys.

matt270avian wrote:

I was actually thinking of doing something like that. Set the hose on the back window and hop in with the keys.

Alone? Take your cell phone too, just in case it goes wrong.

Animator wrote:

Alone? Take your cell phone too, just in case it goes wrong.

I don't have any friends   

matt270avian wrote:

Animator wrote:

Alone? Take your cell phone too, just in case it goes wrong.

I don't have any friends   

Depending on what kind of friends you have it may be safer to do it by yourself!