I got a pool in my trunk

[Kidd-7]

It’s not just a mini truck thing…
I’m getting reading to head out to with this morning and while placing my stuff in the trunk I noticed moisture, moving stuff around I find a puddle in the spare tire well.
I pulled a bunch of stuff out and vacuumed up the water, pulled the carpet up and vacuumed under that and had to get to work. Right now she’s sitting in the parking lot with the trunk open in the sun.

Am I most likely dealing with old weather stripping? Or summer other leak path I should look for?

 

[XR7-4.6]

The seams between the quarters and deck filler panel sometimes dry out and crack letting water into the trunk.

 

[Kidd-7]

Are talking about the metal body panels out the weather stripping in that area?

 

[Kidd-7]

I see what you’re talking about.

 

[Kidd-7]

It looks like I need to clean that up and seal it. What would y’all suggest? Would a clear silicone be sufficient? I’m supposed to be getting away this weekend and it’s going to rain and I don’t have a garage to put her in.

 

[XR7-4.6]

That’s what I’d use, the greater issue is the factory seam sealer is underneath the paint so short of stripping it to apply new a clear silicone over the problem areas is probably the most realistic solution.

 

[Grog6]

You'll probably find that silicone is too thick to go down into the crack. I thinned some humiseal I had, and filled the crack. It's hard to find these days.
There's a weather plug under the carpet; if you look under that section, you can push the plug out from the bottom, and it will drain. There's one behind the rear seats as well.

 

[MadMikeyL]

Silicone will work as a temporary fix, but really it should be scraped out and re-done with actual body seam sealer. Eastwood makes a really nice 2-part one. Squeeze out a nice bead, then use a brush dipped in laquer thinner to spread it out and it will look like factory.

 

[Kidd-7]

I cleaning theside of the trunk and poured water, didn’t see any drips. Maybe it’s from the heavy rain we had recently. I do see holes in the body filler though. So going to seal that up with some silicone tomorrow done rain is coming this weekend.

 

[racecougar]

What you've shown in the photo above isn't the leak point that XR7-4.6 called out. Look at the seams between the quarters and the deck filler panel (sometimes called the Dutchman panel) directly behind the rear glass.

 

[Kenz]

Mine leaks too. I think this crack is the reason....



The picture is the passenger side, drivers isn't as bad. I put some silicone over it, but it came lose after a few years.

 

[Kidd-7]

There’s some visual creaking there also.

 

[MadMikeyL]

Kenz, the Cougars do leak there, but the T-birds don’t have that panel. They leak in a similar area but on the birds it is under the trunklid.

 

[XR7-4.6]

That’s why I just recommend the temporary clear silicone fix. Stripping and refilling that properly and you’re painting the car.

 

[Zep5.0]

Of your want to do the seam sealer but not repaint, put tape on either side of the sealer before scraping the old off, and then when putting the new on. Then you can paint it to match fairly close, or do a black trim paint that won't be overly noticable

 

[Jim3inVirginia]

On my '95 T-bird I found the puddle in the spare tire well, too. Tracked down the leak with kraft paper while hosing down the exterior. Sealer between body panels was cracked. Even under the strip that runs along the roof but I don't think Cougars have that. I had jb-weld handy so I used that on the cracks. Started our rough but it smoothed out nicely while drying.

 

[supergordo]

On my '95 T-bird I found the puddle in the spare tire well, too. Tracked down the leak with kraft paper while hosing down the exterior. Sealer between body panels was cracked. Even under the strip that runs along the roof but I don't think Cougars have that. I had jb-weld handy so I used that on the cracks. Started our rough but it smoothed out nicely while drying.

That is a nice trick. I like it!

 

[Jim3inVirginia]

And there's always more ("there's always something"). Took it for a drive today for the first time in over a month. Found a big puddle on the front passenger floor. I'll have to do some early spring cleaning in the cowl area this year. But it still drives nice!

 

[Kenz]

Silicone will work as a temporary fix, but really it should be scraped out and re-done with actual body seam sealer. Eastwood makes a really nice 2-part one. Squeeze out a nice bead, then use a brush dipped in laquer thinner to spread it out and it will look like factory.

That sounds like a nice product, gonna have to look it up.

But I did a Vice Grip Garage style fix on it today. "The right way to fix this would be to....." ..... So I got a new tube of silicone I'm gonna seal it up with.

If it lasts another 5 or so years like the last time, that's good enough. I actually had forgotten it leaked because the car is always parked inside now. Glad this thread came up so I finally got around to sealing it!