LaceyRaine

Hiya everybody!

New to the forums, and own a '99 Civic Coupe in EBP

(most recent pic)



Okay, so I need a little help, preferrably in the form of a how-to guide.

I've recently noticed a commong fault - my boot is leaking!

After pulling back some carpeting etx, i found the two drainage tubes for, well whatever they go to. Ones fine,m ones gone a gross manky colour, and thats the side thats leaking.

So, if anybody has one, I'd very much appreciate a how-to guide on removing the rear pillars on a 99 Coupe to get to the tubing up top, by the window, which is where I'm assuming the drainage tube has come out of, hence the lovely dripping.

After hunting about on the site I magaed to find a pillar panel removal guide for an EH Hatch, wondering if anybody has, or has done the same for a '99 Coupe?

Thanks in advance! x

z6htch

I must be an extreme noooob b/c I'm lost.

LaceyRaine

Okay, i'll try again.

Check this for more info.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/%5Bfaq%5D-detailed-how-remove-headliner-pillar-trim-panels-eh-hatch-692729/

Also this
http://lonewolfonline.net/honda-civic-fix-boot-leak/

I'm assuming that the drainage tubing in question takes this particular route in the car



Soooo, I need to remove the rear pillar to make sure that the top section is coupled with the rubber connector the same as it is in the bottom section, to make sure that's not where the leak is coming from.

Theres no water in any of my tail lights, so it's not that one, and if it's running down the inside of the pillar it would make sense, considering where the dripping is

z6htch

Hmmm, sorta get what your saying. I still have never heard of drainage tubes in a Honda, especially from the roof down the pillar.

But to help you out, there is no way of removing the pillar from the outside (obviously) but if you fold down the rear seats you should be able to pop off the pillar plastics on that side and get a better look. The plastic should "pop" off and is held on by clips.

LaceyRaine

Well, heres what I have behind my boot interior, which does go up the pillar because i've stuck my arm up there, but I can only get my arm up so far.



I tried gently (and roughly) pulling the rear pillar cover off, but it wont budge, seats down or not, just seems like a total b***h of a job to do, saw the hatch one about all the clips and bolts and screws and things, and was wondering if the same applies to the coupe?

LaceyRaine

Any help or links would be very much appreciated, all I could find on here was a how-to guide for the EH Hatch :/

95Sol99civic

If your talking about your sunroof drain tube then just take your headlinner lose from the top and pull it down. With a flashlight look and see if its attached. Where is it leakin? On the floorboard(rear pass. feet)? Or trunk? If its the trunk it should be hooked up to drain on the side behind the rear bumper. The plastic pillars just snap in.

LaceyRaine

Ohhhhh thats a sunroof drain? I wondered what the hell it went to.



Thats exactly what mine looks like, and the dripping is coming from directly above that, hence why i thought it was running down the innar pillar. This is with my tubes, ones perfectly normal and white, the one on the right side of the car, the one on the lefts gone green and manky and mouldy on the inside of the tube, but its connected in that little rubber socket thing so im not sure why it would have gone like that?

I'd take a photo, but where the drip is, where its so goddamn cold its all frozen over, i'll see about getting some actual pics of MY interior tomorrow to see if that can help at all, infact although it's dark I'll have a go with the camera now....

95Sol99civic

Is the clear one on the side thats leakin?

95Sol99civic

btw there are actually 4 drains for the sunroof 2 in front 2 in back. Just pull the back of your headliner down and look. the coat hooks have screws take them out first.

LaceyRaine

No, the side thats leaking the tubes gone a funny colour on the inside, i took some pics but they didnt show it much. Also, i've now noticed ice on both sides of the trunk on the top, and the drainage tube for the sunroof has no ice in at all, took them out of the couplersa and stuck a finger in each one and neither has ice in, I took a few pics to show where the ice is, and where the drip normally is in the rain, so here goes...





That tiny little rusty opening thing and the ledge on the inside of that is where it normally drips from



Frozen moisture behind the interior



From a different angle



The tube in question, you can kinda see what i mean by 'gone a funny colour', and also the fact theres no moisture round there whatsoever, so I'm guessing its not that that's leaking



Ice across the central bar....



And finally, the ice over the other side.

I'm starting to think it may be the trunk rubber seal?

And if not, anybody know where exactly it would be leaking from to be dripping from there if it isn't the rubber seal?

