Boot leak

[G4orce]

I have a boot leak in my vp calais. At first i thought it was the tail lights but i seeled them up and it still leaks. Ne thing that can help would be good. Thanx

[MaNiac_VP]

Okay this could be a few things.
If you have checked the tail lights, then try the actual boot lid seal, the rear window bottom seal, what area of the boot are u finding the leak?

I would seriously check the taillights again, I have a VP calais myself and althought I have resealed the lights, a tiny bit of water still gets through.

Good luck mate.

[GrpA Calais]

Boot leaks - the bane of my life! :b:

I've had a VN and 2 VPs and they all leaked no matter what I did.
I just learned never to leave anything in the boot that I didn't mind getting water-logged. I now just pull back the carpet and let it air as much as possible during the weekend.

[The1985divo]

do you have a spolier? i know mine leaks through the holes where the spoiler is screwed on

[jules]

my VN boot collects enough water to solve the rural drought problem

they just do that. especially if it's taken a knock to the rear end in the past

[DUMPD_VP_CALAIS]

i have a vp calais, and recently bought new tailights. Even after i sealed around the lights it still leaked, so i fitted the lights onto the car and sealed the top of them with winshield sealant (some black stuff) and no more water gets in. Theres no gap between the lights and body...as long as you seal the top, u'll b fine. Fix it asap otherwise u'll rust out the looms, and that'll cause other problems.

[235rwkw]

there are two seals sort of.

the seal around he back of the light rubber, and the seal betweeen the lense and the back of the light. the seal between is the one that does it, gets insode the light fills up and runs in through the bulb hole. seperate the lense and reseal with some good sealant. sealing the top like the above post helps stop water getting between this seal

[1Westie]

I had the same problem when I got my 1994 VR Berlina. I pulled out all the carpet in the boot, including the walls. I lockedmyself in the boot with a flashlight and got someone to run a hose over the back 1/2 of the car. I found out where the leak was within seconds...a huge amount of water was rushing in from the fuel flap. If you open the fuel flap and have a look there's the main body steel rolled over with a internal part under it. There was a gap between these two parts. Went to the hardware store and got some good silicone glue, sealed it up and never had a problem since.

[daggett]

Pefect solutions to find the boot leak problem:

Get a mate, get yourself a flash light or a light of some description (don't recommend a lighter or matches a hose or buckets of water. Get in your boot get your mate to shut you in their and then procced to throw or hose water in different areas until leak is found. Then fix problem by what ever. Make sure your mate will let you back out your boot when done, follow by beer.

[midnight.outlaw]

Is there an echo in here?

[sharpeidog]

Could be tail lights, boot seal, fuel cap or rear window, check them all. I had water gushing in the boot of my '90 VN and eventually tracked it down to both the rear side quarter windows. The seals shrink and perish over time. Take the windows out and apply heaps of window sealer and then reassemble. Be careful not to get the sealer everywhere, particularly on the upholstery, black goo is not a good look! Fiddly job, but boot is bone dry now.

[scott_dog_1]

I would very very seriously consider checking the floor seals under the carpet in the floor of the boot. they are just the black round rubber ones about 2 inches wide. a guy who came into work had the exact same problem and i found that was it. lucky it happened before he installed his brand new really expensive sound system.

[Bec]

This thread has been dug up now, so here's my story...
Have had a pretty bad boot leak since I got the car, tried the sitting in the boot and torch trick to no avail.
We just had heaps of rain so I had another look, and it turns out it was coming from taillight - the top section of the right one. I saw a bit of moisture on the wiring so I pulled out the bulb and water gushed in.
This is why a hose while in the boot didn't work, as there was not enough water to fill the light before it came in.
As you can guess, this has buggered the connections, so I don't have top tail or brake light...need a new harness now.
Thought I'd share my minor victory...maybe it will help someone else
Bec

[Big d 3.8l]

HI im new to this but i have a 89 vn and i have the same problem and i checked every thing.. put new lights in but my dad took out the rear window and found little bits of rust under the window seal so we ended up boggin it up and it dont leak now it may be a long shot but if nothin eles works that might be the problem

[DUMPD_VP_CALAIS]

leaking from the tailights is a really common problem. after fitting the lights, seal up the top and around the light (as best you can) and it should solve the problem - it did for me. run some water around the top of the boot and down the side and see where it leaks. i used windscreen sealant (black) and it worked fine.

[fergi]

yes the old wet boot is a real pain in the neck,well i couldnt find where my leak was coming from and i tried all those ideas so now when its raining i just call around to my ex wifes place lock her in the boot with a chamios and tell her to wipe up the mess as it comes in,,,oh how thoughtless of me ...i also give her a flashlight so she doesnt miss any
cheers
fergi

[DUMPD_VP_CALAIS]

maybe she could be of use to me....i need her to get under the bonnet when im driving and see if she smells fuel...ill let her borrow a lighter so she can see what shes doin

[Deano]

I have a boot leak in my vp calais. At first i thought it was the tail lights but i seeled them up and it still leaks. Ne thing that can help would be good. Thanx

I found 7 places my boot wasleaking - plastic moldings at the bottom of the "C" pillar. Body seam behind rear bumper are a cuple that have not been mentioned.

[Nikkojoe]

I found 7 places my boot wasleaking - plastic moldings at the bottom of the "C" pillar. Body seam behind rear bumper are a cuple that have not been mentioned.

Shouldn't really be leaking on the seam unless it has been in an accident and the job was a quick fix. Also, i would say it may leak around the bolts that hold the rear bumper on. There is a sponge foam thing that seals them up, but after a while they go hard. On of my bolts was rusted, and you could see a trail of water. I just got some of this foam from bunnings. Its the same stuff they use for the rear quater windows....

[3.8L of executive power!!]

yeah i just bought a VN commodore and i new the boot leaked when i bought it, thinking it was a simple thing to fix at the time! well it proved to be a problem as the tail lights have been reinforced with new seals but it still leaks, im thinking its the quarter windows but im havin trouble removing them, can anyone advise me on how to remove them without damaging it!
Cheers!

[Fully]

yeah i need to do my rear quarter windows as well due to water in my boot, dont want to stuff it up so some idea would be good

cheers

[Night]

to remove your rear quarter windows you have to remove the interior trim around them first then there is three nuts that hold the window on, once you remove the nuts then take off the outside trims and the window will just pop off. I found the seals around my calais rear quarters were hard and also shrank causing my boot to fill up with water too

[gbug]

could be the seal along the bottom of the window. Check for rust

[samuels]

yeah i just bought a VN commodore and i new the boot leaked when i bought it, thinking it was a simple thing to fix at the time! well it proved to be a problem as the tail lights have been reinforced with new seals but it still leaks, im thinking its the quarter windows but im havin trouble removing them, can anyone advise me on how to remove them without damaging it!
Cheers!

it seems everyone has different succsess stories in fixing their boot leak,which is good to hear,just a question if i may,what side is your boot leaking?could i be making a really good guess and say drivers side?
are you all absolutely sure the vehicles boot is leaking while it is sitting? the reason i say this,and this is another place to check,under the wheel arch(drivers side) there is a removable panel,take a look behind there,as i have noticed a lot of VN's sealant have just got old and brittle,and while you are driving along the water is being flicked into your boot via the wheel....just another thought for you all

[BR377]

My boot doesn't leak, untill i open the bloody thing after its been raining and 500 litres pour off the boot onto the windscreen then into the boot, i thought there was supposed to be a gutter or somethin?