S211 E-Class Boot Leak?

[Willber]

Morning all,

I have a 2009 E280 estate which seems to leak in the boot area underneath the carpeted spare wheel well.

I have seen various posts online and YouTube vids about the main boot door seal letting water in behind it but before I go about removing and resealing that (with Tigerseal onto meta lip before refitting the seal) I wanted to ask a question:

Does your boot seal have any moisture on it after opening the tailgate or is it bone dry? Mine has a bit of moisture on it, but there is no damp or wetness internally to suggest that it is letting water in, instead the water seems to be below the carpet layer and wicks back into the carpet usually making it most damp at the bit of the spare wheel well that is nearest to back seats. I put a microfibre cloth in there last night to mop up existing water and it was fairly saturated this morning after more heavy rain, but no signs on top of the carpet of the water coming in, feels like its behind all the trim on the metal side...

Just wondering more than anything really and I guess if I remove and reseat the main seal after applying tigerseal this will add some depth to pad the seal out a bit more? I have already treated the seal with Gummipflege stuff.

Thanks!

 

[Blobcat]

Rear light seals can let water in as can the high level brake light (if it's the boot mounted version)
You can check your boot seal by applying a thin layer of Vaseline on top of it and see if there's an area that doesn't transfer to the boot lid when you close the boot. I'd also pull the seal off and check that water isn't getting in underneath it.
Never fun chasing water leaks but it's nice when you eradicate them

 

[peterws1957]

I've had great success in locating the exact location of water leaks in cars by using a £10 eBay pond smoker in a plastic tub with water. Sheet off the rest of the car. Never fails.

 

[brandwooddixon]

I'm not sure that I'd put Vaseline onto rubber myself.
It would be best to remove carpet and trim around rear lights then once you've dried out any damp patches apply a light dusting of talcum powder along the boot floor where it adjoins any vertical body work and the boot opening.
Then close the boot and pour some water over the rear of the car.
Any leaks will leave water tracks in the talcum powder.

 

[EmilysDad]

It took me a long time to find the cause of the water inside the tailgate of my R Class. Eventually traced to the chrome trim across the back of the car that included the number plate lights. It was screwed to the back of the car via aluminium threaded inserts that had become loose due to corrosion which meant the trim wasn't tight on the back of the car. The water found its way inside the spare wheel well & out via a drain grommet after it filled the inside of the tailgate.
As yours in an estate, could it be similar?

 

[M80]

Happy to be corrected but on the S211 I believe any ingress around the rear lights will drain outside of the estate area.

I feel a good starting point is to remove the tailgate seal, and clean lip and inside seal thoroughly. I favour white spirit for this sort of thing.

I ran a bead of black silicon sealant around the outer edges of the lip, on top and sides. Likely pointless, but a bead was also ran along the top of the lower lip.
On pushing the seal back in place it's likely there will be excess silicon extruded, it doesn't take much for there to be excess.

Where water could still ingress is around the 'push in's' points, those push ins that hold the side plastic trims in place. I ran a half moon of sealant over those holes prior to replacing the trims.
The plastic trims around the tailgate dampers might be suspect also.

There was evidence of ingress in the lower ares of the estate, that I had to mop up.
Mrs Me hasn't complained of condensation over the last couple of months since I did this, I'll have to remember to ask if she has had any.

 

[Willber]

Wow! Thanks for the quick and very helpful replies!

I am fairly sure there is no water inside the tailgate, and it is getting in through the body side somewhere.

I will start by removing the plastic trims, seal and the tailgate guides too, as I have seen that these can let water in also from YouTube videos. I will look to reseal these with tigerseal and see how it goes from there.

Luckily it is not enough to cause a puddle and not having any major issues with condensation yet. Also glad it is not leaking in the passenger compartment and instead just the luggage area.

I need to pull the interior trims out too which looks straightforward enough. Just waiting for a dry day to do so!

I think the moisture on the seal could simply be due to water running onto the inside edges of the tailgate when its raised, and then transferring some of that to the seal when its closed again. It doesn't look like the part of the seal which touches the tailgate is leaking, rather it is behind the seal and onto the body somehow

Thanks

 

[M80]

I looked at this over a period on an earlier S203 (C class estate). What I found was that due to the tailgate seal perhaps being tired, water running down would travel inside the seal on the more vertical drops, and into the estate area. Effectively it was running around the metal lip from out to in.

 

[Willber]

Thanks again! Ive taken a look after heavy rain and it does not seem to have accumulated much more, and maybe just still residual from the previous water.
This is after I cleared out some of the crud from around the top of the seal where the hinges and plastic covers are, I thought that the crud could somehow be wicking the water under the seal.

Either way i should get some time this weekend to remove the interior trim and set about removing, cleaning, sealing and refitting the main seal.

Will report back...

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Gummi Pflege conditioner is very good for keeping rubber seals subtle and in shape

Wurth Gummi Pflege Stick-Rubber Door Seal Restorer 75ml. 4050641103215 | eBay

Rubber Care Stick 75ml. Gently running this Rubber Care Stick along your seals (weather stripping) will clean, condition and protects the rubber seals around car doors, windows and boot lids. Maintains the rubbers elasticity and flexibility.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Willber]

Thanks. Have already got some of that and applied it to all seals

 

[Willber]

Thought I would update this - I removed all the boot inner trim to dry it out and also removed the tailgate door guides and resealed them. I applied tiger seal to the bottom half of the tailgate opening and refitted the rubber seal.

I left the interior trim out and checked for leaks after pouring a watering can all over the tailgate door when closed. There was a tiny bit of water getting in behind the seal still, which was annoying!

I had planned to replace the tailgate struts anyway as they were weak, so waited until I did that to remove the plastic trim to fit the struts, and the long hockey stick type ones either side behind which the seal sits.

I removed the whole seal and put a bead of tiger seal on the metal lip of the tailgate and then refitted the seal. This can be messy especially where the rubber seal meets the interior headlining at the top.

Anyway, all done and tested again by pouring a couple of watering cans over the closed tailgate. All seems to be OK so far!

 

[peterws1957]

Thought I would update this - I removed all the boot inner trim to dry it out and also removed the tailgate door guides and resealed them. I applied tiger seal to the bottom half of the tailgate opening and refitted the rubber seal.

I left the interior trim out and checked for leaks after pouring a watering can all over the tailgate door when closed. There was a tiny bit of water getting in behind the seal still, which was annoying!

I had planned to replace the tailgate struts anyway as they were weak, so waited until I did that to remove the plastic trim to fit the struts, and the long hockey stick type ones either side behind which the seal sits.

I removed the whole seal and put a bead of tiger seal on the metal lip of the tailgate and then refitted the seal. This can be messy especially where the rubber seal meets the interior headlining at the top.

Anyway, all done and tested again by pouring a couple of watering cans over the closed tailgate. All seems to be OK so far!

Satisfying when you cure an annoying problem!