This SE I just bought has a leak somewhere that allows water/condensation into the trunk compartment. It gets damp on the drivers side after a rainfall. Anybody else have this or have any ideas as to where it might be leaking? I have checked the rubber seals around the trunk lid and they look good. There are no other obvious signs pointing to something that I can tell...hence the post.

Thanks

Most common hidden leak is from air pressure release vents which are behind the carpet on each side of trunk, rear of wheelwell. Poor gasketing the cause, unfortunately proper fix requires bumper removal to access, although some have had some success re-sealing from inside trunk.

if you have small hands, or a handcrafted tool of some sort to reach through that small hole and pull the vent back in to place..


Ray

Ha Ha !!!

The moment I was waiting for....

I know someone else would bring up this topic again...

I need some help too !!

Here are pictures of my trunk...

Trunk !!

Could someone show me where the vent are ??
Let me know the picture number...

I remember seeing some posts on old CEG about that but I cold never really find the problem.... Now I have some pics and that might help a little....


Thanks

You have to remove carpet at each side of the trunk. Top of pic 3 & 7.

You mean the "sidewall" of the trunk on those pictures ??

Is there where the vents are ??

Thanks

That would be correct... the "sidewall" if you will... it is more like in the "curve" of where the sidewall and the floor of the trunk meet...(it is still on the sidewall, just..at the bottom)

It is a small black plastic vent, and is shaped (use your imagination) much like a rubber grommet is. (The ones that seal your firewall-interior holes. Kind of "flared-out" on both ends...)

So... you would need something small to be able to reach through the hole and "push" from the exterior of the vent, after you re-seal the thing, in order to properly set it into the hole..

If you have ever pulled a firewall grommet out, you know of the potential troubles I am referring to..


HTH
Ray

Originally posted by midnghtflm:

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If you have ever pulled a firewall grommet out, you know of the potential troubles I am referring to..

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Off the topic of this thread but would you know how to easily get 1/2 a PCV valve grommet out of the intake maniflod of my 3.3L '90 Buick Century Wagon's engine?
A 24" remote claw thru' throttle body is the answer -- I hope.

Originally posted by horseydug:

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..behind the carpet on each side of trunk, rear of wheelwell...

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Perhaps wheelwells would have been less ambiguous, since I did not mean spare tire wheelwell.

Potential problems sticking a metal claw like that in to the TB.. I would remove the valve cover, and reach in there to pull it out.. then replace the gasket.... may be more work initially, but you will thank yourself for not shoving something metal that far through the TB.. I mean.. it could be done, yes.. but I wouldn't..

My .02

Ray

Hey Ray, thanks man...

I'll try to take more pictures of that region and post them...

Well I've actually taken TB off so I'm working thru' it's hole on the intake manifold. Removing intake manifold might be the next step cause I can't see the grommet; with my luck it's probably rolled down and is sitting on an intake valve.

If it was a vent on the bottom of the side, why is water getting in there if the car is just sitting in my driveway? I just returned from Labor Day weekend driving a different vehicle and this Contour got wet in the trunk just sitting there.

Also - I can't view the pictures above for some reason. Says server not available.

Originally posted by Beatercar:

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If it was a vent on the bottom of the side, why is water getting in there if the car is just sitting in my driveway? I just returned from Labor Day weekend driving a different vehicle and this Contour got wet in the trunk just sitting there.

Also - I can't view the pictures above for some reason. Says server not available.

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Talking about my pictures ???

Did u click on the link ???

It should work... that's a link to my Pbase.com account...

Originally posted by Beatercar:

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If it was a vent on the bottom of the side, why is water getting in there if the car is just sitting in my driveway? I just returned from Labor Day weekend driving a different vehicle and this Contour got wet in the trunk just sitting there.

Also - I can't view the pictures above for some reason. Says server not available.

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I had a similar problem and it turned out that one of the tail-lights was leaking. Dirt had built up around the gasket and was allowing water to enter the housing and then down into the trunk. Had a nice puddle of water after a sizable rain. I removed the tail-light, cleaned the gasket and put some silicone around it. That fixed her up!!!!!

Originally posted by Beatercar:

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If it was a vent on the bottom of the side, why is water getting in there if the car is just sitting in my driveway? ..

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Vents are on fenders (rear of wheelwells and behind bumper) which are the sides of trunk. Water runs down fender, behind bumper, thru' poor vent seal into trunk.

Hahahahahahahaha! I finally beat the leak(s) after many months of troubleshooting. I had a leak in not one, but 3 different locations, all on the passenger side. First was the aforementioned vent. Pulled the gasket out and put silicone everywhere...still had water in the trunk, but not from the vent. Second place I found was around the non-power antenna housing on the outside of the car. The plug/connector at the end of the antenna wire was rusted because water had come in there. A little silicone around the outside rubber housing fixed that leak, but water was still getting in. The last and final place I found it leaking was through the passenger side trunk arm hole(for lack of a better name). After I removed the rear shelf I discovered it was coming through the backglass, missing the shelf material(there is a recess in the corner) and dripping into the trunk BIG TIME. I peeled the rubber moulding from around the leaking side and added a bit of silicone in the area I thought was to blame(using a hose to see where water was possibly entering). No more problems(knocking on wood...lol). My advice is to pull all the carpeted pieces out of the trunk, get a flashlight and a towel, and have someone use a hose from outside to trickle water down the backglass. Good luck to you, I know it is very annoying! The water warped my sub box, giving me reason to build another. .....

I have a similar problem, but I think its the trunk lid itself. For what I can see, it doesn't sit flush. Is there a way to tighten it down?

