Trunk Water Leak

by 76 Malibu Wed Sep 19, 2018 12:59 pm

I have been dormant on this site for some time, as my car sat in storage for the past two years. I have the Malibu back out and driving again. I noticed after getting caught in the rain the left rear trunk well got filled with water. The trunk floor was dry and nothing else seems wet.

Anyone have any ideas where this water would be coming from? My only guess is the back window, but I though the floor would be wet too.

by k-town73ss Wed Sep 19, 2018 3:41 pm

Mine was leaking around the rear quarter glasses and running down. They use a windshield seal and clips hold them in. probably more posts on the subject. Cheers

by 76 Malibu Thu Sep 20, 2018 6:44 am

I never thought of the side glass. Although my car has the small opera windows. So if they were leaking, I am not sure if they'd go into the trunk well.

Anyone else deal with this problem? What's the best way to find a leak?

by Hs1973 Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:54 am

My experience in finding waterleaks is to stuff yourself in the trunk with a flashlight, and have somebody hose the car Down while watching from inside where the water comes from. It could could come from a million places. Even a tiny pinhole close to a wheel that is sloshing water around when driving can cause a mess.

by 76 Malibu Mon Sep 24, 2018 9:59 pm

Thank you for the reply. I will try this out when I wash the car next. I don't think it's from the wheel wells as it leaks worst when its stationary in the rain.

by g3chevy / Mr Pontiac Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:19 am

Most of the trunk leaks I've had in the Malibu's and Laguna's I've owned came from the rear glass. The butyl rope sealant that the factory used gets hard and loses its bond with the window. Then the water seeps through and eventual leaks into the trunk area. This was evident on the last car I parted out. When I was removing the rear glass I only cut through the top and the sides of the butyl and the bottom was already free. And of course the trunk was rusted as a result. Fastest way to find if this is the problem on your car is to spray soapy water on the outside bottom of the rear glass. Then take your air hose from a compressor and force air from the inside bottom. If you see bubbles then you have your answer. Hope this helps.

by 76Chevelle2Tone Wed May 29, 2024 7:46 pm

76 Malibu wrote:I have been dormant on this site for some time, as my car sat in storage for the past two years. I have the Malibu back out and driving again. I noticed after getting caught in the rain the left rear trunk well got filled with water. The trunk floor was dry and nothing else seems wet.

Anyone have any ideas where this water would be coming from? My only guess is the back window, but I though the floor would be wet too.

Did you ever find the source of this particular leak into the trunk well?

by 76 Malibu Wed May 29, 2024 10:30 pm

Yes, a windshield shop traced the leak to the back window. They resealed it and it stopped it. I have noticed now it will still get some water in if exposed to large amounts of rain. So either the fix wasn't 100% or the seal has let go in another again. Fortunately, the car lives in a garage and rarely ever sees rain.

by 76Chevelle2Tone Wed May 29, 2024 11:02 pm

Thanks for the reply. Yes I had put some sealant glop some years ago on the back window but at the time that was not the source of the leak. It took me months to figure it out because it was intermittent. Some rains produced no leaks at all some produced leaks. I finally noted that the important factor was high wind. It turned out to be a pinhole leak under the belt molding believe it or not. It leaked when wind forced rain into the section join area. But that leak had a different pattern of water than than this in the trunk. I was trying to see if it was the back or side window. Is it possible that your side window is leaking slightly or did the shop rule it out?

by Limey SE Thu May 30, 2024 12:03 am

Mine did that and It was Hole in the brand new trunk seal NOT SAYING thats what yours Is just wear mine came from and would you not Know Rusty is in the same spot right now Lesson learnt though KEEP DOOR PANELS OUT OF TRUNK LMAO

by 76Chevelle2Tone Thu May 30, 2024 12:44 am

Yes most of us have had the trunk seal problem but the pattern of water in the trunk is different for that. This is very unusual in that the trunk is completely dry except for a puddle of water in the well.

My trunk seal problem turned out to be something else. The original had decayed and I replaced it and after awhile it started to leak. I tried different seals to no avail. I did various water dousing trials on the trunk and came to the conclusion that it was the trunk lid but could not see anything wrong as the trunk closed normally. I gave up after months and asked the paint shop I use if they knew a good troubleshooter. They recommended a mechanic they used for repairs. He took a couple of days and found a very small bulge in the inside of the trunk lid which he banged out. That tiny bulge slightly skewed the trunk lid and allowed water to come over the seal!

by 77camino Thu May 30, 2024 2:21 pm

My daughter’s car was getting wet in the trunk and I could not find it. Had my wife lock me in the trunk and spray water around the outside, nothing found. Drove to the car wash and had her lock me in again and she power washed the car, still nothing. Finally sprayed water up from the bottom of bumper and sure enough it was coming in under the seal. The rubber was good so I just took it off and resealed it with 3m weather strip adhesive. No more leaks. Only thing worse was locked in the trunk while driving to find a rattle!

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