How To Reseal Your Tail Lights!

[RANDY]

I just finished the job last night, once I remembered to grab my caulking gun!

Things you will need:

* Black windscreen sealant - costs around $10 from superCheapAuto.

* A caulking gun

* Thick rubber gardening gloves

* A ratchet and/or spanner - 10mm

* A philips-head screwdriver

1) You need to remove the trim that covers the rear inner of the boot. Use the philips-head screwdriver to unscrew and back the clips off, and then they just pop out by hand. Next, there are 5x 10mm nuts holding the tail-light assembly onto the body, which are accessible from the inside of the boot where you removed the trim.

2) There are also 4x 10mm nuts holding the Skyline panel on. On my car, it had to come off for the tail light to start moving out. As you can see, the tail-light has a little strip that sits behind the Skyline panel. You may need that spanner to get to the nuts on the right-hand side. I did, but that's also where my remote boot-release solanoid is.

3) With gentle, but firm pushing, the tail-light should start to come out without the aid of a hairdryer. I tried the hairdryer, but it made no difference. I pushed mainly on the threads that the nuts were on, using a small piece of wood so that I didn't puncture my hand.

4) Don't forget to unplug the wiring harness before you completely remove the tail-light assembly. It's just the one white plug. As you pull the assembly all the way out, take care that all that black sticky stuff doesn't get stretched like cheese on a pizza, as it will probably stick to your rear bar and be VERY difficult to remove. The old black sealant gets seperated between your tail-light and the body of the car. I don't know what a paid professional would do, but I took to removing ALL the old stuff.

5) 2 hours later, it's all gone. It took another hour to get it off my hands. I tried turps, metho, acetone... eventually I cracked the shytes and poured mower fuel over my hands. Instant dissolve! I now recommend the use of thick rubber gardening gloves instead of bare hands. Scrape a chunk of the sealant off, roll it into a ball, then dab and rip it off the remaining sealant. If you do it bit-by-bit, eventually the rest of it will follow. Don't experiment with solvents or anything like that on your paint. Ever.

6) The tail-light cleaned up nicely too. Check for any obvious cracks in it, as water could get in there, then out one of the breather holes in the rear of the assembly. Now is a good time to unscrew the globes and clean the contacts, and to blow a hairdryer into the sockets to get the water and moisture out.

7) This is where I ran the new stuff with the caulking gun. Notice I went around the top middle and bottom middle threads... The water from the boot gallery goes down over the top-middle thread, so I figured it's not a bad idea to divert the water away from this, as I think that's where some of the water was coming from. Additional to this, I put a TINY bit on each threaded rod, just incase water was getting in that way. When using the caulking gun, and the tube of sealant, I did it without the screw-on tip that comes with most tubes of stuff, simply because the tube itself gave a much thicker flow of sealant. One trip round the whole assembly at a slow pace did the job nicely.

The new sealant is not as sticky or adhesive as the old stuff was, so I also used one finger to press it down to completely fill the little channel where it is supposed to go. This should tell you whether you have applied enough.

8) No picture... put the tail light back in firmly, then hand-screw the nuts back on, then slightly tighten each nut in a star-shape pattern until they are all evenly tight. (top-left, then bottom-right, top-middle, etc etc) Don't do one up completely tight, then the next, as you could snap or crack some plastic like that. Use the same principal as putting wheel-nuts back on, basically.

Hopefully this has done the job... I think i'd have to dry the carpet first and then let it get wet to really tell if the leak is gone. I'll be smearing a light coat of silicon over that rusty seam on the inside of the boot... I couldn't see any sign of it on the outside.

UPDATE: The tail-light is completely dry now, and it rained all last night. I beleive the problem is solved for me!

DIY in response to this thread:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...20958&st=20

Edited September 20, 2006 by RANDY

[Ronin 09]

If you want to be pedantic, you can use Nissan OEM tail light / headlight butyl sealer

It's available cheap here (though it's from USA)... search by the part # on the boxes below... the Aus dealer cost is $$

[AgentR31]

heres the stuff you buy and how to cut the tip so it goes on nice and thick, also turps removes it trust me i have worked with this stuff lots of times

the stuff you need to buy from super cheap

how to cut the nozzle

[RANDY]

Thanks for the response with the turps and cutting tips. I didn't want to try turps or anything like that on my paint... I didn't know whether or not it'd be harmful.

According to car audio install places, "wax and grease" remover is what is used to remove the same sealant from your door-trims. I'll be giving that a try when I get time to sound-deaden my doors. ;o)

[thrtytwo]

is it ok to use silicon or do you reccomend using the windscreen stuff ?

[SKY031]

is it ok to use silicon or do you reccomend using the windscreen stuff ?

