So what can be used here to seal this off? I'm sure a LOT of water had gotten in through here.. luckily it's all cleaned up.. just want to make sure it doesn't leak into this area again. Thanks



https://db.tt/Y9dMRVwa

 

I used 3m windo weld I got at O'rilleys. Haven't seen a leak since. Just be careful as the stuff can make a mess. If you get it on carpet Fast Orange gets it off relatively easily. When you are working with it keep a bottle of isopropyl alcohol handy and soak any you get it on immediately to keep it from curing then scrub at it with the Fast Orange. My idiot friend tracked it all in my house because he got some on his sock.

 

is the product in a big tube? if so I think it would create a major mess.. I need something this has a really small fine tip that I could very slowly squeeze out.. or maybe I should just take it to a glass shop and see what they can do.. it just seems like it could get really messy, but I'm a pretty big DIY kind of person.. and I know it's going to leak like a siv until I get this sealed up!

 

That sounds like it. I drilled a small hole in the tip to make it fine

 

If it's leaking it's probably already loose, Does your hatch line up with the rear bodywork perfectly? If not, I would take the lid off the glass (just a couple of nuts and some screws) and clean the glass and reseal the entire thing by glueing it back on with windshield adhesive.Simply glue the 2 together and lightly secure the bottom plate, set the hatch closed (remove hook!) and align with the bodywork , carefully tighten the nuts so it won't move after you have the alignment perfect and let cure. A lot of these cars have separated lids that are misaligned and leaking.

 

yes, it lines up right.. it would appear it's either worn off/out.. or someone removed it and never applied new stuff.. I didn't realise you could remove that part from the glass.. I will have to look into that.. just might be easier to apply it.

 

If you want to do it correctly, this is the way to go. Trying to run sealant along the seam where panel meets the glass is going to make a mess. If you dont lay enough in, and get it nice and smoothed out, you might still get water though. There was never sealant there. Its all inside between the panel and glass.

Its actually REALLY easy to remove that panel, reseal it, get it aligned and back on. And it will be 100% good to go. The only time its a royal PITA is if you have the aero spoiler. Because those can be a pain to work with depending on their condition.

Are you sure you dont have leakages around the hatch seal or the little pieces that go with that? If you need to leak track, you can pull the rear plastics, dust some baby powder around the area, then hit it with a hose. Any leakage will leave tracks in the powder. Unles youre SURE its coming from between the glass/panel.

J.

 

this is what you need you will find this on everything from later Ford trucks to Porsches it is

 

Here's the Hatch alignment 101 article;

http://web.archive.org/web/200408040...tchalign.shtml

Be careful not to over tighten the hatch to glass nuts, I've read 11 ft.lbs. is spec......

 

FWIW, the stuff that comes from the factory is very sticky and tough. I used a box cutter to remove a panel one time because it wouldn't let go. It stretched up a couple of inches and was cold enough that it didn't stick to the blade.

 

that stuff never cures anmd this is the reaspm the lids move out of alignment

 

It could be but that's why I'm assuming it never leaks. I haven't had a problem with alignment on either one of mine.

 

True, butyl tape (which is what the 3M kit is above) never truly hardens. I would use urethane window adhesive instead, or in conjunction with the butyl tape. Once the urethane has cured, the glass will never move again. The stuff is used in almost every unibody windshield because it is a structural part of the car.

 

I started doing my hatch alignment yesterday, but didn't get to finish because I was having a hard time cutting through the sealer between the glass and the hatch. I was looking at the Hatch Alignment 101 article and I was wondering if anybody knows what phillips head screws he's talking about in step 11. I removed the nuts, but didn't see any screws, so I'm curious where these screws are.

Edit: Okay, never mind. I read again and saw that it's the screws I missed in step 5. Sorry.

 

The screws you are looking for go through the trim molding that surrounds the perimeter of the glass into the hatch panel itself on either end of that trim.

 

I used a box cutter. If the temperature is right the sealer won't stick to the blade.