Where's the water coming from?

[kdonn]

In a rare occurrence San Diego received a few inches of rain over the last few days. While driving I heard water sloshing around in the back of my 62. I pulled the interior panel of the right rear quarter panel and found the section behind the rear wheel just below the gas filler cap filled with about a gallon of water. The question is where is it coming from? The drip rails are in great shape with no rust anywhere on the vehicle. There is no wet carpet anywhere in the vehicle. I've searched other threads regarding leaks but they only mention leaks in the front of the vehicle.

 

[djawahir]

That's pretty funny. I'd better check mine too...

Maybe see if there is a hole in the plastic vent that is on that side of the vehicle? Or the rear hatch weatherstripping?

 

[Jason YY]

While I would be concerned about the leak. It should be able to escape.

I would think there are drain holes, at the low spot. (maybe clogged with mud?)

 

[lehiguy]

It's most likely getting in around the tailight or past the filler neck. That area is designed to drain out the bottom, you evidently have some crud stuck in the drain. Get a very small screwdriver and work it up through the hole which you will find along the bottom seam. The other side might look the same, better check them both.

 

[kdonn]

Thanks guys. I used a wet/dry vac to get the water out. I figured there was some crud plugging a hole for drainage. I figured I'd ask for suggestions before clearing that hole in case I needed to try and re-create the problem. I'd like to find the source of this. The weather stripping around the tailgate and hatch is in great shape. I'm wondering if my Thule racks are causing a lot of water to drain down right over the plastic vent in the rear pillar, or the taillight as lehiguy suggessted?? Now that the sun is out I think I'll run a hose on drip rain and try to find out where it is coming from. Thoughts of rust keep me up at night.

 

[Elbert]

I think it might be leaking around the rear windows? I just discoved that my windshield is apparently leaking. Now that we've had 5+ days of rain...its going to be a mess. I've got to see about getting the windshield re-installed with a Toyota gasket, hopefully by someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[BG_TX]

In a rare occurrence San Diego received a few inches of rain over the last few days. While driving I heard water sloshing around in the back of my 62. I pulled the interior panel of the right rear quarter panel and found the section behind the rear wheel just below the gas filler cap filled with about a gallon of water. The question is where is it coming from? The drip rails are in great shape with no rust anywhere on the vehicle. There is no wet carpet anywhere in the vehicle. I've searched other threads regarding leaks but they only mention leaks in the front of the vehicle.

I have the exact same issue... It only accumulates in the rear right quarter with heavy rain, not with light rain/misting or when I wash it.

I thought it might be coming down from the gas cap area, heavy water dripping through the gas cap cover/door, accumulating by the actual cap and making its way down the inside of the quarter?

 

[Spike Strip]

There's a rubber gasket where the fill tube exits the rear quarter and heads to the tank... Mine was gone, leaving a big gaping hole... could get in there.

It's above the plate that protects the evap lines and fill tube.

 

[djawahir]

I was lucky. There was only an inch of water in my passenger rear quarter panel. I'm going to take a look for leaks today and see what I can find.

 

[lehiguy]

There's a rubber gasket where the fill tube exits the rear quarter and heads to the tank... Mine was gone, leaving a big gaping hole... could get in there.

It's above the plate that protects the evap lines and fill tube.

I had forgotten that! I had to fabricate one from an old inner tube and rubber cement. Toyota doesn't sell it, at least that's the conclusion we came to. But yes, that's a place where mucho agua can get in. Or rodents for that matter.

 

[Freewheel]

Were you parked on an incline with your front raised up? If so your entire roof could have been draining over the rear quarter and finding a way in. There is no proper drain holes in the roof rail at the back, so if you're parked with the back down a bit water can stream heavily in any direction - and perhaps it went down your rear panel vent...