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 Post subject: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 1:57 pm 
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Hi fellow Jeepers,

I have a water leak in the trunk that comes out of the ceiling panel just inside the tailgate, but it usually leaks after it rains (not during... strange). The symptoms sound just like the first 2008 TSB that is posted in the tech section. The TSB points to bad welds under the tailgate weatherstripping or to the roof rack bolt holes which might be improperly sealed.

I am out of warranty because I'm not the first owner, so it looks like I will be fixing this myself. Has anyone else done this repair themselves? If so:

- Was your KK leaking from the body seams under the tailgate weatherstripping, or was it the roof rack bolt holes?

- What is the best way to get the center trim panel just inside the tailgate off without breaking it? How is it attached?

- Any other pointers or things to watch out for as I do this repair?

Thaks in advance!
--LFH

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 3:02 pm 
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Same leak on mine from top rack.

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:00 pm 
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swamppro wrote:
Same leak on mine from top rack.


Did you end up fixing the leak yourself? What can you tell me about the process? Thanks, --LFH

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:17 pm 
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Hi everyone,

We had a big rainstorm last night and this morning I had a leak dripping from the ceiling in the trunk as soon as I started driving. I would really like to fix this, but I don't want to break anything in the process. I have the 2008 TSB but it doesn't give a ton of guidance if you're not a Jeep mechanic.

-- How do I get the center ceiling panel off, just inside the tailgate?

-- Can someone who's done this job walk me through how to seal the roof rack?

Any descriptions, tips, or photos of this job would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance.

P.S. I didn't mean to originally post this in the tech section... If it would help, I could start a new thread in the KK discussions section.

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:28 am 
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I forget where I saw it (may have been over on Jeepforum) but I think there is an issue with some models of Liberty with the drain gutter and/or seal around the rear door and window. (possibly an upside down seal combined with a clogged drain gutter?)It causes water to build up and then leak into the cabin and down the rear window. Have your dealer look at it. Pretty sure it's a warranty repair, may even be a TSB item.


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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:34 am 
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I had a similar issue where it whould leak down the center of the window. They added a thin seal along the top of the glass and i never had the leak again. Might want to look into that before you start ripping things apart.


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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:32 pm 
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Today I added the weather strip across the top of the rear flipper glass. I also took off the hatch door weatherstrip and re-sealed it with RTV silicone. It looked like the leak in the trunk may have been due to an incomplete seal under the hatch door weatherstrip. I haven't done anything to re-seal the roof rack bolts yet, but I will look into that option if the jeep still leaks.

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:21 pm 
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lfhoward wrote:
Today I added the weather strip across the top of the rear flipper glass. I also took off the hatch door weatherstrip and re-sealed it with RTV silicone. It looked like the leak in the trunk may have been due to an incomplete seal under the hatch door weatherstrip. I haven't done anything to re-seal the roof rack bolts yet, but I will look into that option if the jeep still leaks.



So did the silicone behind the gate seal fix the leaking issue? I, too, have the leak from the upper trim panel.

Derrick


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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:35 pm 
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PATroutChaser wrote:
So did the silicone behind the gate seal fix the leaking issue? I, too, have the leak from the upper trim panel.


There is a good rain going on today, the type that used to cause leaks. I will let you know. I have only had the chance to drive it in a drizzle so far. Nothing leaking yet.

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:39 pm 
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PATroutChaser wrote:
So did the silicone behind the gate seal fix the leaking issue? I, too, have the leak from the upper trim panel.


Now that the Jeep has been through several rain storms, and driven in a few of them, and also had an inch of snow melt off the top, I think I am ready to say that the RTV Silicone fixed the problem. (knock on wood) :D

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2012 7:00 pm 
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I recently had this issue. If it is leaking from the top panel and not th glass check the rubber gasket thingy between the body of the car and the glass.. Ours was leaking here. it came loose and caused it to leak into the car.

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 1:59 pm 
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I'm at my freaking wit's end with this same leak. Mine was decidedly not the weatherstripping seal around the liftgate opening. I thought that could have been it after I generously reapplied sealant to that seal, but after a huge rainstorm I got the biggest puddle of water on my trunk mat that I had ever seen. Maybe 10-12 ounces.

I'm now thinking it could be the roof rails. How would I go about disassembling them and applying RTV sealant to them?

Also, what do I need to do to limit rusting in between the frame panels? I have seen small amounts of it when trying to trace the leak.


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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 5:12 pm 
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I haven't fixed it yet. I took off the ceiling trim piece that goes across just forward of the rear hatch. This plastic piece was catching the water and it was pooling there, and then it would dribble out. This is how my headliner ended up all stained. So now the water makes its way between the sheet metal and comes out of the gaps where there are folded metal tabs (if you can picture this). There is a tab on both sides and they both drip water. I keep towels in the trunk to pick up any dripping or pooling water.

I am planning on taking off my roof basket and the side rails as soon as the weather improves, and RTV-ing the crap out of the base of the bolts that hold on the side rails. I will also look for any seams that may have separated around those bolts. If we can stop the leak, it should stop any potential rust. I will let you know how it goes. If you are the one to do it first, post up some pictures. I would love to see and hear about how it went.

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:30 pm 
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Okay, today I RTV'd the crap out of the studs that hold the roof rails on, the little trim gasket, the rail plastic itself, and the nut. We'll see how it goes.

My fear is that I over tightened the nuts as I was securing the roof rail back to the car roof. That may put further undue pressure on those spot welds where the ceiling and the side body panels meet.

Another concern/idea I had was that the trim pieces that run between the roof rack mounts could be hiding a crack at the same seam I just mentioned.

