Pyrenees
SILVER Star
If you're like me, you've been dealing with water intrusion through the rear hatch every time it rains. I mean like puddles of water on the rubber mat back there. The third brake light (the LED one at the top of the hatch) was cracked which I assumed was the problem. OEM replacements are $200 which is nuts and I saw a few threads on mud about aftermarket ones not fitting right. Not to mention, Toyota made the wiring harness on this thing a pain in the ass. None of this sounded appealing.
I grabbed some JB weld epoxy (4400 psi tensile strength, good stuff) and figured I'd just glue the broken pieces back together and then reinstall it. When I actually stood up on the split tailgate and looked down on the 3rd brake light from above I realized that the crack wasn't the problem. The plastic taillight had bowed out somewhat, and the foam gasket between the plastic light and the hatch had deteriorated. There was just this huge gap (maybe 1/4") that allowed water from the top of the car to just drain right into this thing.
The light is fastened to the hatch by two 10mm nuts (underneath two rubber grommets, and you'll need a deep 10mm socket). They are not torqued on very tightly and I made sure to go really easy on them when re-attaching. Didn't want to crack it on the other side, basically.
I got a $5 tube of GE clear silicone and went to town on this thing. I mean I put tons of silicone around where the gap was and then just pressed the plastic light parts back in place. Gently tightened the 10mm nuts and then got back up on the tailgate, and just used my finger to smooth down the silicone around the edges and wipe off the excess with paper towels. Then I ran some silicone down the crack "ridge" likewise.
So, I never used the epoxy and I don't think if I had that it would have solved the problem. Hopefully I never have to take this taillight off for some reason, but at least it's fixed.
I grabbed some JB weld epoxy (4400 psi tensile strength, good stuff) and figured I'd just glue the broken pieces back together and then reinstall it. When I actually stood up on the split tailgate and looked down on the 3rd brake light from above I realized that the crack wasn't the problem. The plastic taillight had bowed out somewhat, and the foam gasket between the plastic light and the hatch had deteriorated. There was just this huge gap (maybe 1/4") that allowed water from the top of the car to just drain right into this thing.
The light is fastened to the hatch by two 10mm nuts (underneath two rubber grommets, and you'll need a deep 10mm socket). They are not torqued on very tightly and I made sure to go really easy on them when re-attaching. Didn't want to crack it on the other side, basically.
I got a $5 tube of GE clear silicone and went to town on this thing. I mean I put tons of silicone around where the gap was and then just pressed the plastic light parts back in place. Gently tightened the 10mm nuts and then got back up on the tailgate, and just used my finger to smooth down the silicone around the edges and wipe off the excess with paper towels. Then I ran some silicone down the crack "ridge" likewise.
So, I never used the epoxy and I don't think if I had that it would have solved the problem. Hopefully I never have to take this taillight off for some reason, but at least it's fixed.
