Trunk Leaks

Yeah, luckily it wasn't too hard/time-consuming for you to fix. How did it hold up in the rain you mentioned?

not sure yet, the carpet was still a little wet from before so ill have to take out all my car audio stuff and dry it out

Hope fully that all works for you.

The worst trunk "leak" I had was when I washed the car, and had the pressure washing wand stuck in under the rear right fender. There is a vent flap under there, around the size of a dryer vent. I inadvertently kept sticking the pressure washing wand up through the vent flap. Water everywhere...

Has anyone had any trouble with there trunk leaking when it rains.? Both of the car s that I got (one for parts and one to fix ) both leak in the trunk and I can't find where it is coming in from.

jonly wrote:

albertj wrote:

jonly wrote:

I have a 96 with the trunk leak/rust and inside the gas door is starting to develop a few spots.

THat trunk leak might be only that the trunk lid hinges need adjusted. When the car is in motion the rushing air tends to lift the trunk lid and if it is raining you'll get water under the leading edge. Check it by closing a dollar bill on it and pulling. If the buck slides out easy, you have likely found the problem area. You can either adjust the trunk lid or replace the gasket rubber. Or both.

Albertj

Also someone posted a GM video about this problem. Video shows that there are seams running along the rear fenders just below the top edge that may be leaking; may be leaking past the trunk hinge bases; may be leaking at the rear taillamp mounts. Have to pull the felt liner out of the trunk and look for the water stains/rust to figure out these type leaks. For most of these have to clean the area well, repaint, then use seam sealer or silicone caulk as appropriate to fix.

Albertj

i have had good experience removing the gasket,giving it a through cleaning ,wiping it down real good with armor all,and reinstalling it.

Well let me explaine what I have done and now after watching that video I am quite certian that the problem lies with either the rear window seal or the piller and the quarter panel meet, and someone said something about takeing that black plastic peice out and resealing that seam, but any way this is all the stuff that I have already done.: I have taken the trunk lid of and replaced the rubber washers, I have resealed both of the seams that run along the trunk edge, I have readjusted the hinges and rechecked the fitness with a doller bill and I have used black sealant on the taillight studs and when it rains both the right side and the left side have water right under the quarter post right where the fellow with the blue car showed pics of his leaking, when the water comes in it comes right down the wheel whell and quarter post.

If there's to much water in your trunk. Can"t fix the leak, drill a couple of holes in bottom of the trunk, at least the water will drain!!!

black shadow wrote:

Well let me explaine what I have done and now after watching that video I am quite certian that the problem lies with either the rear window seal or the piller and the quarter panel meet, and someone said something about takeing that black plastic peice out and resealing that seam, but any way this is all the stuff that I have already done.: I have taken the trunk lid of and replaced the rubber washers, I have resealed both of the seams that run along the trunk edge, I have readjusted the hinges and rechecked the fitness with a doller bill and I have used black sealant on the taillight studs and when it rains both the right side and the left side have water right under the quarter post right where the fellow with the blue car showed pics of his leaking, when the water comes in it comes right down the wheel whell and quarter post.

I think you are right, window seal or C-pillar/quarter panel seam. You can check with a flashlight - you may want to take out the rear seat (it's pretty easy to do) and the package shelf to see the bottom of the window. Then get in the trunk and look up to find the bottom of the window seam.

Albertj

yeah I have had all of the back seat out when I was installing the remote start, do you know how to take the plastic seam cover off of the cpiller.

well I found both of the leaks in my trunk and I hope that I fixed them, it was the cpiller post meeting the quarter panel and the trunk all three come together and there was a crack about 8 inches long on both sides and the dr side also had a little hole where it was running in, the caulk that they used shrunk and also got hard and brittle so now it is re-caulked and the plastic pieces replaced and is now drying.

black shadow wrote:

yeah I have had all of the back seat out when I was installing the remote start, do you know how to take the plastic seam cover off of the cpiller.

C pillar trim snaps into place with clips. The problem will be (1) the foam behind the fabric decays in the sun but it won't be obvious until you touch it. To dee what I mean, poke it somewhere with your finger and see how it *does not* spring back.

IF I were you I'd get to a NAPA or CarQuest and buy a trim tool if you don't have one already. THe one I have in mind is a Lisle 35400 -- however, Lisle is not the only tool maker and there are a number of them that will work fine. What you want, at minimum, is a tool that looks like a cross between a mini-crowbar and a screwdriver.

I use it for pulling these panels (and also for removing hub caps) because it gets under the trim pieces well without scratching anything up (backside is more or less polished smooth).

The clips consist of plastic tangs molded into the backside of the trim panel with metal clips on the tangs that go into holes on the car.

Service manual does not have a detailed picture of this part or how it fits (wish there was a Haynes for this car, they would show a pic).

Albertj

well I got it all back together and it is now drying so hopefully the leak is fixed, thanks for all the help guys.

let someone sleep in the trunk one rainy night just to be sure you got all the leaks....

robotennis61 wrote:

let someone sleep in the trunk one rainy night just to be sure you got all the leaks....

I tried to get my wife to do it but she said we didn't have enough beer on hand.

try a tazer ....

robotennis61 wrote:

try a tazer ....

for some unknown reason women don't seem to like those things unless they are the ones using them

Although many of the tips contained in this Tech Manual have already been suggested in previous posts, I have found it to be very useful when troubleshooting leaks and wind noise on my 97 Riv. (It is the companion manual for the video already mentioned earlier.) The Park Ave is included in some of the discussions as well because some of the solutions apply to both.

Click here: http://www.dorothypowers.com/RIVPDF/Know_How.pdf to view/download the PDF version of the pages from this Tech Manual that pertain to the Riviera. (Please excuse the link reference; I'm borrowing space from another website.)

Hope this helps those having water leak and/or wind noise issues!

THAT WAS A NICE PIECE OF WORK THANKS FOR POSTING THAT, AFTER WATCHING THE VID I WENT RIGHT OUT AND FOUND RIGHT WHERE IT WAS LEAKING AND HOPEFULLY I TOOK CARE OF IT, I AM GETTING READY TO GO OUT NOW AND CHECK IT CUASE WE HAD AN INCH OF RAIN THIS MORNING.

Somehow, I never saw that video... Thanks Timo!

I've had 2 of the spots he spoke of leak - a gap beneath the right-hand black sail-panel/quarter-panel trim strip, and a virtually invisible gap in the vertical wall of the left-hand trunk gutter.

(Betcha' GM is real happy when these things get out to the public...)

well after last nights flash flood that we had I went out and I still have some getting in somewhere but it isn't nowhere as bad as it was.

Rivlanta wrote:

Although many of the tips contained in this Tech Manual have already been suggested in previous posts, I have found it to be very useful when troubleshooting leaks and wind noise on my 97 Riv. (It is the companion manual for the video already mentioned earlier.) The Park Ave is included in some of the discussions as well because some of the solutions apply to both.

Click here: http://www.dorothypowers.com/RIVPDF/Know_How.pdf to view/download the PDF version of the pages from this Tech Manual that pertain to the Riviera. (Please excuse the link reference; I'm borrowing space from another website.)

Hope this helps those having water leak and/or wind noise issues!

Great post Craig, this info is great, that deserves a plus from me.

I just finished tracing my trunk leak to the lid hinges. I can see where what looks like a silicone gasket is starting to part with the hinge metal. I think I will loosen the hinges from the car body, clean them up and apply new exterior clear silicon and secure the hinges back down. Both sides are leaking just a little bit.