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[VR-VS] How To Fix A VN-VS Boot Water Leak

ChRiDDa

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Ever pulled out your spare wheel, for whatever reason, only to find a puddle of water sitting there, decaying the panel underneath away?

Can't for the life of you, work out where the water is getting in? Ever laid in the boot with a torch, while someone drowns the boot in water to see if you can determine where the leak is coming from?

Chances are, it is probably coming from the rear quarter panel window (Between the rear door and the rear windscreen)

Below is an example of what I found upon pulling the spare wheel out


Example

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1

Below is a step by step guide, including pictures to help assist in getting this little number out, in order to re-seal it and to prevent it from leaking in the future.

You will need the following tools to successfully complete the job


Sockets and Screwdrivers
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Windscreen Sealant and a Caulking Gun
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**Caulking Gun can be purchased from any good hardware store, such as Bunnings, usually for around $10-15**

**ENSURE THE SEALANT YOU PURCHASE IS NON SILICONE BASED - AS SILICONE PROMOTES RUST**​

We start first, by removing the back seat


Step 1 - Remove Bottom Seat
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Step 2 - Undo Bolts Retaining Upright Seats
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Step 3 - Remove Upright Seats From Vehicle
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Kneel down on the front of the bottom seat (Kneel where the yellow circles are located in the above picture). Pull up the rear of the seat and remove it from the vehicle.

Using a 10mm socket with a 3/8 drive ratchet, remove the two bolts (one bolt on each side), retaining the upright seats. Now grab the underneath of the upright seat and pull upwards to remove.


Step 4 - Removing The Parcel Shelf
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Now that you have removed the rear seat completely, you can begin to remove the rear parcel shelf. Remove the three plastic clips that are securing the front of the parcel shelf to the frame of the vehicle. If the car is equipped with a child restraint system, remove this, using a 12mm socket and 3/8 drive ratchet. (The child restraint might be covered by a piece of plastic trim. To remove this, just use a small flat bladed screw driver and gently pop the trim upwards). Now remove the remaining two plastic clips either side of the restraint, using a small flat bladed screwdriver. You can now remove the parcel shelf from the vehicle.


Step 5 - Remove The Seatbelt Mount
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Now in this step, chances are you are probably going to break the VERY FRAGILE plastic hinges that cover the bolt... **I will not be held responsible for this!** Use the same small flat bladed screwdriver you used to remove the plastic clips, to remove the cover. Carefully pop the clip out from underneath the belt mount. You now have access to the bolt. Remove this using a 19mm socket and a 3/8 drive ratchet.


Step 6 - Remove The Door Seal
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Your progress will now look like this. Now to remove the door seal... This just involves you pulling the seal away from the frame of the vehicle. Very straight forward


Step 7 - Removing The Plastic Trim Covering The Window
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This part can be rather tricky, as the plastic clips tend to become stuck, just before they are removed. Carefully grab the trim and gently pull it from different sides, being careful not to break it. The above picture is what you will see, once the plastic trim is removed.


Step 8 - Removing The Plastic 10mm Nuts Holding The Window In Place
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This step involves removing the 5x10mm plastic nuts that are securing the window to the vehicle. Here, I used a 1/4 ratchet with a 10mm socket. Have an assistant on standby to help remove the window. The last thing you want, is for the window to fall out of the vehicle and hit the ground. For this exercise, I had HSV_CRUZN as my assistant :p


Step 9 - The Window Removed

Before
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After
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Now that the window is removed, it would make sense to give the surrounds a bit of a clean. For this, I used Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner with some old terrycloth towels. Now might also be a good time to touch up any rust patches that may be forming, using some rust preventative and paint.


Step 10 - Cleaning The Window
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Now that the window has been removed from the car, give it a thorough cleaning, using the procedure listed above. This will also help to maximise the strength and durability of the sealant.


Step 11 - Applying The Sealant
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Once the window surround is clean, it is time to apply the sealant. Start slowly, as this gives you the greatest control over your sealant bead. Just remember, slow and steady always wins the race!


Step 12 - Replacing The Rear Window
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Once you have applied sealant all around the seal, you can replace the window. You will again require your helpers assistance.

Now just follow all of these steps, but in reverse, in order to put everything back together again :)

A BIG Thank You to HSV_CRUZN for dedicating his afternoon to come and assist me in doing this task! Cheers :D

Have Fun! :D
 
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NKX

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Additional:

This was fixed in several cases by replacing the tail-lights with aftermarket ones. Obviously a failed seal there - this is quite common as these cars are getting quite old and weathered now.
 

coolvxss

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Mine leaked through the tail light. it took ages to find where it was leaking. i ended up putting silicon around the tail light seal and it worked a treat.
 

kopper69

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Fantastic post mate. I have this problem. It hardly ever rains anymore though in QLD so it hasnt been a problem for a while. I did a dodgy repair, by spraying some black rust protectant paint under the wheel. Covers the ugly rust and should slow down rust. Doesnt solve the problem though. Then I was going to make something up that would sense water and start a pump that simply pumped it out. But I spose I could just fix the problem now. Oh could you please put the photos so that they come up in the how-to instead of having a link. Just click on the little picture above where you type. Clicking each pic was annoying me.
 

Brycestro

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mate i've had this exact same problem. went to pull out good old spare only to find it sitting in a big puddle of water down there. I find these tutorials with pictures of every step thoroughly helpful so thanks alot for going to the effort. I know with alot of tutorials i turn away at the idea of trying them when there's lots of technical and no pictures to demonstrate.

I shouldn't have much problem doing this, i've taken the back seat out before along with the parcel shelf many times. I can vouch for the plastic seat belt bolt covers breaking easily as i've done it myself to one of my front seat belts. Only question i have is how much did the windscreen sealant and 'corking gun' cost you? I'm assuming the corking gun is just the thing your using there to apply the sealant? Is the sealant easy enough to find down at supercheap/autobarn? Cheers, Bryce.
 

Snotty

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i got some sealant from mitre 10 for $9, try and get the non-silicone sealer as said before.

If you dont have a corking gun they sell sealant in smaller tubes that you squeze out like toothpaste.
 

Brycestro

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ok awesome thanks for the tip off. how much will a corking gun set me back?
 

ChRiDDa

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the sealant cost me $11 from autobarn, but can be brought from most good auto parts stores!
the gun was free.. haha dad had it lying around in the garage, so i just used it, but they are around the same price, around $10
as said, you can squeeze em out, but i wouldnt bother, get the gun, makes life easier! this way you have 100% control on how much product you apply!
thanks for the positive comments fellas! :thumbsup:
 

Outlaw Torn

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out of curiosity, would this be a similar solution for a VC/SL? i have resealed everything that i could think of and it still leaks. Ive done the taillights, boot seal and the rear window. it still leaks. any help please.
 
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