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Leaking Cargo Window??

Need to tighten mine up as well. Driver side leaks, not really bad, but it leaks. My sun roof just drinks water, if its coming down hard outside, every time I slow down the water of the roof is pushed forward and into the path of the sun roof, then I get wet :(

Don't slow down lol.

It's most likely a clogged drain hose. Find where the hose exits under the car and blow it out with compressed air.
 



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I need to do this soon as the factory alarm module sits right where mine leaks and likes to go off in the rain. This past summer it decided to go off at about 2 in the morning while parked right outside our bedroom window. Ran outside in the pouring rain, nothing on but underwear and a smile, promptly threw open the hood and pulled the battery cable off by hand.

Unhooked the module the next day as a temporary fix, but with winter coming I guess I should fix it the proper way.
 






Need to tighten mine up as well. Driver side leaks, not really bad, but it leaks. My sun roof just drinks water, if its coming down hard outside, every time I slow down the water of the roof is pushed forward and into the path of the sun roof, then I get wet :(

ooo that really sucks about the sun roof...one of my sunroof was unpluged and soaking the headliner on the passenger side (and eventually dripping on whoever was sitting there) but i fixed that. hopefully this weekend i'm gonna be able to tighten those bolts :roll:
 






Where is everybody else with the cargo window leaking getting water??

My headliner right above the window always gets soaked:

c835bc77.jpg


Then it also drips down the inside of the window and from the pastic trim:

5efc2915.jpg


And that drip in the previous picture ends up here:

aeab53b7.jpg


It also goes in places you can't see like the padding underneith my cargo area carpet is absoutely soaked and because that is soaked it drips down and gets the carpet under the back seats wet :mad:
 






Where is everybody else with the cargo window leaking getting water??

My headliner right above the window always gets soaked:

Then it also drips down the inside of the window and from the pastic trim:

And that drip in the previous picture ends up here:


It also goes in places you can't see like the padding underneith my cargo area carpet is absoutely soaked and because that is soaked it drips down and gets the carpet under the back seats wet :mad:

That's exactly how mine was leaking but it wasn't bad enough to soak the carpet padding. You must have a pretty bad gap if it's soaking it that bad.

What size Butyl did you use? Notice any rust holes when you had it out?
 






Yeah that's how it was soaking before I re-sealed the window, so I just wanted to make sure it was still the window and not something else. I used 5/16 butyl when I re-sealed it, and the window is sticking out from the body a little bit. No rust holes, but inside that panel in that little space where the jack is stored is all rusty on the surface, and I noticed some water pooled in there yesterday, and like i said the carpet pad is abosolutely drenched, guess i'll be getting a new one
 






Yeah that's how it was soaking before I re-sealed the window, so I just wanted to make sure it was still the window and not something else. I used 5/16 butyl when I re-sealed it, and the window is sticking out from the body a little bit. No rust holes, but inside that panel in that little space where the jack is stored is all rusty on the surface, and I noticed some water pooled in there yesterday, and like i said the carpet pad is abosolutely drenched, guess i'll be getting a new one

Though I just had. Were all the studs that hold your window in tight? Like some of mine had some wiggle room in there mounts. Your issue could be that when you're tightening it down they are just spinning. :dunno: Just something else to check.
 






None of the studs wiggled, but two of the little washers were stripped :roll:, and I put them along the bottom area of the window so it wouldn't affect the tightness on top...all the other ones were as tight as my friend and I could get them lol but i'm gonna try and replace those two stripped ones this weekend and make sure nothing else is loose :). It's still raining here today unfortuantely so I've got a cover over the back half of my explorer right now lol :(
 






None of the studs wiggled, but two of the little washers were stripped :roll:, and I put them along the bottom area of the window so it wouldn't affect the tightness on top...all the other ones were as tight as my friend and I could get them lol but i'm gonna try and replace those two stripped ones this weekend and make sure nothing else is loose :). It's still raining here today unfortuantely so I've got a cover over the back half of my explorer right now lol :(

Hopefully tightening them fixes your problem. I can't really think of anything else that would make it not seal long as you cleaned off the old sealant well and followed where the old sealant was when putting the new on it should have fixed it.
 






Hopefully tightening them fixes your problem. I can't really think of anything else that would make it not seal long as you cleaned off the old sealant well and followed where the old sealant was when putting the new on it should have fixed it.

yup I did all that lol and I was really surprised by this cause after I put the window back on, my friend and I checked the seal by spraying it with the hose and there was no leaking to be found!!! maybe my subs rattled it loose or something, i don't even know lol
 






Anime, or anyone else who has done this, how much primer do you think is needed for this? I found where I can get a 1 ounce bottle for about $13. I expect this would be plenty for two windows, but sure would like to know before I order.
 