Silicone hardens.

For applications like this, it's best to use something which stays pliable and can be removed without causing major headaches.

[anthonymcgrath]

did this myself - worked a treat

[thrtytwo]

yeh ive done it myself since posting, was easy and looks wayyy better

[mad082]

did this on the weekend. my reverse light was half full of water.

i still have moisture in there cause i was too lazy to stand there with the hairdryer till it was all gone. but atleast now my boot doesn't leak.

[LBR33]

Nice DIY i might give this a try on the weekend

[SECURITY]

the correct name for the windscreen stuff is urethane, automotive paint supply stores also stock it.

its top stuff.. we use it for almost everything.

[bored33]

brilliant topic! just what i was looking for when i only just discovered water was getting into my rear tail light as well!

[PhilKenSebben]

I'm an autoglazier by trade and have to add some important points. What is OEM on the tail-lights is a butyl sealer, it USED to be used for windscreen sealer years ago. Today's windscreens (mainly due to airbags being more commonplace) are installed with polyurethane. The pic of the windscreen sealer used is correct, just make sure it is the NON-SETTING type or you will NEVER get your tail lights out again without destroying them. I don't want to see any of you buye "windscreen sealer" then discovering later that it is urethane based. Silicone does set so I wouldn't recommend it either but is a LOT weaker than urethane. What you want is sometimes called mastic sealer and yes, it's god awful stuff that gets everywhere. Just grap a chunk of it on the end of a spanner or something and tap it onto the bits still on the car. You'll find it sticks to itself better than anything else and should come away in decent lumps. Prepsol (or generic wax and grease remover) removes it and is probably the safest on your paint work, but kero does an excellent job for a lot cheaper. DO NOT drop some on the ground, step in it, then walk on carpets, either in your car or the bedroom, as the missus will discover swear words you never knew existed. That said, WD40 does a surprisingly good job of removing it, and because its a spray, can really get it off car seats etc with the help of a clean rag

[vhs2]

yayyyy nice DIY!

only just discovered that under the boot wood floor thingy, the spare tyre compartment turned into a swimming pool!

and reverse lights are gone and water getting into the tailights!

[daxter]

Man how do you get the lights out? I tried pushing as hard as I could with wood on the threads, even bashing the wood with a hammer why'll on the threads, it just won't budge

[gotRICE?]

Another way to do it that works perfectly is with a product called "Inseal" Made by the Sellotape company.

Rubber strip sealant that is sticky on one side.. just like sellotape! Wow!

This way you can remove the tail lights, IF need be without stabbing yourself and bashing them with wood.

On my old ITR, but would work on the 33 too.

Very tidy and NO mess. Just make sure its joined at the bottom For obvious reasons. Never had another drop after this method.

Edited February 26, 2009 by gotRICE?

[RANDY]

Daxter.. I know this might be a bit late, but mine was pretty stubborn too. It's possible that yours may have been removed previously perhaps?

You *could* try heating up the existing sealant with a hairdryer from *inside* the boot. i.e: Heat up the rear panel, around the threads, then push with something solid on two threads (to disperse the pressure a bit.. you don't want to break anything, eh?).

I'd probably suggest getting the whole area behind the taillight very warm to the touch, and if that still fails, heat it up really quite hot. The gooey sealant *should* become really soft and pliable with heat. ;o)

[ausdrift]

I did this today and all i can say is, what a biatch of a job. Not so complex but gets messy. The trick with getting out the tail lamp unit is to firstly try to scoop out as much sealant with a flathead screwdriver as you can while its in there. Also it helps if you heat it or have it in direct sunlight. have lots of cloths ready and plenty of solvent.

Also be very careful when cleaning the old sealent off the rear lights when its off the car. I had it lens facing down on a clean bit of cardboard, but it turned out that while cleaning off the gunk, little bits of dirt dropped down on the cardboard and as its moving aroud a bit i found i completely scratchew dup one of the lights and panel!! Now i gotta go online and buy a new one. grrr

[pistol-pete]

i just used a hair dryer for about 3 mins going slowly around the edge INSIDE the boot then pressed on the screws with a block of wood. came out easy as. and yes, the sealant is messy stuff, make sure you dont let any get on your paint!

[Dani Boi]

I did this a couple of months back also.

I used a hammer and tapped each of the five screws to break the seal then pushed with hands with even pressure to get it out. I used white spirit and a paint scraper to remove all the black stuff, cleans it up in no time. If you're going to use solvents make sure that you dry it thoroughly otherwise when it rains next the water will mix with the solvent and dissolve the seal...

Don't worry if you get it on your paint it does come off easy, but try to avoid it.