Hi,

I have a 1998 ES300

It was first suspected that the trunk itself was leaking. I adjusted the latch which was loose and that tightened up the trunk lid and made it flush with the body of the car. That seemed to help.

But there was still a little water getting into the left well area and the spare tire area.

I was thinking it was tail light seals as the water seems to be coming from that area. There's no water anywhere in the liner on the left right or on the trunk lid.

Well today I checked my trunk and there wasn't any water on the left or spare tire area but the right side well area where the jack sits was almost full!!! This is so frustrating. Not sure where the water is coming from.

I have to suspect it's the tail light seals but it seems the water is random where it's ending up. And the amount of water makes it seems like it wouldn't come from a leaky seal or could it leak that much?

Anyway, I read on a forum that if you can't get new tail light assembly seals that you can use the old ones and apply some sort of sealant compound around/on the old seals. But there was a specific type of sealant recommended and I don't recall what that was. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thank you.

 

IDK if it applies to the 3es. This happens a LOT on the 4es. I haven’t ever had a 3es so this may not apply, but:

In the left and right, there’s a little tray bolted in either side of the wheel well. One is just a tray, the other side is the tool holder area. If you take out the single 10mm bolt that holds the plastic tray and pull it up, that’s where the water collects. It comes in from a flap-vent in the well. Something get’s in the vent, or it gets folded. Then water from the wheel spray continually comes in. Eventually it fills and then leaks over into the wheel well proper. I’ve had to remove a gallon + water that way more than once. Clean and straighten that flap valve and then no issues. See if that applies. In really wet weather, it can impressive how much water comes in from something gapped in the trunk seal and trunk lid. Clean both sides, apply silicone grease (Superlube is cheap and good vs. the pricey factory greases for this) to the trunk gasket. This can stop leaks, too (had to do it just last month on ours, small steady leak from pine needles up high on the trunk gasket and stuck to lid).

The way you describe how it gets in the sides and then the well, makes me thing the 3es you have may have that same flexible/rubbery vent panel under those side trays, like the 4es.

 

Hello,

Yes, there is a Vent Flap in the Trunk Pocket area, but it is there only on the Driver's side, the other pocket is blank. With that, what Both sides do have is the Drain Lines from the Moonroof, and if any of them were to either come out of the grommet or get damaged in any way, you will get a bunch of water in the trunk, but only on special occasions.

One of the items discussed before was getting some Water Detection paper that changes color when it comes in contact with water (like this one), you can put a number of them around the trunk area to localize the leak, could be useful to see if it is the Taillights that leaks. Other thing is the Layout Marker, which is usually Blue in color, it is used a lot in machining to see the marks scratched onto a surface, or just use the biggest Sharpie you can get your hands on - it takes a while to dry and is easy to clean, so you can cover the entire Trunk seal with it and close the lid, places where there is less to none ink transfer would indicate bad seal contact, aka potential leak.

After you apply all those methods, the best option would be to go to a Self-Service car wash, or just use a Pressure Washer if you have it at home, and spray All the crevices that the water may be using to get in, that way you know exactly where you sprayed water, and you will have a lot more control over the process instead of waiting for the next rainstorm to come by.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions. I just realized I had replies. For some reason I wasn't notified by email.

Anyway, a little update on my trunk leak. The right side well area where the jack goes keeps filling up with water. I can't figure out where it's coming from.

I took out all the liners, felt and plastic to expose all the metal. It sorta seems the water is coming from the middle of the trunk behind the sheet metal and running down the left middle or right side. Which makes sense because right now my car has been parked on a very slight right slope enough for the water to run down to the right. Just a guess because the left side hasn't gotten any water for some time. Small amount of water in the spare tire section. The spare tire area had a gallon or two of water when I first noticed the leak month ago but hasn't filled up since.

I did adjust and tighten down the trunk latch and bolts so that the trunk lid shuts flush with the sides so that may have helped. Can you tighten the latch/lid too much that would cause the lid to maybe rise up on the back end maybe? If that makes sense? Also, I don't feel any water on the inner side and under neath the trunk rubber seal, no water running down that I can feel and the trunk lid liner isn't wet at all that I can feel. So it doesn't seem like the water is coming in through the trunk lid but...

I also think there may be more than one source of water leaking. Maybe one of the sources was the lid which I fixed.

Yesterday after taking out all the liners, I removed the right tail light assembly. (The one with the turn signal). The gasket was fairly decent although one side was torn off where it was fastened. The seal was still soft and in decent condition overall it seemed. There was no water in or around the seal or behind the tail light. I don't think that was the source of the water leak.

I also wonder if when I was rear-ended if a seam or something had split? You can see where there's all that white sealant stuff running all along the bottom side of the trunk below the latch area etc.... none of that looked cracked open although I wonder what might be going on behind the sheet metal on the inside below where the latch area is. There's no way to see what's going on behind that area. I wonder if there is a crack or something back in that area?

I did check the sunroof drains and they are poking out of the hole below the car so there shouldn't be any water coming into the trunk.

After removing the felt type liners from the left and right side of the trunk which covers the rear quarter panels I noticed it was wet/damp on the upper areas of both quarter panels. I ran my hand all along the metal in the the upper area and as far back as I could reach and it was wet. Was that just condensation maybe?

Anyway, still investigating. Thank you again for your tips.

 

Go to a pressure wash with a helper, literally sit in the trunk with it closed and watch.

Even though my car is pristine it still had rust on the rear right hand wheel well, behind the plastic shield. Was filled with mud.