Water Leak

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
I have merged your thread with this existing one. You will find several examples of how water has entered the liftgates of other members. Posts #1123 and 1149 are just two examples.

Peter

 

[MM07]

Looking for help!

Every time it rains, which it rained almost every day in February this year, water gets inside the liftgate door. There are two drain plugs which I can remove to let the water out, but I cannot figure out where the water is coming in from. I have caulked every area I know possible, the sun/moon roof (which was the cause of another water leak in another area), around the window on the liftgate door, removed the trim paneling on the liftgate to see if I could spot anything noticeable, but nothing has worked so far. I asked a rep at Ford if they had any ideas for me to look into when I called last time to make an oil change appointment and all he said was I'd have to bring it in and he hasn't ever been made aware of this issue happening before. Does anyone have any ideas? Any help in appreciated!

Mine leaked last yer during a rain storm. I took it to the dealer and the fixed some thing at the top of the lift gate when it is open. They put some kind of tape. It worked. I can take pics if you want to see.

 

[C.Kooti]

Mine leaked last yer during a rain storm. I took it to the dealer and the fixed some thing at the top of the lift gate when it is open. They put some kind of tape. It worked. I can take pics if you want to see.

If you have some pictures, that would be great!

 

[MM07]

If you have some pictures, that would be great!

Here you go.

Driver's side

Passenger's Side

 

[peterk9]

That looks a lot better than some of the other fixes to on this area.

Peter

 

[C.Kooti]

Here you go.

Driver's side

View attachment 178930

Passenger's Side

View attachment 178931

Was water leaking into your trunk area or inside the actual liftgate door? Mine is getting inside the actual door piece that lifts when opened and the only way to release the water is to remove the drain plugs.

 

[peterk9]

Post 1119 states the member had water in the liftgate. Followed up by post 1123 with the fix and post 1169 where it happened again. Water might be entering by way of the chrome EXPLORER strip or the spoiler (3rd brake light). I've never really checked that to see how it's mounted. You really shouldn't have to remove the 'plugs' to drain the water. The drain 'plugs', like the ones in the doors, should allow water to drain as they are. They are not really plugs and are there to prevent dirt etc from getting into the door. Have you had the exhaust smell TSB done?

Peter

 

[MM07]

Was water leaking into your trunk area or inside the actual liftgate door? Mine is getting inside the actual door piece that lifts when opened and the only way to release the water is to remove the drain plugs.

Water was coming out of the rear speakers holes. There was water in the rear cup holders and on the floor area of the truck area.

 

[C.Kooti]

Post 1119 states the member had water in the liftgate. Followed up by post 1123 with the fix and post 1169 where it happened again. Water might be entering by way of the chrome EXPLORER strip or the spoiler (3rd brake light). I've never really checked that to see how it's mounted. You really shouldn't have to remove the 'plugs' to drain the water. The drain 'plugs', like the ones in the doors, should allow water to drain as they are. They are not really plugs and are there to prevent dirt etc from getting into the door. Have you had the exhaust smell TSB done?

Peter

I will look into those items. Also, no, I haven't had the exhaust check completed. Could that be something affecting the water issue or just something that needs to be done?

 

[C.Kooti]

LEAK IS BACK Think I am going to work on it myself this time. Flex seal, JB Weld? This is really a manufacturing defect, but no way Ford will own up to it.

Hi, Did you ever figure out how water was getting inside the liftgate piece? I'm currently having water fill up inside the liftgate and have to remove the "drain" plugs to release the water every time it rains.

 

[peterk9]

I will look into those items. Also, no, I haven't had the exhaust check completed. Could that be something affecting the water issue or just something that needs to be done?

The exhaust leak procedure just seals up more possible entry points for the exhaust. If you don't have the issue then perhaps there is no need to have it done. On my previous 2017 I had no issues but the dealer mentioned that it should be done anyway. I did notice that they changed the drain hole covers.

Peter

 

[KayGee]

Hi, Did you ever figure out how water was getting inside the liftgate piece? I'm currently having water fill up inside the liftgate and have to remove the "drain" plugs to release the water every time it rains.

If you have a water leak, I wouldn't wait for someone else to tell you about theirs, as it may not apply to you.

