hatch leaks when it rains

[skotman]

every time it rains water leaks in through somewhere along the weatherstripping around the hatchback. i have no idea where. the weatherstripping is in great shape, still soft and pliable, and doesn't have any rips or tears that i can see. the water seems to mostly flow through the plastic trip and drip out through the hole where the hydraulic thingies come out (whatever they're called. they keep the hatchback open when you open it.) on both sides. the water JUST misses the speakers in the back and usually slides down the plastic trim and mostly pools in the spare tire compartment. since the weather stripping is in great shape as far as i can tell, where else could this be coming from? there are no apparant holes that i can see from the inside or outside, but it's obviously seeping in somewhere near the top edges of the hatchback.

i'm just waiting for the day i return to my car to find my amp and speakers sitting in a puddle.

[Beater88]

Is it a Si with sunroof?
I have heard that if the roof drain holes are pluged then the water flows into the car. I think that the drain runs down the same channel that the hatch thingies mount to.

My CRX I had a leak throught the rear tail lights. Seems to be common issue with the light seals. I just got some silicon and took the lights out and put a ton on and it never leaked again.

[1990civicdxhb]

I would check all the trim around each window & make shore no waters coming through the taillight area.

[skotman]

gosh, i always forget to include the type of car when i post this stuff.

89 crx dx, so, nope, no sunroof.

anyway, as far as i can tell, it's not coming in through the tail lights. i don't even see where the water would be able to leak through. the water that comes in i can visually see dripping from the top where the hydraulic lifters attach.

i'm just gonna have to do some experiments with water and food coloring to try to find the leak. that and tear down all the rear upper trim around the windows and hatchback.

[mattio781]

i got sorta the same issue on my 91 si, but its not the snrf, just on the rear sill where speakers would be(didn't get that option) on my drivers side, doesnt go into the hatch itself but just sits on the sill and eventually evaporates, try droppin the headliner and put a hose on the roof near where it seems to be leaking, or something

[Beater88]

I found this, hope it helps!

Question: What causes almost every crx to leak when it rains. I have a 91 DX without
a sun roof. Could the lil plastic tubes be clogged from that hatch drain.
Every one's Crx around here has the same problem. It dont think its
leaking from the hatch seal. Any info appreciated.

Answer: After removing and replacing the sunroof in my 91 Si, I found it
wasn't the problem. Turns out the seam where the roof panel is
welded to the quarter panel of the car was causing the problem.
At the factory the two panels are spot welded togther and the
small gap left is filled with body sealer. As time goes by the
sealer hardens and then cracks allowing water to enter the
seam and get inside the car. I used some 3M "Heavy Drip Check
Sealer" to fix mine, it's available at autobody supply stores.

The seam is at the top two corners of the hatch jamb. The two
black black thingies that run the length of the roof conceal the
weld between the two panels. My car was leaking at the very end
of the passenger black strip right at the end. I popped off the
black thing with a small flatblade screwdriver and cleaned out
the crud in there, then applied the sealer over the old cracked
sealer. This stopped the leak for a few months, but now it's
back. (Although not as bad.) The proper way to fix this is to dig
out all the old crusty sealer, prime it with catalyzed primer and
then reseal the seam. I may do this before I repaint my car.

[turtlecrxsi]

Yep ^^ is the correct way to fix it. I have the same thing where the water drips through the hatch struts (well, I have one on cuz driver's side is stripped). I'm going to eventually weld my sunroof shut so I'll do it the correct way at that point. But for now I'm using some duct tape over the hatch strut holes cuz I just put some Pioneers in for midrange and I'd hate for them to get ruined. You can also get 3M black tape that looks sorta like duct tape to cover it more stealthy until you get time to reseal the seal. GL

[rexracer89]

My 89 DX CRX began leaking a while back. 99% of the time it is the rubber gasket causing the problem. It may look in good shape with no tears, but 25+ years has worn the seal down. Especialy if you have the rear window defogger you can tell thye wear area. The drain holes are not causing the problem because simply,it would take a break in the weld as mentioned. If you've got that use JB Weld to fix. Still likely you are going to replace the gasketThis is a Honda part, dealer only so forget about finding it else where. Expect to order and pay $80.00 for it.

[amy@af]

tsk...tsk...tsk...

both of you kiss and make up or i'll stick you in opposite corners on a couple of days "time-out"

great, now i get to clean up