Leaky Rear Hatch - Need Help with Install

[Presidio]

I had the same issue last week.. I went to replace the hatch gasket and no matter what I did, I always had a loop which wouldn't fit. Nothing I did made it fit. There are blue dots on the gasket which I assume are for alignment purposes but it made no difference. I gave it to my 18 year old and got him to fit it and he did it right first time. He didn't know I had failed multiple time so I just said "good job" and moved on.
It fits for sure so just keep trying.

EDIT: By the way my gasket was not split like yours is.

Mine isn’t split either I just noticed it on the cruiser corp website. However, there is a section that has a crease in it. Did yours have that and where did your 18 year old end up having that placed? I see the blue dots but I couldn’t figure them out either.

 

[Presidio]

I figured it out. The blue dots are on the inner diameter. I was doing it with the dots on the outer perimeter.

Mine isn’t split either I just noticed it on the cruiser corp website. However, there is a section that has a crease in it. Did yours have that and where did your 18 year old end up having that placed? I see the blue dots but I couldn’t figure them out either.

 

[rannon]

Hi guys - I am having an issue with a rear hatch leak that has presented itself pretty significantly lately. I live in WA so lots of rain...

This summer I replaced just about every weather seal I could on the 80, including the rear hatch seal that goes around the body. What I am now noticing is that water is running down the outside, rearward edge of that seal (between the seal and both the upper hatch door and lower tailgate) and pooling inside the cargo area at the bottom between the tailgate door and rear cargo floor... The seal is a new OEM Toyota seal from Toyotapartsdeal.com. It is as if it is not doing the one thing it should, which is seal the hatch door and and tailgate seams water tight, correct?

I have attached photos a few minutes into a rain storm up here today to show the problem starting - showing the water on the outer, rearward edge of the seal after a rain once I opened the two rear doors.

A puddle will form in the circled area when the truck is parked with a slight drop to the passenger side for example...

This is obviously driving me nuts and has left me kind of helpless as to what to do up here in the PNW. Any ideas are incredibly appreciated!

Cheers,
Nick

 

[jpoole]

I've had to seal the seal to the body along the top edge, under the upper rear hatch edge, to prevent this. Also, keep the seal and hatch surfaces clean, a bit of grit can trigger a leak.

Water may be coming from a few other sources and pooling in that area as well including:
-the rear hatch glass seal (around glass or between body/and seal)
-the roof rack leaking into headliner then running to d pillars and down

these are more likely to end up in the rear quarter panels but depending on parking angles could ingress into the carpet and pool in the rear cargo area:
-drip rail seals / trim below rear windows
-vent panels that are behind the rearmost side windows
-rearmost side windows

Keeping these dry over time is important and semi-ongoing it seems.

 

[rannon]

I've had to seal the seal to the body along the top edge, under the upper rear hatch edge, to prevent this. Also, keep the seal and hatch surfaces clean, a bit of grit can trigger a leak.

Water may be coming from a few other sources and pooling in that area as well including:
-the rear hatch glass seal (around glass or between body/and seal)
-the roof rack leaking into headliner then running to d pillars and down

these are more likely to end up in the rear quarter panels but depending on parking angles could ingress into the carpet and pool in the rear cargo area:
-drip rail seals / trim below rear windows
-vent panels that are behind the rearmost side windows
-rearmost side windows

Keeping these dry over time is important and semi-ongoing it seems.

@jpoole thanks for the reply. Can you tell me a little more about how you sealed the top edge under the hatch?

I will rule out the roof rack holes in the morning - I installed the plug kit from WitsEnd a few weeks ago.

Thank you for the insight into the other areas as well - I slugged the belt mounding clip holes from inside with a bit of Sika.

 

[rannon]

I've searched off and on for a couple days on this topic but I have yet to find anything that directly addresses my issue. There are multiple threads and videos about 80 series cruisers having leaks in one place or another but few of them are very complete. I found out last week, when I tried to give it a thorough interior cleaning that the carpet in the cargo area was wet. I removed the rubber mat and the factory carpet to let the area dry and investigate the leak. with the help of a water hose I discovered that the leak is coming from around the main weather seal on the rear hatch - the main one that is on the body, not the individual pieces on the hatch/liftgate itself. To my knowledge, the Toyota part # is 67881-60060. All of that is well and good and I have sourced a new seal if I need it. My question is this: does the new part need to be installed with any kind of sealant or adhesive? The current leak seems to be originating from water that runs underneath the weatherstripping at the top of the rear hatch, is diverted by the metal flange under said weatherstripping, and then pours down either side and trickles into the rear of the cruiser. I'm fine with replacing the rubber, but if I do I want to do it right. AND, if I should be using some kind of urethane or silicon, then maybe I should try that first before replacing any parts? Any advice/information would be helpful.

Is this the problem you were having? I am having what sounds to be the exact same problem after replacing my rear hatch seal preventatively - I am now stuck with a puddle from water running down the back edge of the new seal in between the top hatch and tailgate, ending up on the rear floor of the cruiser. I am at a loss as to how to fix this given it is a brand new oem seal.

 

[jpoole]

Can you tell me a little more about how you sealed the top edge under the hatch?

