Water in cargo area

[drowzyGX]

Hey Y’all,

Long story short, I pulled my weathertech cargo floor mat the other week, and a patch under the mat was soaked. Nowhere else was wet at all.

Found this link, noticed I had the same XM radio antenna, and the cable was routed improperly. Had the shop replace the weather stripping and route the cable properly while the car was in for the evaporator core.

I pulled out the carpet and padding, and dried it.

after some rain, I went to check the back for anymore leaks before re-installing.

turns out the shop did not run the cable properly, and I’m getting water pooling in the bottom left and right corners of the weather stripping in the interior. Car is going back to the shop on Monday for them to fix (hooray for 3 year 36k mi warranty on their work).

however, I noticed some water pooling below the plastic trim, on the right side of the cargo bay.

I can’t pull the trim because the bolt for the seatbelt won’t budge - it actually ripped my 10mm socket.

anyone know what that bolt is / have thoughts about how it could be so wet? From the looks of that rust, water has been in there for a while.

Any suggestions on removing the bolt that holds the seatbelt in place?

 

[Mahalol]

Harbor Freight sells this stripped bolt remover that I have had some success with...although my bolt wasn't rusted like yours!

3/8 in. Drive Metric Bolt Extractor Socket Set, 9-Piece

Amazing deals on this 9Pc 3/8In Dr Metric Bolt Extractor Socket Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

You probably need to soak with PB blaster and will need to heat it up with a torch, although that area doesn't seem to allow you much room. hmmm

 

[Infinity00]

^^^^^ that^^^^^ then order the new trim pieces for the quarter windows. They dry rot and then leak. Fairly easy repair.

 

[drowzyGX]

Hey Y’all,

Really appreciate the speedy replies and suggestions!

any thoughts on how to get the seatbelt bolt out? left side of the last picture. I can’t pull the interior trim panel off without removing that bolt.

once it’s off, I’ve got much better access to the rusted out bolt and can try to see where the water is coming in. Hopefully it is just rotted out trim for the quarter window. watched the video on here before about replacing that trim, and it didn’t seem too bad.

 

[drowzyGX]

Hm, so I found these shots from where someone pulled the trim panel off the right side in the cargo area.

I'm wondering if one of the AC parts back there could be leaking? The bracket that is all rusted out is the one beneath the condensate drain.

 

[Infinity00]

Once you get in there (under the panels) it will be fairly obvious. Use PB blaster, heat, and tapping to get your rusted bolt off. I couldn’t see how bad the bolt is but sometimes I’ve gotten lucky with a very very tight vice grip and a bar, if the bolt is already rounded off.

 

[Infinity00]

My seatbelt bolts came off easily. If yours isn’t rounded off already, get a hefty 6 sided socket that isn’t going to break, and get a good wrench and a small pipe or breaker bar if you have to, after soaking with PB blaster and torching it, whack it so it breaks free from the rust. Or if you have power tools, a lot of time those can loosen it more easily because they have torque to twist it off.

 

[drowzyGX]

My seatbelt bolts came off easily. If yours isn’t rounded off already, get a hefty 6 sided socket that isn’t going to break, and get a good wrench and a small pipe or breaker bar if you have to, after soaking with PB blaster and torching it, whack it so it breaks free from the rust. Or if you have power tools, a lot of time those can loosen it more easily because they have torque to twist it off.

Everyone on here has much cooler tools than I do, lol.

You can't see it super clearly in the picture, but the exposed part of the seatbelt anchor bolt has no threading. I'm assuming the part with threading is under the trim?

I've got some pb blaster, and will try to get that bolt pretty good. Will snag a better socket, and use my breaker bar. No torch or power tools that would work here. Worst case, it's going back to the shop on monday so that they can fix the weather stripping. I'm sure they'd pop that bolt off for me.

I think the rusted bolt / bracket near the condensate drain should be alright to get off. When I got my fingers on it, I could feel the bolt head. So it at least still has its shape.

Really curious if the condensate drain is leaking, or if it's the quarter window trim.

If it's the window, I should be able to check by having my girlfriend spray the window with a hose, and I can watch for any leaks, yeah?

 

[ebbs15]

Yes the seat belt bolt has a "neck" where it's not threaded. Also, and I don't know for sure on the GX, most seat belt bolts on the floorboard are visible from the undercarriage. see if you can find it, and spray some PB Blaster from that angle. it doesn't look too rounded off so I'd spray some PB Blaster, tighten the bolt (to help get it in the threads), spray PB Blaster from underneath... and try removing it again after letting it sit. I've had to wait as long as 24hrs for the PB blaster to finally allow me to bust loose a undercarriage bolt in the past (on my old Tacoma)

 

[drowzyGX]

Thank yo

Also, and I don't know for sure on the GX, most seat belt bolts on the floorboard are visible from the undercarriage. see if you can find it, and spray some PB Blaster from that angle.

Thank you for the tip! I'll check that out after work.

 

[Mahalol]

If it's the window, I should be able to check by having my girlfriend spray the window with a hose, and I can watch for any leaks, yeah?

You can also check the rear drain to see if it's clogged as well. Pour water into the sunroof track with the front of the vehicle angled upwards so the water can drain to the rear. It might take a good amount of water to overcome the tray. But, if you see the water drain out of the hose or out the bottom you can check this off your laundry list. If you don't see it drain out the bottom, having all of the plastics off could lead to the culprit a little easier. Clearing that rear drain will be another story.

I just experienced a water leak and my drivers side front drain was clogged. My passenger side kick panel and floor was soaked. The water ran along the inside of the A-pillar, behind the dash into the kick panel and some followed along the weatherstripping. This only happened if the car was parked on the street, leaning towards the passenger side. It had rained a lot overnight so the water accumulated into the corner of the tray and overflowed. I was really lucky that I figured it out.

 

[drowzyGX]

You can also check the rear drain to see if it's clogged as well. Pour water into the sunroof track with the front of the vehicle angled upwards so the water can drain to the rear. It might take a good amount of water to overcome the tray.

so I actually did this check a month ago. I’d noticed some water in the tray of the sunroof, and was concerned one of the drains was plugged up...turns out I was just an idiot who hadn’t closed my sunroof properly. I noticed water coming out in all 4 wheel wells after pouring a gallon or so over the sunroof.

will do this test again with the panel off to make sure there isn’t a slight leak from that drain.

 

[Infinity00]

If your GF sprays water you may not see it until the panel is off, that’s when I saw mine leaking from the trim being rotted out. I had always thought the previous owner had left the windows open during multiple storms there was so much water in the back. Yeah, let the shop just pop those off for you. Have them do both. It’ll take them 2 seconds. Like the other poster said, the non threaded part you are seeing is just a neck. Also, there’s the ones under the carpet/plastic tray in the back. There some holding the carpet down where the third row seat lock down and once the carpet is removed iirc there are a few holding the panel to the floor. Make sure you hit those with PB too.

 

[drowzyGX]

Mystery solved! (I think).

the water was pooling at the bottom on the bracket where the evaporator drain exits the car.

pulled off the bracket where the third row seat attaches. Had my gf pour about a gallon of water along the top of the window where it meets the weather seal. Water immediately began running down the metal inside the car. It ran along the wheel well and the black cable conduit, and right into the basin where the drain is.

fortunately the window doesn’t leak along the weather stripping at all. It just appears to be the chrome moulding piece. The rubber on it is cracked and missing in places. So I’m not totally surprised it’s leaking.

will pull the trim completely while I’m PTO the next 2 weeks, dry the area out and try to remove any rust, replace the window moulding piece, and test for the leak again.

hoping it’s just that moulding piece and not also the evaporator drain leaking.

 

[Infinity00]

Yep that’s what happened to me

 

[ebbs15]

so finally got the seatbelt bolt out? what finally worked for ya?

when you put it back, hit it with a wire brush first, then antisieze. you'll be thankful if you ever have to remove it again.

 

[drowzyGX]

so finally got the seatbelt bolt out? what finally worked for ya?

when you put it back, hit it with a wire brush first, then antisieze. you'll be thankful if you ever have to remove it again.

few sprays of wd-40 from below the car where the bolt stuck out did the trick. Came out easy after that. No debris or rust on the bolt, but I’ll follow those steps before replacing it.

got a set of all new black prado trim moulding pieces for every window from eBay. got to dhl today, and I’m gonna pick it up Monday when I get back in town.

the two quarter panel windows look like they’ll be a pain to replace the moulding based on Homer’s videos and what I’ve read online. All that interior trim comes off just to get access to the one screw.

fortunately the four for the doors are a breeze.

 

[drowzyGX]

Replaced the moulding belt trim (or whatever it’s called) on all 6 windows. Snagged a kit on eBay that shipped from Dubai with the black trim pieces for the prado.

the trim pieces fit perfectly, and I’m now one step closer to the storm trooper (black trim on pearl white paint) look for my GX!

the rear quarter windows took a couple hours, but were not hard by any stretch. Homer’s video + a deep 10mm socket + a trim removal tool are all you need.

poured a gallon of water along the top of the window, and not a single drop got inside!

finished everything in time to watch the rose bowl, too.

thanks everyone for the suggestions and tips in this thread!