Ok Guys,
My tail lights have the common leak and are in need for gasket replacements. Has anyone tried to make their own gaskets from gasket paper or a piece of rubber gasket material? It just seems so rediculous to spend over $50 bucks for both gaskets! What a rip, but Acura has you by the *****... Any ideas?

 

could work.....

KEY is to tighten them down really good.

 

No body else has had problems with their tail lights leaking?

 

have you checked with any junkyards? im sure if you got a piece of rubber and cut it just like the old gasket it would work

 

use sillicon

 

I have the same problem and yes you could make new gaskets by buying a small sheet of the stuff from an art store. Just make sure it's the same material and same thickness, color doesn't matter. I've also seen the sheets at those little fobby chinese trinket stores that sell the supplies to make the little stars that girls fold up to put in jars.

Of course I'm assuming you have enough artistic talent to cut a few circles, hehe...

 

I have that same problem too. Mine has gotten so bad that water gets into my spare tire area. I just haven't gotten around to fixen' it.

 

Sometime its the actual lense that leaks in water not the gaskets, just use silicon sealent around the lense joints.

 

i had problems... dont screw the bolt on too tight.. if u do, water that gets in cannot get out... i just finger tighten all of them, and never had a problem since...

 

is the problem in the gasket itself or the surrounding lenses? I have removed mone once and tried to find exacly how or where the water comes in from and i have had no luck.. Where does the water generally enter from? Can this leak be fixed by sealing it ???? Any pictures or suggestions???

 

I sprayed mine with spray adhesive. It sovled my trunk leak.

 

Good questions... And I dont have an answer for you! I know that mine have been leaking for a while and they are actually allowing enough water into my hatch to create a puddle of water in my spare tire area. I assumed it is the gaskets hence they provent the water from entering the car. However, I need to check the lens also because they could be leaking.. But both sides are leaking so I was assuming the gaskets have just gone bad. This weekend I will need to do more research! Too much studying needed to do well on my midterms! Oh well... I will figure it out eventually. I just need to look more into what is causing the leak

 

no doubt focus on midterms, i know the feeling. If you get the time to get into it this weekend, i would love to hear some feedback on what you learn. I suspect that like you said the gasket/foam seal has just overtime failed. I havnt noticed any water build up at all, everything is dry inside on my 94. Oh yeah, what side is gone bad on yours? Mine is the drivers side. Let me know what you discover this weekend.

 

UPDATE:
Today, I ripped apart my whole trunk area to find out where the water is coming in and I found my spare tire area was full of water! I also found the back seat soaked from the water splashing against it when driving. As a result I decided to gut the enire backseat/trunk area and leave it that way until I find whats leaking. BTW, its very loud with everything out! I did notice a little bit faster....hehe
Anyway, I looked at the gaskets and they look ok, but when I did pull the lights off a lot of water did come out and the gaskets were soaking wet. The lights also have a lot of water in them! I drained the water out, and examined the lenses. There are no cracks in them anywhere. I am assuming the silicone they used from the factory to hold the lens on has deteriorated.... I am now going to monitor it for a while. Any ideas on what I should do??? BTW this is on both lights!

 

use silicon sealant on the contact points.

Stopped trunk leaks in my old 87 Accord that way.

 

sun roof leaking?

 

Ok, I don't know if anyone's already thought of this or not but any of you that bought your car used or have been rear-ended, it might not be the lights. Any car that has been hit in the rear enough to damage quarter panels typically is a royal MF to get back where it will completely seal. I'm not saying that all of you are having this problem (I doubt that many of you have been in accidents) but it's something to think about. The first thing we do when we are looking at a trade at my dealership is open the trunk and look in the spare tire well. Easiest way to spot a rear end collision.

 

The car has not been hit in the rear and the problem has developed over the last 2 years. The taillights began to leak a while ago and now they are leaking a lot. I checked the sunroof drains, but they look ok. The problem is definitely the lights. I think I am going to have to break down and spend 50 bucks on new gaskets! ANy other ideas? I have heard this is a quite common problem.

 

Just what I said eariler...it does work. Take the gaskets off, spray both sides with spray adhesive, put them back on. Presto! No more leak.

Silicone sealant would work also.