It's been a bit but here are the points I recall:
-removed the seal from the top half of the rear cargo opening, leaving it hanging down enough to rest on the tailgate to keep stress off of the seal
-clean the lip/groove/etc. on both the seal and body thoroughly, soap/water type of clean then wipe with denatured alcohol
-gently tighten the seal retaining strip as needed with pliers to make it uniform and the gap right sized (not too tight, no sections with oversized gaps)
-run a thin bead of sealant on the body side of the seal/body interface and seal side if you want
-install the seal once, without a lot of on/off during install
-run a thin bead of sealant on the seal/body interface and smear it until it's mostly clean and just left along the seal/body seam.

You may prefer to use more sealant than I describe above but the way I did it you can't really tell visually that there is sealant. I consider this as experiment and not necessarily a long-term fix though it's doing fine after a few years parked outside in the TN heat cycles.

Don't use Silicone. I can't remember what I used but making a good selection is likely important from a longevity standpoint. If you know what Sika is then I'm guessing you'll have a good idea of what you'd like to use on this interface. Some flavor of windshield sealant should work well and prove very durable. You'll have to buy way more than you need as I'd guess I used less than a tablespoon of sealant on this.

 

[rannon]

Ah ok, thank you for outlining that. So do you think this leak is occurring because water is actually getting under the seal, and not just sneaking between it and the two rear doors?

 

[Malleus]

Unless the metal is deformed, or the hatch is misaligned, that is probably what's happening.

 

[jpoole]

You should be able to figure out where the leak is coming from. I've crawled into the back during a hard rain, with a good light to try to figure it out but typically just going to inspect right after rain and trying to trace the water will work. You should see small traces of water to where the leak is but it can take practice to learn to see where the water is coming from.

 

[ppc]

If you are seeing a puddle form on the floor it could be a bent bottom edge on the lower tail gate. The new seal still will not make contact because of severity of the bend. It's normally caused by standing on the lower gate.

 

[rannon]

If you are seeing a puddle form on the floor it could be a bent bottom edge on the lower tail gate. The new seal still will not make contact because of severity of the bend. It's normally caused by standing on the lower gate.

Thanks for weighing in, Phil. I will look into this. I am so stumped because the water will only be pooling on the seal itself: I open the tailgate slightly to let it out. However I just can't find a trail that shows where it is coming from aside from a wet inner edge of the rear body seal, when looking with a flashlight from the interior. And the odd thing is that the seal holds the puddle very well, so how the heck is it getting there in the first place? Argh! Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[Kernal]

Is the seal oriented properly?

If the seal was installed inside out or upside down (hard to describe in words) that might cause a leak.

IIRC there is a (? blue) mark on new weatherstrip at the top meant to help line it up ie: when installing the weatherstrip start
at the top and line up that mark with the center top of the body opening (pinch weld has a notch in it, IIRC) then work your way outward and down. And then there's a ?? slit/drain hole or seam in the weatherstrip which should end up at the center bottom.

In addition to what was mentioned above, if a section of the pinch weld where the seal attaches is missing (rusted out) or dented/deformed
that also may allow a leak.

 

[rannon]

@Kernal thanks for your reply and ideas here, I appreciate it. You know, I just went and search for a blue mark and sure enough its way off to the right on the top - I definitely missed that when I initially installed. The pinch weld itself was in amazing condition, no missing or bent sections. However, I don't know if the PO stood on the tailgate a great deal? Maybe there is warping I am not aware of, but tailgate and upper hatch both have great centering and body lines when closed... I am definitely going to try and reorient the seal with the blue mark at top dead center. Thanks again for taking the time to weigh in.

 

[rannon]

Unless the metal is deformed, or the hatch is misaligned, that is probably what's happening.

There is no misalignment, so I will try sealing the seal at this point. There are two blue dots on my new seal, do you know where those are supposed to be in relation to the body? Thank you!

 

[Kernal]

Are the blue dots close to each other or 180 degrees apart ie: center top, center bottom??

Is the seal pushed all the way in/down onto the metal lip?

IIRC there is a thin line of sealant (?butyl rubber) on the inside of the seal (bottom of the U shape) ie: designed to stick to the lip and help seal it

 

[ppc]

Another thought, you can close the hatch with a sheet of paper across the seal. Then you should be able to move/slide the paper across the entire perimeter of the seal. It will be very apparent where any gaps are.

 

[rannon]

Another thought, you can close the hatch with a sheet of paper across the seal. Then you should be able to move/slide the paper across the entire perimeter of the seal. It will be very apparent where any gaps are.

Thank you @ppc for the suggestion there - I will definitely try that!

 

[rannon]

@Kernal Right now the blue dots are at the top two corners of the body, 10:00 and 2:00 basically, equidistant from one another. They are far too close together to be top and bottom dead center... I have rechecked that the seal is fully pressed to the seam - will double check again. Thanks for the reply.

 

[rannon]

Another thought, you can close the hatch with a sheet of paper across the seal. Then you should be able to move/slide the paper across the entire perimeter of the seal. It will be very apparent where any gaps are.

@ppc if I were to find a gap with the paper method, what would you assume needs to be done in said area?