[endneu913]

2 items:

1) water in my tailgate. Ive read all the threads, i replaced the aperature seal. Still getting plenty of water inside the truck. I have remove alot of rear interior, placed a hose on the top of the truck and sat inside and literally watched the spare tire well fill up with water. There is a clear stream of water coming inside but im having a hard time locating is entry point. I cant tell if its up top, or midway down, or both. Thanks for any help. I feel like its getting inside the truck behind the seal itself.

2) The upper tailgate doesn't want to close. Its like you slam it, and it just bounces. It only actually locks 1 out of 5 times. Weird.

 

[kmagnuss]

2 items:

1) water in my tailgate. Ive read all the threads, i replaced the aperature seal. Still getting plenty of water inside the truck. I have remove alot of rear interior, placed a hose on the top of the truck and sat inside and literally watched the spare tire well fill up with water. There is a clear stream of water coming inside but im having a hard time locating is entry point. I cant tell if its up top, or midway down, or both. Thanks for any help. I feel like its getting inside the truck behind the seal itself.

2) The upper tailgate doesn't want to close. Its like you slam it, and it just bounces. It only actually locks 1 out of 5 times. Weird.

My spidey senses tell me these two problems may be related? :think:

I can't remember off hand, but does the sunroof drain(s) have anything to do with water in the boot?

 

[endneu913]

I want to agree, but when i CAN get it good and tight it still leaks, with either the old or "new" aperture seal. ( the "new" one is used, but from a truck that's never had any leak issues ) I wonder if anyone whos been through this can add some input. Will a brand new seal solve these issues? It seems to be leaking in 3 different ways. At one of the top corners where the old seal had a buckle. 2- water seems to be coming in behind the seal, like the seal doesn't grip the frame tightly enough and water sneaks in between the seal and the sheet metal. 3- where the upper and lower doors meet, 3 seals come together and a small gap is formed.

 

[Gagamac]

2) The upper tailgate doesn't want to close. Its like you slam it, and it just bounces. It only actually locks 1 out of 5 times. Weird.

Mine does the same thing. I found that if I hit the top left and right hand corners of the lower tail gate with the palm of my hand, the top gate will close and lock. Sometimes I can't open the lower gate until I do the same thing. I squirted some WD40 on the catch mechanisms at the top left and right of the lower gate it seems to help. This only happens on mine in the winter.

Hope this helps
Mac

 

[RRToadHall]

1: remove the tailgate carpeted board and clean your latches and rods.

2: Align your lower latches so the lower tailgate if firm and sealed. If you have to bend the body sheet metal as per the service bulletin

3: With the latches clean and lubed your hatch should now latch and seal with the tailgate every time. If not adjust your striker so it does.

4: if you still have leakage under the gasket simply call the gasket channel and reinstall. THis is a last resort AFTER making sure the gasket is making firm contact with hatch and gate.

 

[Gagamac]

Well yes, if you want to do it the right way `)

Mac

 

[PAULBROM]

I have just been revisiting my tailgate leak issues and i think I have found the cause of the problem on my R/R.
After compleating all the fixes from the TSB's and a few extras through guess work the water is still getting in.
Anyway after watching and pouring many gallons of water over the tailgate i noticed a few things,

There was no water that had appeared to have crossed the main part of the seal and the tailgate so i was happy that the seal was sealing correctly against the upper and lower tailgate.
But after watching the boot from the inside and looking from the direction of the back seats i noticed water seaping in from UNDER the seal at the lower part of the tailgate my observations where confirmed after removing the seal and noticing early signs of paint bubbling/slight rusting in 3 areas on the lower tailgate flange where the seal actually fits too, leading me to belive water is actually getting trapped between these two sufaces and eventually creeps over into the boot.
So at the moment my focus has turned to stopping the water getting into the gap between the flange and the seal on the upper tail section and running down between the seal and the flange/lip and eventually getting into the boot through one of the bodywork/seam folds.

Progress.
After using some none hardening bodywork putty caledd Dum Dum and placing about 6" length on both sides of the upper tailgate radius (where the seal bends round in the corners)and replacing the seal over the top of this I have seen no water in the boot as yet but i am monitoring this as and when it rains/snows or i get bored again and start chucking buckets of water at it but i will keep you posted on my progress.
One other thing i did notice is that where the seal bends on the radius (upper tailgate) i noticed that at some point there had been a type of sealant/glue that had gone hard and craked this was also evident on the inner part of the seal.
It just made me wonder if when the vehicle was built they used a substance to hold the upper part of the seal in place but also to keep water from getting under the seal. just a theory.?

 

[viperover]

In the RAVE manual there is a section that covers this issue.
Remove seal, bend steel lip where seal mounts by around 5mm paying attention to yop lip where the actual problem is.
Make sure join is located to the bottom.

Sunroof drain pipes Do block up easily as time moves on.

 

[endneu913]

Thanks for all the input guys, im thinking some sealant and bending the sheet metal forward might be the way to go!

 

[viperover]

No need to use that dreadful silicone sealant stuff in places its not meant to be

 

[PAULBROM]

Oh well !!! Water in the boot again.
Did the lip bending procedure will see what happens now.

 

[endneu913]

I did the sheet metal bend around the entire aperture and now im sure its getting in behind the seal. BUT, nothing over the face of the seal now, so thats good!

Onward and upward with some silicone!

- grae

 

[endneu913]

Done and done. The silicone cured 99% of the leaks, The water was building up and sneaking behind the seal. Almost as if the ribbed/ barbed rubber inside the seal that grips the sheet metal was just loose and letting the water in. Good times. No more mold, mildew and stink in my rig! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[PAULBROM]

Well done on the cure.
Mine is still letting water in but it's deffinately getting in from under the seal as mentioned in my first post.
So i will see if I can compress the two sides of the grip/ barbed sides to see if I can get a tighter fit if not it looks like a job for silicone.

Endneu did you apply the silicone to the inner part of the seal channel or the bodywork flange.

 

[viperover]

Go sparingly with silicone, it spreads easily and does seal.

Im going to see if a thick kind of rubbery tape is available in a roll, something like insulation tape butt rubbery and slighly thicker, this can then be attached half/half over the lip to aid in sealing....just a thought as this is a issue with many P38s

 

[PAULBROM]

Good idea Viper I will do some searching over here aswell as I did here about some really good rubberised insulation tape
that the lads who do ICE upgrades use .

 

[Hoges]

hi Paulbrom and Endneu
did you manage to find and stop the leak...have had to delay start of expedition to top of Cape York (check Google Earth!!) due to sudden massive wheel well leak. Even filled bulkhead just below tailgate lip (the 6 holes you see when you view under the tailgate from the insode when the floor cover is removed...)

Replaced channel seal, bent lip out 5mm, baked seal at 40 deg C prior to fitting etc etc am concerned at where channel bends top LH and RH corners but don't want to go with silicone unless absolutely necessary...

any progress

thanks

 

[PAULBROM]

sorry for late reply Hoges.
Well since march I haven't looked in the spare tyre compartment.
So after many months of heavy rain/ showers I decided to have a look today, there was some water but only a fraction of what there used to be which was easily wiped out with a couple of sheets of kitchen roll, so some progress has been made but I do think silicone is probolay the only option left as I haven't managed to locate any rubberised insulation tape to place on the metal lip where the tailgate seal fits.
I am still convinced that the water is getting in through the inner part of the seal and running down on the inside of the seal and seeping in around the lower tailgate area.

 

[shupack]

put baby-powder around the seal, next time it rains, the leaks will wash away some of it, may lead you in the right direction.

 

[PAULBROM]

good idea Dennis :thumb: