Technical Water in spare wheel well

[Enrico Mariconda]

Hi all,
I am after some help please. I've recently discovered water in my spare wheel well. Some investigation shows that the water is collecting in the crossmember which the tailgate striker is attached to. I have removed the trim panel along around the tailgate striker & it does appear to collect water (obviously it should be dry).
The only way I can think water is getting tin this area is via the roof mouldings.
Has anybody else experienced water in the spare wheel well & if so did you manage to track the source of the leak? Or has anybody else tried to remove the roof mouldings? Is this an easy job?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Rico

 

[the green vanper]

Hello,

Rear lights?
Hatch seal?
Radio aerial?

 

[Enrico Mariconda]

Thanks for the reply - I've checked the rear lights & the seal was good. About the hatch seal -it's not this either as the water first collect into the crossmember which the hatch striker is fixed to. The roof ariel could be a possibility though

 

[Cornish Ian]

My wife’s 500’s leak came from one of the spot welds under one of the roof inset strips. I found it with a trickle from a hose after drying everything out.

 

[Enrico Mariconda]

Thanks 'Cornish Ian'. I was thinking that it could be coming through a joint i this area as well since it seems the roof moulding is starting to detach itself from the roof. Out of curiosity - did you fix the leak & if so how? Did you remove the roof trim mould, or did you fix it from the inside? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Cornish Ian]

Thanks 'Cornish Ian'. I was thinking that it could be coming through a joint i this area as well since it seems the roof moulding is starting to detach itself from the roof. Out of curiosity - did you fix the leak & if so how? Did you remove the roof trim mould, or did you fix it from the inside? Any help would be appreciated.

Bear in mind that it seems to be quite a rare occurrence so I would advise making absolutely sure before you rip it apart.
As I said before a small trickle along the strip worked for me. I started at the hatch back end then slowly worked forward until the water showed itself in the boot.
My trim was stuck down so once I was certain of the approximate area of the leak I slowly peeled it back until I saw the suspect spot weld. Sealed it with silicone from the outside then retested, all was well so I dried everything then reattached the rear of the strip and all has been fine since.
You have a different car so things might be different but good luck

 

[Enrico Mariconda]

Yes of course - thanks for the tip & yes will proceed with caution. Unfortunately my leak seems quite big - not helped by all the rain we've been having and fortunately have some good absorbent cloths that need to be wrung out a couple of times a day. Will post some pictures once I find the source of the problem