Remove the interior trim from the liftgate.
Get inside the rear of vehicle and close the liftgate.
Have someone else use a garden hose to spray water on the liftgate area and watch for leaks.
Hopefully It is coming in from a mounting hole for the spoiler or rear trim, or at the license plate mount - at which point, you can remove the part and apply some foam tape/sealer to the area to eliminate the leak.
Test again after completing repairs, and when satisfied leak is fixed, re-install interior trim.

Here are some pics of the liftgate showing all of the mounting holes where water is likely to be getting in.

Plenty of room to watch for leaks from the inside. If from the top/spoiler, it will have to run down around the glass on either/both sides.

 

[C.Kooti]

If you have a water leak, I wouldn't wait for someone else to tell you about theirs, as it may not apply to you.

Remove the interior trim from the liftgate.
Get inside the rear of vehicle and close the liftgate.
Have someone else use a garden hose to spray water on the liftgate area and watch for leaks.
Hopefully It is coming in from a mounting hole for the spoiler or rear trim, or at the license plate mount - at which point, you can remove the part and apply some foam tape/sealer to the area to eliminate the leak.
Test again after completing repairs, and when satisfied leak is fixed, re-install interior trim.

Here are some pics of the liftgate showing all of the mounting holes where water is likely to be getting in.

Plenty of room to watch for leaks from the inside. If from the top/spoiler, it will have to run down around the glass on either/both sides.

Ok....so I found the problem! Finally! Water is leaking in around the handle piece on the liftgate. We had it replaced not long after we first bought the vehicle, but I guess it wasn't properly sealed.

 

[peterk9]

Thank you for the update.

Peter

 

[Sansjob]

Driver's side 2nd row floor board wet

Ok, I had two water leaks and one of them wasn't in the usual place so I'll share just in case anyone else runs across the same thing.

First, I had the water coming down the 3rd row seat belt and it was coming from the drivers side upper corner of the liftgate, so I resealed it with silicone. Problem Solved!

Second, anytime it rained heavy enough the drivers side 2nd row floor board was getting soaked.
So to make a long story short, it was coming from the driver's side front moonroof drain. The drain is supposed to go into the driver's side front wheel well but the nipple that pokes through the sheet metal and allows the water to drain to the wheel well was never pulled into the wheel well and was allowing the water to drain into the driver's floor board. The reason I never noticed it being wet there is because it was getting to a trough that goes from the driver's floor board to the driver's side 2nd row floor board (where it was soaking it all up) before the carpet on the driver's floor board soaked up enough water for me to notice.
So I removed the wheel and inner fender and used my needle nose pliers to pull the nipple through like it was supposed to be.
Problem Solved!

I Had a similar 2nd row drivers side floor board wetness problem. The culprit was from the moonroof rear drain on the drivers side. The drain tube runs down the "C" pillar just behind the 2nd row door on the drivers side, it is behind the trim panel and ends just below the seat belt attachment, The bottom of the hose was not connected to the 90 degree plastic fitting that goes through the floor sheet metal at the bottom of the "C" pillar. The tube was then just dumping the water onto the floorboard. This filled the left floor pan and ran down to the front floor when the rain was heavy enough.

 

[MM07]

My leaks are back. Just took my Explorer to the dealer yesterday.

Coming from the back still...back side windows, through the light by rear passenger door.

Happened in November and now again. Didn't take it in in November.

We'll see what transpires.

 

[MM07]

Got my Explorer back yesterday.

The moonroof frame was replaced. There was a leak at the right D pillar, like I saw. All drain lines were clear.

 

[slackintide]

My 2012 Explorer XLT 4WD has no sun/moon roof but leaks down the rear seat belt in a heavy rain. Anyone else having this problem?
Thanks!!

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
Your post has been merged with this existing one. Water issue could be due to the roof rail. Several posts here on that. Have you checked the spare tire well? Could be very wet in there.

Peter

 

[Rob_I]

I can now add bilateral rear seatbelt drippage to my albeit small list of issues with my 2013 PIU. Thank you New England torrential rains.

It is not the grommet plug thing in the upper corners (verified by looking inside) but appears to be either the weld seams on the liftgate or the roof rack bolts, or both. My PIU does not have a roof rack, just bolts. I intend to back those out, add a little o-ring, then retighten just to be sure.

I also purchased this from Amazon:

3M Urethane Seam Sealer, 08367, Black​

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A9ZR8HO/?tag=serious-20

...and am going to seal the ever living f--- out of anything that appears to be a seam, weld, grommet, or hole when this rain stops.