Water in the boot

[V8Rumble]

When I bought my S type there was a puddle of water in the boot which I put down to it standing around in the winter months on a forecourt.

 

I soaked up the water and dried it out but now five weeks later the water is back, is there a common fault or place where the water would be getting in on these cars?

[V8Rumble]

I have searched this forum and others and found the boot seal or rear light seals may be the culprit so out with the silicone sealant

[Old Peter]

Hi Tim,

 

A common issue with the S Type is a slight water ingress in the boot.  My drive slopes slightly from left to right and water used to gather just by the battery   ---   not good.

 

I put this down to the car standing at the dealers for four months, and after try some sealant I found the solution was to put some kitchen tissue in the area where the water collected and replace after a heavy shower.

 

The water seemed to know it was foiled, and after the car had six months of daily use, the water ingress has stopped and I have had a year of a perfectly sealed boot.

 

I once had a Ford Escort [Company Car] from new which after a heavy shower had the drivers footwell filled with water.  It wen back four or five times without being cured, till I eventually found a hole in the wheel arch where a grommet was missing!  It saved me from drilling a hole in the bottom of the footwell.

 

Peter.

[Guest]

Hi Tim,

 

My experience was exactly the same as Peter's, even down to the left to right slope on my drive, water collecting under the battery and soaking it up with kitchen towel. I traced it to the boot lid seal and removed it to reveal all manner of muck that had got under it allowing water under and hence into the boot well. I cleaned all said muck away and purchased a small tube of sealant off e-bay and refitted the seal after having applied the sealant under it and hey-presto no more water ingress in the boot. I have had no trouble since, but the car is now kept snug and dry in my garage after I eventually managed to get it cleared out. Having said that it did stand outside for the best part of a year after I fixed it until it went to live in the garage with no water in the boot problem at all. I think the main cause was the muck under the seal and it may have been OK without applying the sealant, but I opted for the "belt and braces" approach and it worked. Good luck with your's I hope you get it sorted.

 

Best wishes, 

 

Geoff.

[V8Rumble]

Hi

Dried the boot out today and removed the rubber trim but there was no build up of dirt but what looked like a non setting sealant but not much of it so I just put the seal back on.

 

I removed the black covers that go over the light lenses and there was a lot of wet dirt there so cleaned it all off.

 

On the drivers side there was a steel clip missing so it may not have been seating properly so I cleaned off the original mastic and reapplied some silicone and taped the cover down till it had time to set a bit.

 

I will check from time to time to see what happens.

[Guest]

Hi Tim,

 

The advantage I had was that I could positively identify where the water was getting in because one day when I was drying it out I noticed where it had run in down the boot lining so it was obviously coming in under the lid seal. Good luck with it I hope what you have done will cure it, the fact that there was wet dirt around the light lens covers would suggest that is where it is getting in, but if you still have no success it would not hurt to run some waterproof sealant under the lid seal after removing the none setting stuff. Fingers crossed you've cracked it, please keep us updated.

 

Best wishes,

 

Geoff. 

[V8Rumble]

Just an update since carrying out the above actions I no longer have any water in the boot.

 

Thanks for all the input :)

[Guest]

Hi Tim,

 

Glad you got it sorted, it's always good to hear a success story.

 

Best wishes

 

Geoff.