**EDIT** My solution failed! Do not add the weather stripping that I have shown here!

I think I finally got it this time!

My solutions requires 2 of these:


OEM Honda taillight gaskets

and some of this:

rubber weather stripping.

I think I was having two problems. First was my DIY taillight gaskets, which I think were not sealing properly. Because of the size and thickness of the stock gasketets, I had to laminate 2 layers of the foam together AND butt 2 pieces end-to-end because the gasket is over 20" long and I couldn't find a single piece that big. The OEM gaskets are much softer and seam to form and seal around edges alot better than the DIY ones using that hobby foam stuff.

The second problem was that water was running down the sides of the hatch opening, down behind the taillight housing right where the gasket seals to the body, somehow getting past the gasket, and filling up my taillight, which would then spill over into the car when the water got high enough.

Nope, the water was getting in along the upper edge of the taillight lens, and the weather stripping sent more water down over the edge of the taillight lens, making the leak even worse. If your taillights are leaking, DO NOT do this.

So the solution? Well besides using the factory quality gaskets (pricey at $50 a set, but worth it if this problem is finally fixed), the other thing is to keep the water from running down onto the taillights in the first place. This is where the weather stripping comes in.

So what I did was put the taillight onto the body and make a line around that upper plastic fascia piece where it's nearest to the body (the water was going down behind that plastic fascia piece and onto the taillight housing itself):


Then I pulled the taillight back off:


And applied the weather stripping along that line:


Now when the taillight is bolted in place, the edges of that plastic fascia panel press into that weather stripping, and so any water that runs down the sides of the hatch should not get down behind the taillight and instead just run off the back:




I'll report results after my next car wash or our next sizable rain, whichever comes first.

report: the weather stripping made it worse, as noted above


Modified by PatrickGSR94 at 9:28 PM 1/4/2005

 

well hopefully you got it this time

but damn, $50 a set for taillight gaskets

 

Looks like a good idea man, was just thinking today about those tailight gaskets... I need one.. Keep us posted if it solves the wet trunk problem.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by virusiidx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well hopefully you got it this time

but damn, $50 a set for taillight gaskets </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah well I've been screwing around with this problem for almost 2 months now, going through various stages of interior "stripped outtedness" in the process. I've had the headliner out, and the entire carpet out twice, and have currently been riding with nothing behind the front seats for the past 2 weeks now because I had not fixed the leak yet. But now I finally put it all back together (sooo MUCH nicer to drive now, I can't STAND driving my car stripped out). I think it was worth the money... besides I got a fat Christmas bonus last week so it was no biggie.

BTW the gaskets retail for over $35 each, Carland Acura has them for $24 each, or Len could probably get them for a buck or two less.

 

i used to have a leak back there, but it was the moonroof drain hose, was disconnected.

I still got a leak on my passenger door though, whenever i wash my car, that seat is all wet

 

I had 2 leaks, the taillight, which would make a pool of water in the trunk, and also the rear window washer nozzle, which was dripping down onto the headliner and then running down both sides. That made water pool up under the rear seat, and eventually it soaked my entire carpet, which is why I had to take it and the headliner out.

 

i was wondering how water kept getting into my taillights. good work but pricey.

 

The weatherstripping alone may have fixed my problem, but I was just tired of messing with it and wanted to make sure. Gaskets + various other clips to replace missing or broken ones around the car = $95 shipped.

 

Couldn't you just silicon that part of the tail lights instead of the weather striping? Would it have the same effect?

 

Patrick...

what store did you get the stripping from? ...and do they have it in black?

I have tailight condensation problems too. First it was in the passenger side, now just last week, it started in the drivers side.

I was also told that doubling up the gaskets also do the job..

 

I have the same problem and found a pool of water in my trunk where the donut goes... had to vacuum it all out. I also have the same condensation in the tail lights... the weatherstripping should work right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondaevo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Couldn't you just silicon that part of the tail lights instead of the weather striping? Would it have the same effect?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I tried that with my DIY gaskets and it didn't work. I tried silicone between the gasket and body (big mistake, took forever to get it all off) and tried it between the taillight and gasket. Again the DIY gaskets were probably the main problem, but my old OEM ones were all cracked and brittle so I just said F it, new OEM ones.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shogun-dc2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Patrick...

what store did you get the stripping from? ...and do they have it in black?

