Water leaking in rear quarter panels (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
May 31, 2010
Threads
675
Messages
2,748
I have water leaking in both rear quater panels. I asaumed.i need to replace the window seals. But after a quick search it looks like some people are just sealing the clips on the belt moulding. Is this the proper way to fix the leak? Much simpler than I thought it would be.

Update: I replaced the rear quarter trim under the windows and still had a little water after rain. Then i remembered that i leave the rear sliding windows "closed" but not latched. I do this because that way i can slide them open and reach in to where i have a spare key hidden. I also like that at camp i can open and close the windows from the outside. I figure they look closed and if someone really wants in to the truck they are just going to use a rock and break the glass. I moved my spare key and latched the window. The last day we had rain was not a lot but it was dry that day. I will have to keep an eye on it. But the moral of the story is that a open window might let rain in.
 
Last edited:
Maybe.

If that's where water is coming in.

I sealed over the clips on mine after watching water leak through them.
Clean around them on the inside and seal over clip with some sikafkex (or silicone if you're that way inclined.)

I also had water spilling in around rear sliding window track rubbers. The rubbers had shifted over time pouring up a joint, and drain holes at the bottom blocked up.

Others have had water coming in around the D pillar vents
 
Replacing the belt molding isn't expensive and will work more reliably than squirting sealant under the existing molding. It's one part (for each side) and takes less time than trying to clean from under the existing molding (which is a necessity, if you're going to band-aid it) and then seal it. The dirt's easier to get off if the molding isn't there and I don't think you can remove the old molding without breaking at least one of the retainer clips. The plastic gets brittle with age; you probably could have done it 20 years ago, but I'd bet against it now.

I know you'll get thousands of opinions from people who've filled the underside of the molding with silicone, but why bother? It's not like you're pulling the engine to replace the pan gaskets. Mine took 10 minutes to remove, clean and replace, per side. BTW, I also replaced the window gaskets; that took another 20 minutes, per side.
 
Also worth checking that your sunroof drains have not slipped out of their exit holes and are dumping the water into the quarter panels.
 
I used a small button of 3M strip caulk first time I sealed the holes for the molding clips maybe 10 years ago and it worked but I did notice that it tended to be a bit more messy compared to Butyl tape (Second Skin for example) which is what I'll use in the future if need be. IMHO if the molding is still intact no reason to replace it until the rubber coating starts to come off, but then I'm a cheap bastid; saving my new moldings for when they're NLA. Personally I would not use silicone or any sort of adhesive/sealant as you will have a hard time getting that molding off if you do want to replace it at some point in the future. FWIW
 
in addition to the above mentioned leaks I also had leaks at the tail light bucket seal and the running light on the side. My biggest leak was at the vent seal.
 
Yeah, no way I was removing a fragile old moulding when I could effectively over seal the clip on the inside of the quarter panel.

Its never gonna be seen, I don't care if it's ugly in there. It was clean and dry before I carefully sealed over it with a generous dollop of sikaflex.
That seal will outlast the moulding now
 
I had the same problem here. I found my water ingress issue when I pulled my drawer system and the bottom was wet and moldy.

There are four water ingress points in the rear quarter.
  • Belt molding - Each side about $60. The molding attaches to the rear quarter and the clips extend into the body. Tiny neoprene seals are around each clip but they dry and flatten with age. Lots of how-to's on replacing these.
  • Rear louvers - The pocket behind the louver is nicely designed but again, the thin foam gasket breaks down with age and allows water in. This caused my water ingress issue and when spraying the louver with the hose, a significant amount of water was pouring into the vehicle.
  • Rear sunroof drains - The drain lines never have issues but the connection to the sunroof pan can come loose or if the drain is clogged and the vehicle is sitting on an incline, the water will fill in the pan and eventually drain into the rear of vehicle.
  • Sliding window release - Most folks don't know about this one. If the window slide release is not tight, water will leak around the slide release. The fix is easy; remove the slide release, check the gasket, reattach and tighten the screws. I found this leak after I fixed my louver leak.
 
Yeah, no way I was removing a fragile old moulding when I could effectively over seal the clip on the inside of the quarter panel.

Its never gonna be seen, I don't care if it's ugly in there. It was clean and dry before I carefully sealed over it with a generous dollop of sikaflex.
That seal will outlast the moulding now
This.
 
updated in original post. Advice, make sure your window is closed if you want to keep rain out.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom