Rear cargo leak

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Joined
Apr 10, 2023
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12
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Location
Fort Lauderdale
South Florida has been having some heavy storms for a few days now. I got in this morning and noticed a musty smell, looked around and noticed this wet spot on the cargo area. Any idea where the leak is? I park in the garage 99% of the time so first time I am seeing this

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Most likely - 3rd brake light, followed by rear gate harness boot against gate hatch metal. If that's the case, replace the third brake light and use a bead of butyl on the top side to seal properly. Less likely (still quite possible) - your roof rack anchors have lost their water seal, and need to be resealed w/waterproof window/door caulking. I've had all these issues and these solutions have worked.
 
Just finished up a hose test and here is where it is entering.

Looks like it’s going down the rear window and entering through that split in the trim. Any ideas where to start?

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Pull the trim off the upper rear hatch. 3rd brake light is a super common leak point as the poster above mentioned. If you pull the trim and redo the hose test, you'll see exactly where the intrusion is.

It's also worth pulling the cargo carpet to check the floor and make sure it's dried out. If there's any rust from the leak, treat and paint.
 
Looks like you guys are right and it is the 3rd brake light, this stripping is soaked.

I take it scrape all this off and add some silicone sealer?

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Also check the weatherstrip that surrounds the opening... that's where my leak was... ordered new from Toyota. No issues since!
 
Had the same happen to me in Miami
 
Had a similar leak, wasn't 3rd brake light or weatherstrip - was literally just leaves and gunk that had built up causing an imperfect seal at the top. Cleaned it out and no more leaks.
 
I had this issue and it was the third brake light. The foam had completely disintegrated and it had also cracked down the middle. The water leaks down the sides of the hatch into the trunk floor area.

Get the OEM toyota brake light. Lots of people tried to save money with aftermarket ones but the fitment sucked so it won't end up saving you money.

The price can vary quite a lot from dealer to dealer so def helps to check different ones. This dealer was offering free shipping on parts.

 
Could be just a dirty weatherstrip at the window causing a bad seal. I take rag wrapped around a paint stir stick and clean the weather strip and window to make good seal.
I also lubricate my weather strip with Yamaha ACC-SLCNS-PR-AY Silicone Spray Protectant & Lubricant, keeps the rubber nice a subtle.
 
Looks like you guys are right and it is the 3rd brake light, this stripping is soaked.

I take it scrape all this off and add some silicone sealer?
If you haven't tackled this yet, get some butyl tape on Amazon. WAY better than silicone caulk.

This is what I ordered when my third brake light leaked and it worked great. Easier to apply than silicone and more forgiving/less messy if you mess up. They use this to seal RV windows and stuff so you know it's good stuff.
 
Well,
Took off 3rd brake light and foam seal is shot after 23 years.
 
I cleaned both the light and mounting surface of the truck and used this weather seal that I applied to the light fixture only.

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South Florida has been having some heavy storms for a few days now. I got in this morning and noticed a musty smell, looked around and noticed this wet spot on the cargo area. Any idea where the leak is? I park in the garage 99% of the time so first time I am seeing this

View attachment 3654746
I have a similar problem but the water is appearing from the speaker mesh . I’ve yet to remove it . Any ideas .?
I posted regarding this elsewhere today if you want to read
 
Also check the weatherstrip that surrounds the opening... that's where my leak was... ordered new from Toyota. No issues since!
My cargo area is soaked after a rain in Houston this weekend, rained again today and I see water dripping from inside center plastic trim over back window, and down both sides of the inside trim inside the tailgate. My brake light is on the air dam spoiler thing, if it is leaking I don't know how it would get where the water is. Is everyone's brake light on this spoiler thing or directly in the hatch top?
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Since you have the spoiler with the integrated brake light then chances are your leak is coming from the cover blank on the upper hatch. It's plastic and paint matched. You'll see it when you get up at roof level behind the spoiler. Remove the blank, clean the old gasket and seal it up again.
 
Sounds like a day sat in the cargo area with a sprinkler on just to see if its getting in anywhere else. Still at 20 years old it's in better condition than any Range Rove in the UK and worth a hell of a lot more.
2004 Amazon Landcruiser good condition £15000 and £450 to insure
2019 Range Rover top of the range £10000 at my local garage but the insurance is astronomical
 
I found the original light, it is nested under the spoiler thing. l'll have to figure out how to get it loose, it doesnt have screws on the outside. How do I get it out?
 
I found the original light, it is nested under the spoiler thing. l'll have to figure out how to get it loose, it doesnt have screws on the outside. How do I get it out?
just from memory so I may be off a bit but:

Open rear hatch, remove the plastic trim around the window. couple rubber caps to pop out at the top... Then look inside and undo the 2 nuts....10mm IIRC.
 

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