Water in Hatch

[Caseyjones]

Here is the problem. After it rains I get water in the hatch. From what I have read this is a common problem.

When it is opened water will come out from the corner's of the hatch. This is behind the plastic cover. I had this apart last year to take a look and could not find the problem.

Thought maybe the spoiler so I sealed where it attaches to the hatch. Still getting water.

How hard is it to remove the trim around the window to check the seal. It has to be coming in there.

[Dan_Gyoba]

There are 2 places that commonly leak. (Well, okay, 3 for aturbo.)

1. Spoiler mounts. This is actually, I think the LEAST common, since it's a good mounting surface, with good solid bolts holding it in place.

2. Rear window wiper. This is a bit more common because the shaft there has to turn. Worth investigation, if for no other reason than because it's easy to check/tighten/seal.

3. Tail lights. This is the most likely place for water to get in the hatch area. The reason is that the gaps at the hatch sides and front collect water over a large area, at least the back part of the roof. All that water runs down the sidesto wher ethe tail lights are. The tail lights are plastic, so they can't be torqued down all that tight, and eventually the gasket material at the back gets impacted with dirt and it kind of rots away, until the water starts to fleak into the car.

The gaskets are a pain to replace, particularly once the bolts through the tail lights start to rust, which for some reason starts to happen when the gaskets leak. Go figure.

Still, a little WD-40 and patience, and it's not so bad.

You should be able to do it with only removing the very back trim panel in the hatch, but you might need to remove the side panels as well, which is a lot more work, because to do that, you have to take the back seats out and work from there.

[Caseyjones]

I can rule out the lights because the water is instead the hatch not the interior or behind the lights. I had them off the car last year. The spoiler was checked and the seals where good plus I added a little silicone just in case.

The wiper could possibly be the culprit. Ill check and see if this water can travel down the inside of the window and get behind the plastic on the hatch. I still think it is the seal on the bottom of the window.

I really don't want to take the bottom trim off the window as it looks like it is brittle.

[Caseyjones]

Just read the TSRM on how to remove the back window. I can only imagine how many clips and other things are going to break doing this. The joys of being the owner of a 20+ year old car.

[JimR]

You might be able to score some replacement clips from your local auto glass repair shop.

[Caseyjones]

Took the bottom trim off. You could see that two of the nuts have had water on them in the past. Put some silicone on the trim studs and put it back together. If it rains this weekend then I guess I will find out if it worked.

[annoyingrob]

The Supra automatically fills the back end with water when it rains to aid in traction in the wet climate.

[JimR]

Are you talking about the water storage system in the spare wheel well? Yeah, that helps with weight distribution. It's really quite symbiotic.

[Bri-Guy]

Yeah, I was wondering when I found my spare tire frozen half way up when I tried to use it a few weeks ago.
I guess it is no accident they call it a spare tire "well".

[annoyingrob]

My celica had a nice fermenting pond in the trunk due to the antenna. I took out the drain plug, and left it out.

[azrael]

Add another place to check - the hatch seal.

You'll probably have to pull the glass out to check this one properly, though. Watch out for rust! =)

[Caseyjones]

Hopefully it leaks no more. Now just have to get that antenna fixed or I to will be getting water down there.

[Bri-Guy]

My celica had a nice fermenting pond in the trunk due to the antenna. I took out the drain plug, and left it out.
That was my plan once I get my car back and the ice should be gone.

Funny, my Celica has the same fix.