Water in trunk (spare tire compartment)

yellowstang1994

New Member
Sep 9, 2004
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Hi guys, everytime it rains or I get water on my car my spare tire compartment is flooded with a lot of water. I guess it comes through the trunk gap where it meets the quarter, then trickles down behind the light and into the pan... I'm afraid of it rusting out... was our cars designed to do this? or is something going on with mine?
 
probably something wrong with yours, check your weather stripping to see if there's any tears in it, and if you cant find anything wrong you can always drill a hole in the trunk (be sure not to hit the tank) so the water can drain out.
 
yellowstang1994 said:
Hi guys, everytime it rains or I get water on my car my spare tire compartment is flooded with a lot of water. I guess it comes through the trunk gap where it meets the quarter, then trickles down behind the light and into the pan... I'm afraid of it rusting out... was our cars designed to do this? or is something going on with mine?

Easy way is to take a water hose and try to make it leak. You might have to spray on the roof, just above the bumper, etc. Once you isolate the leak, fix it and you are done. If you have to, get someone w/ a flashlight to hide in the trunk, and shut it, and have them see exactly where it's coming from.

Just reassure them that ford parts never break and they don't have to be worried about being locked inside the trunk......lol

My guess is you have a tear in the main weatherstripping somewhere that runs along the trunk.
Scott
 
thats just it, my weatherstripping is perfect! and if it was messed up i'd be getting water on everything inside the trunk. I only find water in the bottom of the spare tire compartment, lol. Everything else ontop is dry. I think what is happening is when the water enters the gap between the quarter and trunklid it is designed to travel behind the taillight and drain underneath the car but somewhere it's getting into the tire compartment. I'll take off my tails later and see whats going on.
 
I actually had water coming up through the bottom of the trunk. There is a Taped off hole in the spare tire well. It had peeled up with age and was letting water up through whenever I drove when it rained. Sealed it up and never had a problem since. Probably not your problem since it sounds like it's getting wet with just washing the car. Can't hurt to check, though.
 
yellowstang1994 said:
thats just it, my weatherstripping is perfect! and if it was messed up i'd be getting water on everything inside the trunk. I only find water in the bottom of the spare tire compartment, lol. Everything else ontop is dry. I think what is happening is when the water enters the gap between the quarter and trunklid it is designed to travel behind the taillight and drain underneath the car but somewhere it's getting into the tire compartment. I'll take off my tails later and see whats going on.

In my case, the carpet was getting damp but not soaked. I also had water collecting on the left side, under the keyless entry/alarm unit.

Mine had a slow leak around the driver's side trunk hinge - the sealant there had cracked and was letting water drip down through the bolt holes and into the trunk. Took me over a month to track that down. I did the hose trick several times and didn't find the leak. I finally let the water run for several minutes, and finally saw a drip. I put some black RTV around the base of the hinge, and it hasn't leaked yet.

You sure the carpet isn't damp on the bottom? Maybe leaking from the weatherstripping under the license plate?

If you can't find the leak, you might want to try this: take out all the trunk liners so you can see the shock towers and the spare tire. Tape towels down all over the trunk, over the tails and around the spare tire well. Go for a drive, then check and see if any of the towels are wet. That should give you an idea where the water's coming in.

If you do try the hose trick and do find the leak, try running the water from different spots:

From the roof down to the trunk
With the trunk open, in the water channel at the top of the trunk
By each hinge
Just above each tail light

If the trunk leaks when you run the water on the right side and not the left, you know the leak's on the right. You get the idea.
 
Check for leaking around the gas filler neck area on the passenger side. That's where mine leaked for a while before I finally traced it down using a hose. That area of the trunk will rust, and mine has. I just painted it with some POR-15 a couple of months ago.

I created a post about this a long time ago but hardly anyone read it.