I know this is an old thread, but wanted to thank Anime for this help. Replaced the tape on both windows, worked perfectly. Now I just have to replace the rotten, stinky carpet pad. Unbelievable how much water was in there, thankfully the rust was only surface, no cancer.

Thanks Anime.

It might work for awhile as a temporary repair, but RTV silicone isn't the correct way to seal it up, and the leak will still persist since the leak will allow water in from anywhere around the window, usually.

The correct way to fix this is to use new 3M butyl rubber tape, which is what seals the window from the factory. The 1/4 inch size is what you need, it's about $12-15 for a roll at the parts store, or body shop, though usually you'll have to order it in, and most places only stock the 3/8 inch size, which is too thick and will have the side windows sticking out from the body. You will also want to use the 3M adhesion primer (~$25 for a 125ml size) as well, since it lets the butyl seal adhere to the window and the body better, making for a longer lasting seal so you won't be doing this again in a few years.
Trouble is, the adhesion primer can be hard to come by. I was able to order in the tape and the primer at CarQuest for an extremely reasonable price over what a body shop that carried 3M prodicts wanted.

Once you have the materials, you'll need to remove the interior panel, so you can get to the nuts holding the window in. Remove the nuts, and slowly, gently push out the window, hopefully with someone else outside the vehicle to catch it once it pops loose. You'll want to use 3M adhesive remover to clean up the residue from the old seal on the window and the vehicle, making note of how the old seal was located around the window. Once it's clean and dry, apply the primer, let it dry, then put the rubber seal on the window as close as you can match the original path, take it to the vehicle, line up the mounting studs, and do your best to stick it on in one motion. Once it's stuck, it's tuck, and if you have it crooked or one corner with a stud not fully inserted, it will be a struggle to free it up.

You get enough butyl tape in a roll to do both windows, so if you have the time, you could do both rear windows one after the other, to prevent the other side leaking, which it will eventually do if one side had it happen.

I would suggest doing this ASAP, I didn't find out until too late that the window was the cause of the leak, and it eventually leaked long enough that it soaked the under carpet insulation, and pooled in the rear compartments, rusting the rear floor to the point I had to cut and weld in new metal behind the left fenderwell.

I would suggest pulling the rear carpet and floor panels out, in case they absorbed water at some point, and letting them air dry on a sunny day, or even indoors for a few days to allow them to fully dry. It will make it easier to remove the rear interior panels anyway.


Some places will tell you to just use urethane adhesive that comes in a tube. It IS simpler, you just put the tube in a caulk gun, stick it on either surface, and it's sealed. Forever. The problem is, the window will never come off ever again, so repairing a craked window or any body work on the rear panel will be a heck of a job. If you take it to a glass shop and have them do it, they will likely use urethane adhesive, and charge you ~$100 a side to do it.
 






Great info. As always, Anime is a library of information. I need to do this on mine when the weather warms up.
 






Yep, don't think it took even an hour per window. Not actually as scary as I thought, def a good project to do.
 






I have water exactly where 00meangreenXLT had. Found it after the recent rain here in CA. What's interesting however, is I'm not positive it's the cargo window leaking as I see water stains near the back hatch on the headliner, just in the corners near the roof. I also had some water on my rear seat on the drivers side. What the hell? Could this be a leak from the moonroof drain and not the cargo window? I let the hose run on the closed moonroof this afternoon, but did not notice any leaks inside. I also ran it for awhile on that drivers side cargo window (all along the tops and sides), but again did not see any drips or leaks inside. Maybe more water is needed? The car did sit under trees for many years, so it's possible the moonroof drains on the drivers side are plugged. Any suggestions on how to diagnose? Thanks.
 






After another good amount of rain here, I checked the rear for a leak, but no water this time. The truck was parked level as opposed to on an incline (front end upwards) when the leak happened. This makes me think it's the rear moonroof drains. Guess we will see after another storm. Although here in CA, they are hard to come by!
 






Roof rack.......
 






I know this is an old thread, but wanted to thank Anime for this help. Replaced the tape on both windows, worked perfectly. Now I just have to replace the rotten, stinky carpet pad. Unbelievable how much water was in there, thankfully the rust was only surface, no cancer.

Thanks Anime.

I too would like to thank the authors of this article, havent gotten around to this but i feel your pain about the rotten stinky carpet, mine grew black mold!
 









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I just took the windows out, got all the old seal off and threw some heavy black silicone (not sure exact kind) on it, put the windows back on, never had a problem.

I just didn't see much point in just sealing one leaky section, with the windows so simple to take off I don't see why anyone wouldnt go ahead and reseal the whole thing.
 






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