I suggest you confirm actual leak location before adjusting deck lid alignment at hinges and/or lock.
Rear lights and licence plate facia are other likely suspects.

Thanks Guys. I was able to see the link to the trunk pictures today and that does help. I will remove the carpet from the sides and get a tube of silicon and see what I can find. I'll also check those tail lights and their drains. Hopefully it's something obvious and can be fixed easily.

I'm really surprised that there are so many people with the same or similar problem. How come no recall or TSB on this from Ford?

Thanks again!

My leak was due to the taillight as mentioned earlier.
My daughter recently called to complain that she had a leak in the trunk of her '96 Contour.

It's nice to know you're not alone...

FYI - After removing the side panels in the trunk I noticed a little stain underneath the drivers side tail light on the inside. That seems to be the culprit. After removing the taillight, I'll put some silicone on the gasket and reinstall. Man - after running the hose on the rear window and watching all the water run down to the taillights, I'm surprised it doesn't leak more than it does.

Thanks again...

Hey BeaterCar

did u have a chance to take pictures ??

I am still trying to fix mine...

I'll try to take some pictures when I do the job. Thing is if I don't get to it tomorrow morning (Sat) then it won't be until Monday since I'm going to Richmond, VA for the NASCAR race Saturday night.

The process I'm gunning for is to remove all the interior fabric; remove the taillights (3 nuts each); clean the taillights real good; add clear silicone to the foam gaskets on the taillights; tighten down the taillights real tight; replace everything.

You still out there 2G sport? My 99 CSVT is still leaking afer I have checked and sealed all the usual culprits: tailights, vents etc. It looks like the water is getting into the trunk near the trunk arm hole near where the back glass comes down. The water is dripping from the back, top of the trunk, nowhere near the vents or tailights. You mentioned that you solved the problem by adding some more silicone to the rubber molding. Are you talking about the rubber moulding that seals the trunk lid or a different one? Do I have to remove my back shelf to get at and fix the leaking area?

This wet trunk is really starting to pi*& me off.

Can anyone help?

Reading the post you refer to it sounds like the rear glass exterior rubber weather seal was removed.

Best to find the actual leak location first, however, since leak point and point of water dripping and becoming visible are not necessarily the same place. This would require removal of rear interior window and parcel shelf trim plus the 3rd brake light, to expose the glass/urethane contact surface.

You may wish to also consider getting an estimate from auto glass shop to re & re existing back window glass.

p.s. I believe the arm hole referred to is actually the sub-woofer hole, an option that was not made available in N.A.

I fixed my problem without removal of the glass. I had a leak coming through the(be forgiving as I do not know the proper term...lol) gap that the trunk arm goes between when you put the lid down The leak was coming through part of the urethane that was damaged/pinched, running down the back glass and in a recessed part of the metal shelf, going into the trunk because it had nowhere else to go. What I did was removed the trim around the backglass and trickled water down the backglass in certain parts while looking through the backglass. When I found the general area it was coming in, I used a little urethane(I said silicone by mistake in my original post) to go along the area I thought the leak was located. I trickled water in the same area, and this time it didn't leak. I put the trim back on around the backglass and reinstalled the shelf carpeting. No more leaky since. If you cannot find the leak, but you have a feeling it is coming through the backglass, go to Safelite(sorry I am partial, my wife works for them ) and have them check it out. Good luck.

can you guys explain this again? i cant find the leak in my trunk, and its killing me... pictures, anything? i have a 99 SE

Open the trunk. (Check Both Sides) Pull the trunk lining away from the rear fender walls. You should now see (on each side) a Black Plastic vent like square protruding. One of these black vents in mine was completely pushed into the fender leaving massive room for H2O to enter, the other side vent just wasnt working properyl (Each Vent have these plastic FLAPs outside allowing air to exit but not enter) Havent had a single drop since. (AIf your leaks seemed to accumilate only near the rear side walls of the trunk, this is 99% the problem) BTW use common sense to repair/replace/fix these, very simple. Later

My 1998 SVT has some water leaking in the trunk. I read all the posts here, does anyone have any pictures? The links in this thread don't work anymore.

Also I just bought my car and it seems to be missing the fiberboard over the spare tire. I have carpet but nothing to support it over the spare. Did the contours come with some type of hard surface over the spare, like my other cars? I'm just wondering. Thanks.

My 96 has the fiberboard or whatever it is under all of the trunk carpeting except of course for the flexible parts on the sides,,, though ford may have discontented some of this material in later years.

Here's a picture story for everyone who needs it (like me)


This is the rear of the trunk, behind the wheelwell. I pinpointed this as the leak spot because of the water focused there (isnt that strange? ). This discovery was made after I locked my girlfriend in the trunk and poured water on it


Remove the grey carpet covering or whatever, and you see the vents talked about throughout this post.


Here's the vent close-up. See the water traces under it? It was loose, but the other side wasnt and there was no sign of damage.


This is why it leaks. This was supposed to be around the vent on the outside of the trunk under the bumper, but it was loose, so i just pulled it off because i am not crafty enough to glue it back.

so0o00o

Originally posted by seven777svt:

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BTW use common sense to repair/replace/fix these, very simple. Later

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Common sense would tell me to use silicone on the inside of the trunk around the vent, to permanently seal it. Anyone agree, or does anyone suggest anything else? I want to use some brownbread in my trunk (or something like it, even a spray can), but not until this is fixed. It made my current dual 15" box soggy, and the condensation was running off onto my amp. Good thing the terminals are covered on the bottom of the amp.

Thanks to everyone on this board for their help on my annoying problem