98 Contour Trunk leaking

I have a 98 Ford Contour and for some reason the trunk is leaking water when it rains. I have no idea where the water is coming in or why. Vehicle has never been in a crash and should have no trunk problems. Anyone with this car have similar problems? I also have a problem with the temperature gauge not working and when the air conditioning is on the air blows cold but the car idles so hard i think it's going to die. Please let me know. :frown:

their are plastic trunk guards right above the rear tail lights, if there gone there will be a pretty big gap. I had that happen before, the guards fell out and my trunk leaked pretty bad, check to see if the guards are still there.

I haven't had a prob. with the trunk, but my left outer taillight has a small leak somewhere that has already caused me to blow 2 bulbs. If anyone else has had this prob., any info on possible leak spots would be appreciated.

I have a 98 Ford Contour and for some reason the trunk is leaking water when it rains. I have no idea where the water is coming in or why. Vehicle has never been in a crash and should have no trunk problems. Anyone with this car have similar problems? I also have a problem with the temperature gauge not working and when the air conditioning is on the air blows cold but the car idles so hard i think it's going to die. Please let me know. :frown:

I have a 98 Contour as well with the same exact problem!! I was told also to get the rubber seam fixed

I haven't seen the leak but I smell the moldy smell so I bet that is it - these plastic things are where exactly??

yeah i have a 98 svt and the left tail light also leaks and it has caused me to blow a few bulbs, its not a big deal because i dont really drive it in the rain but you know it still get wet when washing, but if you find why yours is leaking let me know.

I have a '97 Contour that had this problem. It turned out to be a plastic piece (maybe a vent?) on the trunk sidewall. Mine was on the passenger side (there may be one on both sides, I don't know). This part is located behind the inner carpet, on the side behind the wheel. On mine, the gasket failed and allowed water to get into the trunk around this plastic piece. It was several years ago, but I don't have fond memories of trying to hold the foam gasket in place and getting that plastic piece in correctly. It was a cheap fix anyway, I think I just used some of that soft, rope weather stripping that comes in rolls. Kind of like clay rope.

The plastic vent mentioned above tends to pop out of place. You can usually pull it back into place, solving the problem.