I have tailight condensation problems too. First it was in the passenger side, now just last week, it started in the drivers side.

I was also told that doubling up the gaskets also do the job..</TD></TR></TABLE>

I got the stuff from Lowe's, I only saw it in white and gray. It doesn't really matter, you can't see it at all when the trunk is closed.

Have you crawled inside the trunk (w/ the rear trim panels off) and had somebody spray water over the car to make sure it's coming through the taillights? I had my dad do that, and I could tell that the taillight was filling up with water and then spilling over into the car.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jweezy225 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have the same problem and found a pool of water in my trunk where the donut goes... had to vacuum it all out. I also have the same condensation in the tail lights... the weatherstripping should work right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Maybe, just have someone do as I just said above and check to make sure it's actually coming in by the taillights. Also do it to determine exactly HOW it's coming in, either by streaming down into the car, or filling up the taillights as I said and spilling over into the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the rear window washer nozzle, which was dripping down onto the headliner and then running down both sides. That made water pool up under the rear seat, and eventually it soaked my entire carpet, which is why I had to take it and the headliner out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Told ya so...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


I got the stuff from Lowe's, I only saw it in white and gray. It doesn't really matter, you can't see it at all when the trunk is closed.

Have you crawled inside the trunk (w/ the rear trim panels off) and had somebody spray water over the car to make sure it's coming through the taillights? I had my dad do that, and I could tell that the taillight was filling up with water and then spilling over into the car.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

the thing is, i don't get the water in my spare tire well... only the condensation in the lights.

 

(PatrickGSR94) &lt;= damn engineer!

 

This is some good info. I'll look into using this on my new '95 GSR. There was water going into the trunk for so long that the spare tire well is literally rotting out. That's an easy fix because you can't see it, but I gotta fix the source of the water. I hope it's coming from the taillights and not up top.

 

I do have a small leak but my car has stock tail lights and my drain tubes (sunroof) are ok. So I have no freaking idea what's up

Maybe I'm too lazy, or it's because it's 25 degrees outside, but I just threw a towel next to my spare until further notice...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IVI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> (PatrickGSR94) &lt;= damn engineer!

</TD></TR></TABLE>

nope! Architect (future), just an intern for now!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sfigj3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I do have a small leak but my car has stock tail lights and my drain tubes (sunroof) are ok. So I have no freaking idea what's up

Maybe I'm too lazy, or it's because it's 25 degrees outside, but I just threw a towel next to my spare until further notice...

</TD></TR></TABLE>

My tail lights are stock, too. The gaskets eventually get hard and cracked and will start letting water in. If that is the source of your leak, I'm sure new gaskets will fix it.

For me the weatherstripping was just extra protection.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

nope! Architect (future), just an intern for now!


</TD></TR></TABLE>

i knew it was something relating to that or an engineer.

i could tell by the lines you were making on your car and all this technical info you have.

nice job.

 

Oh yeah, I am a perfectionist to no end

which sometimes bites me in the **** because I take too long to get stuff just right.

 

Hmm...wonder if that's where I'm getting water in my trunk.

 

Guys,

I had this problem when my car was side swiped. I took it into the body shop that repaired it all and they said that it wasn't coming in through the taillights, that it was coming through the trunk lid. What they did was adjust the rubber adjusters on the trunk lid. They screw/unscrew. All you do is screw em down a little shut the lid, test with running water. repeat as nescessary. But i am not going to garantee that this will fix your problem. The reason i post this is because i was getting a ton of water in the rear-passenger side trunk area right below the light. They adjusted that and it stopped. Also the tailights might need to be adjusted around a little bit to stop the leak. Hope this info is helpful to anyone.....

 

Have you tested it out yet? Im interested in this. My tails don't leak anymore, but they fog up slightly when it rains and is overly humid.

 

Im going to copy you! I hope it works I took out my spare and all the goodies in the back and when I was the GS-R small water amount in the back but Im usually able to get it out hopefully this time I can go without all the hassle!

 

Good work, but good thing my tail lights aren't leaking.