Leaky Weather Stripping, Tailgate Question (1 Viewer)

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Oct 2, 2016
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117
Location
Tennessee
My GX will sit for a day or two not being driven sometimes, so it took me a couple weeks to notice that it had gone from smelling musty to an outright nasty mildew odor. I checked all over the carpet and headliner but could feel no wet spots whatsoever. I checked the air conditioner drain lines as well as the sunroof drain lines and they all worked fine. I was wanting to change the position of my rear-facing camera so when I started taking the rear trim apart I noticed some water.

As best I can tell, my rear weatherstripping was the source of the leak. The carpet has a rubber back, so even though the padding was absolutely soaked and water was puddled in the stamped out recesses, it was completely dry on the surface! I had some wonderful mold spots growing, and there was no saving that padding in the back. I cleaned it up with some bleach and let it dry out for a couple days before messing with it again.

I originally planned to track down some acoustic duct liner but no place in town had any in stock, and tried to find some jute at an upholstery shop but they also did not keep any in stock, so 6# carpet padding is what I ended up with.

This weekend I used the old padding as a template to cut out a double layer. I had a roll of foil tape laying around so I put a layer on the bottom piece of padding to try and help with heat rejection then reinstalled the carpet. It barely fit with the added thickness of padding, but the trim pieces did go back together properly in spite of this. Its definitely more squishy back there now, which is handy when you need to change a diaper while out-n-about.

I want to say it is now a bit more quiet than it had been stock, but after running around for nearly a week with nothing back there at all I might be a bit biased!

Now to the tailgate question. While moving my camera I noticed that my vapor barrier is basically ruined, at some point the rear window was replaced and the broken glass is embedded in the adhesive strip. Also, the interior of the tailgate is hollow. The Prado has the spare mounted on the tailgate, is it reinforced internally for the added weight on a Prado? I'm not interested in mounting the spare on the tailgate, I am wondering if I could cut the tailgate below the wiper motor and make a storage box or two like I have seen on other series Cruisers. I believe the frame of the storage box would serve to reinforce the tailgate where it was cut away, but I could be mistaken.
 
I also had a leak in the tailgate area. I took the weatherstrip off and cleaning it up. Then used weatherstrip adhesive to seal it up. I haven't checked on it recently, but probably should. My latest issue is water getting into the drivers site license plate light.
 
The third brake light leaks causing water in the door and a wet rear carpet. I had to pull mine out and reseal it as the factory foam tape seal deteriorated. I though for sure it was my weatherstrip seal around the door at first.
 
If you have a spoiler and just a plug where the 3rd brake light was...does this still apply? I had water in between my weatherstripping and the body seam where it attaches, so I figured water was getting in somewhere. I will have to check on my 3rd brake light next....but I would think you would be able to see water dripping from that area when it rains?
 
Mine is leaking from the spoiler mount holes - someone messed up the spoiler, bad...and then drilled holes in the hatch and put screws in to try to hold the spoiler in place..ugh.
 
I have an 07 GX470 with the same issue. The weather stripping on top of the roof is gone and the seal for the door is really loose. Water gets in the carpet near the door and the right rear. I just ordered new weather strip for the roof. Not really sure where the leak is coming from. I’m assuming draining off the roof down into the door seal and under the door into the carpet. Stand by for a fix. I’m going to rip everything up. Also anyone know where you can find the material that goes under the rear carpet? Mine is ruined. Smells like mold
 
I have an 07 GX470 with the same issue. The weather stripping on top of the roof is gone and the seal for the door is really loose. Water gets in the carpet near the door and the right rear. I just ordered new weather strip for the roof. Not really sure where the leak is coming from. I’m assuming draining off the roof down into the door seal and under the door into the carpet. Stand by for a fix. I’m going to rip everything up. Also anyone know where you can find the material that goes under the rear carpet? Mine is ruined. Smells like mold. I need to check the spoiler holes as well.
 

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