95 camry...water in trunk

[alphalanos]

my friends camry has water in the bottom of the trunk. probably from a weatherstripping not being sealed. i havent had much time to look at it but when i get a chance to fix it what should i do?

1. rent wet/dry vac
2. drill hole in bottom of trunk/ seal with...what?

i just want to get the water out of his car before it rusts alot

[Bmaintz]

A small pin hole wouldn't hurt, just reseal when done... If you pull the spare tire I believe there are pop out gorments that will drain the trunk also....
I would check that the taillight assemblys are tight & that the seals are OK.... Bob

[clintryplug]

siphen it if the water's deep enough. if it's not deep enough to siphen throw a butt load of towels on it. for what you'd pay to rent a wet dry vac, you could buy a small bildge pump (for a boat) from a sporting goods store.

[mrtwo]

Can anyone explain to me how the tail light assembly can cause leaking? I see a lot of people mentioned this. BTW, i have a 95 camry.

[alphalanos]

I think its actually the weatherstripping along the bottom of the rear glass. but there may be an opening behind the rear tail lights for the wiring to go through.

[amerikim]

Originally Posted by alphalanos

I think its actually the weatherstripping along the bottom of the rear glass. but there may be an opening behind the rear tail lights for the wiring to go through.

First, do NOT drill a hole, its not necessary and you will start something you will regret later. There are rubber stoppers in the spare tire well.
If its collecting in the side wheel wells, there is a grommet on the gas tank side and just use paper towels on the other.

I chased my leak several ways to hell, including the register in the fender, rear spoiler, tailights, trim, etc. Still collecting water. I used a non-waterproof marker and drew lines all around to see where it was coming from.

I will tell you how I fixed my leak;

What I finally figured out was my car didn't leak when I just parked it out in the rain. It only started collecting water if I was driving. At first I thought it was blocked sunroof drain but it wasn't it.
What I did finally figure out was the wind was forcing water under the rubber seal for the rear deck lid. I at first thought it was coming from the part where the rubber met the lid but finally figured out that the water was coming in under the lip of the part of the seal that meets with the body. It's that U shaped rubber that sits on the metal lip of the body. It was a hard one to catch because as water entered the car, it ran behind panels and ended up all over the place.
The fix for me was I first took the seal off the car and cleaned the lip all around the opening with alcohol, I also cleaned the inside of the rubber seal making sure everything was dry. I lined the trunk with paper. Then I filled that U shaped part of the rubber seal with clear silicon sealer and put it back on. Wiped the seepage and let it set, I closed the trunk a couple of times to make sure I was getting the seal to sit right before the silicon hardened. Voila!

Now in my second Fall with a dry trunk.

[cjstew4]

The seal that you caulked, is it the one that wraps all the way around the trunk opening. With this last heavy rain, I had at least two qts in the spare tire well and a half pint to a pint in each of the sides well on my 94' camry . I am getting ready to drill holes, but if I caulk first, I want to make sure that it is the correct seal. Please advise. Thanks, Corey

[somick]

Corey, look at the date of the thread!

[jdmccright]

What I have experienced is that there is a rubber seal that separates the trunk lid from the rear "Camry" panel. Over time the rubber shrinks and pulls away from the edges, creating two holes for water to get in. It rolls right off the trunk and down the edge. My '92 has a light bar instead of the solid, painted panel, but after a rain I get a lot of water inside the lens.

If water were coming in from the rear window, you should see drip marks or rust. An easy way to check the seal around the trunk opening is to lay a dollar bill across the seal and shut the trunk, leaving one end to grab and pull. If it comes out without resistance, it needs to be adjusted or replaced. Check all the way around. Hope this helps!

[Teddie]

Thank you all for the advice since my 93 Camry also has water in the trunk which is not good in Oregon.