At the same time, I'm also dealing with the ridiculously infuriating gremlins from this thread: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/oem- ... ndex5.html

...and yesterday while helping my brother in law build his deck, I broke my iPhone's screen. Great weekend. Lets hope the water issue is solved.


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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:21 am 
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Welp... the TIPM seems to have totally crapped out on me. Can't even open the door without my horn going wild. Won't know for a while whether or not the rtv worked.


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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:24 am 
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Nice work with the RTV. Now for the next big rain storm! :rockon:

Bummer about the TPIM! :(

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:02 am 
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Well, here is the answer to all of the problems I've been having.

It sounds like it explains the leak as well. Sunroof glass seal lets in too much water, one of the drain tubes is slightly blocked and needs to be blown out, and then the backup spills out of the drain pan, into the body and runs to the back if you're parked on even the slightest incline (such as a driveway).

My electrical issues appear to be a hangover from the water running down the A pillar when parked on a decline (at work).

Replace those sunroof seals.

Great writeup with better explanations here: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f28/s...-tubes-995801/


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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Thu May 29, 2014 10:06 am 
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I'm going to resurrect this old thread of mine because the leak has continued to be an issue. It was not that water was getting under the trunk weatherstripping, but rather leaking from cracks/seams in the roof in the area where the roof rack attaches. As of today, I have leaks in 3 places: both rear attachment points, and the front drivers side attachment point. After removing the side rails and peeling away some of the old sealer (which had deteriorated in certain places or wasn't applied carefully at the factory), here is what I found:

Front drivers side: Hairline cracks!
Image

Rear drivers side: Same cracks, but worse! (and some paint came off when I pulled the sealer off)
Image

The rear passenger's side is the same. I plan to fix all 4 areas.

The leaking water not only had ruined my headliner, but has caused major rust in the metal roof seam just inside the top of the tailgate. A fuzzy photo of the rust in the drivers side corner (and you can see the separation of the seam):
Image

And closer to the left hinge:
Image

For the solution, I went with 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive Sealant.
Image

The 3M 5200 was almost unanimously recommended on LOST and JeepForum. The relevant threads are here, in case you would like to read my rationale:
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=88&t=79160
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f292/those-you-who-own-boats-2435249/

As of this post, I have the areas I want to seal washed with soap and water and I am waiting for them to dry. Once the water evaporates I'll seal the cracks and reseal the seams. If you never hear from me again, it's probably because I got permanently stuck to the KK with the 3M sealer... It's supposed to be super permanent and extremely good stuff!! (One 3 oz. tube is $21!)

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M116A3 Trailer build thread: viewtopic.php?f=72&t=77997


Last edited by lfhoward on Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 3:28 pm 
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lfhoward, did you get stuck to your jeep?

Anyway serious question, did it fix the issue? Last month I started seeing water from the map lights. :banghead:

I'm guessing it requires removal of the headliner, is that hard?



lfhoward wrote:
If you never hear from me again, it's probably because I got permanently stuck to the KK with the 3M sealer... It's supposed to be super permanent and extremely good stuff!! (One 3 oz. tube is $21!)

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 Post subject: Re: Water leaking in the trunk
PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:26 pm 
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Ha Ha :ROTFL:
No, didn't end up getting stuck! I forgot about this thread, though. It does need some resolution, so here goes...

Bottom line:
The 3M 5200 Marine sealer is awesome. It took about 5 days to dry, but the leaking problem is completely fixed.

My how-to:
There were four cracks in the roof where the water was getting in. Three of them were where the sheet metal comes together under the roof rack feet. The other was a similar crack just left of the drivers side liftgate hinge. I didn't need to remove the headliner to fix them, because I sealed the cracks in the sheet metal seams from above.

It's not too hard to remove the side roof rails. The black plastic covers on either end are held on by the same metal clips that hold the plastic interior trim pieces on, and if you pull up on them, they should disengage. I used a trim tool to get the necessary leverage, but I bet a large screwdriver will do.

Once the end cap is off, there are two dome-shaped nuts that hold the roof rail on. These can easily be removed using a ratchet and the right sized socket. There are two nuts for each end of the roof rail.

Once all nuts are off, you can lift the roof rail off the Jeep. There will be some clear rubbery sealant between the roof and the rail, but this should separate from the rail as you take it off.

I found that the factory did a terrible job at applying that sealant, and it missed some places entirely. Under the sealant is where my roof had cracks. So I painstakingly removed the old sealant (which is not easy and hurts your fingers!). The best method is to stretch it sideways/lengthwise so it slowly disengages from the paint. If you try to pull directly up on it, some of the paint will come off with it along those cracks.

Once I had the old sealant off, I cleaned the area, then liberally applied the 3M sealant to the entire area under the roof rack feet, essentially creating a rubber mat between the vehicle and where the roof rack feet go. I waited for everything to dry (several days) before putting the roof rack rails back on, because I didn't want to permanently glue them to the vehicle.

I also sealed the entire seam that goes along the top of the rear hatch, above the gate weatherstripping and below the roof. I had some serious rust in this area (including a 1-inch crack where two pieces of sheet metal came together, just left of the drivers side gate hinge). I completely covered all of the rust up with the 3M sealer, filling the gaps and protecting against water intrusion and future rust. It isn't pretty but it's effective. And it is all hidden when the trunk is closed.

Another couple of tips:
The sealant is black in color and has the consistency of roof tar or chocolate cake batter. I used a disposable plastic spatula (like the kind you could use to spackel drywall) that I picked up at the hardware store for $0.99 to spread and smooth the 3M sealer. It's nasty stuff and you don't want to get it on your hands.
The water stains on the headliner cleaned right up using Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds (sort of an organic soap/cleanser) and water. I got >90% of the water stains out using this and a wash cloth.

Good luck!
Lauren

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