I went into the spare tire area the other day to see if I had a spare coil stashed there. Instead I found about 1.5" of standing water in the tire well! I drained 1.5 to 2 gallons out by popping one of the grommets. I have no clear idea of how it got in.

It was fairly fresh; nothing was oxidized or really dirty. The week prior had been one of the wettest in a decade with constant storms (PNW). The. Car was outdoors during most all of that, sitting in either the parking lot at her work or in my parents' driveway over Christmastime. The odd thing is everything above the well was completely dry and had not even been wet. It does not appear it could have come through the trunk seal. The only thing I can speculate is if it came around the seal to the lowest point (middle of rear lower lip) then down the inner wall. Also, there are some sealed seams (sealed with white flexible sealant) on that wall once you remove the carpet and floor and go below that level.

Has anyone had this before and know where the leak typically originates and how it sneaks into the tire well w/o leaving a trace above?

 

Which side? The RH rear wheel well has a habit of rotting out due to the nature of the plastic shield it traps dirt and grime and the area stays wet for years.

 

No "side" at all - the water is (was) in the well.

And no sign of how it got there, everything above is perfectly dry on all sides, and would never have dried out given the conditions (cold, wet).

 

Put some Talcum Powder on the sides and at the bottom of the well (When Dry). It will indicate where the water is coming from,as well as its path.


Phil

 

Great idea, Phil. Like chalk on metal for finding high spots.

Strangely, there's no real rain forecast for a week now, unusual for here (Seattle) this time of year. I'll try that. It must be those seams on the rear wall of the trunk well; I'll verify and then I imagine some Henry's rubber sealant should take care of it handily.

 

We had some rain yesterday and at night I checked the trunk. A small-ish pool of water again. I found that it was coming from the left side, running into the well from the rear corner where the bolted-in package tray meets the rear wall. Must be coming from the seal or ...? I will have to remove the lining, tray, etc. all back there to find out as peaking with a flashlight showed nothing, all was clean and fresh.

I am planning on doing valve cover gaskets and plugs in a few weeks; I'll likely put it off until then when it's getting all worked-over and I'm in the "git 'er done" mode. I'll take some pics or report what I find so the next person with the problem can have a reference in the archives, hopefully.

 

Take a piece of paper and shut it in the trunk seal and pull to see if it is fitting tightly. Go all around the trunk lid doing this. Good way to find air noise in door seals also.