NOFX

To find out if it's the seal leaking...

Fold the rear seats forward and get a torch and a friend.

Get one person to get in the boot with the torch. Dry as much of the inside of the boot as possible and make the upper sections visible (peel the lining away or better yet remove it).

Get another person on the outside. Take a hose on LOW PRESSURE or a big cup of water. Pour the water on the car. START AT THE BOTTOM of the boot.

The person on the inside watches for a leak. If there's no leak, the person on the outside tries with the water again, but a little higher.

This continues on until you find a leak. The leak could be around your boot seal or up the rear window seal even.

I've heard of the moonroof drainage tubes being cleaned using compressed air. The easiest way to access the top ends of the tubes is to remove the headliner (it comes out of the car sideways). There's a clamp holding each tube onto the moonroof pan assembly.

If you remove the moonroof drainage tube be sure to tie a string securely to the tube before you pull it out. This ensures you can thread the tube back through. Well, easier perhaps at least.

As long as you have the leak just remove the boot lining and put it somewhere safe and dry. I've heard you can kill mold with rubbing alcohol. Just put it in a spray bottle and spray it down. I'd suggest you put all the clips in a plastic baggie or keep them in the car in the armrest.

Later once you fix the leak put everything back in.

Good luck.

LaceyRaine

Thank you for such an informnative post, it's very much appreciated

My only thoughts were that if it really was the tube in question, surely more than just the corner of the trunk would drip and be wet? The trunk is the only iced over part, and the drip has only ever been on the left hand side, and it's always dripped from (if you look in the pics) where that rusty little slit is where the 2 panels meet, and along that little bar. It's never dripped from anywhere else before, would you still think it may be the drainage tubes if thats the only spot thats ever got wet?

Either way, thank you very much for the reply

Also, until now (blonde as I am) I've never realised I actually had a trunk light!! I'm assuming its just the bulb, as all the fuses are fine, does anybody happen to know what bulb I need to buy to replace it with? Thank you.

NOFX

No problem. I've been through this myself before.

I had water coming from about the same spot. It turned out to be my rear window seal. To fix it I have to bring it to a glass shop and have them remove the glass so they can put new sealant. This means new preformed seals are needed plus the rear window glass runs the risk of breaking when it's removed.

Needless to say I have not yet repaired mine, but mine is in a garage all the time so rain is no concern.

I can't remember the bulb needed and online guides are often wrong. Just bring it into a part store and see if you or an employee can match it up. If not, try Honda.

LaceyRaine

Thanks very much for all the advice

Glass seal was something else I'd thought of but totally forgotten about until now, I'm just trying to look around the car and find a leak that I can DIY myself, I don't particularly want to spend the money having all the rear window seals re-done, I've no idea how much that would even cost!

I just wish I had a garage to put mine in, I hate only having the roadside to park it on, really irritates me, but hey ho nothing I can do about it I suppose lol, thanks for your input and thoughts reguardless

Here's what she looks like without being covered in snow -

NOFX

No problem at all.

Is that an 1.6iLS or 1.6iSR or what? Looks like drum brakes on the rear, so I'm guessing not a VTi.

D Griff

So to clear things up for me, you have a leak in your trunk?

When I got my 97 coupe back in June 2006, it was terribly wet inside the trunk and under the back seat, which of course I didn't notice until I had it home and my $3000 was spent. Well I tore out the back part of the interior and got in the car while my dad sprayed it with a hose like NOFX just said to find the leak. It turned out to be the seams inside the trunk.

If you open the trunk and look around the opening, there's a rubber gasket type thing and right beside this (towards the outside of the car) there's a seem that gaps on some Civics. Get some silicone or caulk or something like that and seal these gaps if that's your problem. Worked like a charm for me. I used caulk but silicone is better as it's clear, not white like mine. I hope this helps you out.

LaceyRaine

It's an iLS - DX model by US spec, originally bought it as a turbo project because it wasn't vtec'd, just havn't gotten around to the whole turboing part yet lol

Thanks for the advice!! I'l have a look around as soon as it decides it's going to stop snowing, have to wait for the ice to melt before i seal anything up otherwise I'm only going to be sealing silicone onto ice, which is pretty pointless really, just irritating that I have a boot full of frost and ice, just hoping it doesnt spread and reach my sub & amp, I cant afford to buy those again!! lol