Chasing Boot Leak - How To Remove Rear Wing?

[ausdrift]

So, Ive put up for years with a leaky boot in my R33. I even removed and re-sealed the rear lights (and what a PITFA that was) but no change.

So I finally got off my arse and gave it another go trying to work out exactly where it was leaking from and my best guess now it that I think the water enters through the boot lid where the GTR style Nissan wing and the boot connect. I can see that the sealant is cracked most of the way around it and I think water must somehow enter through bolts? holding the wing to the boot.

So, the question; How easy is it to remove the rear GTR style wing? is it just a couple of bolts and then a case of prying the sealant/boot/wing apart?

Have you done this and fixed the leak?

thanks

[mistermeena]

have you gotten in the boot yourself with a torch and someone hosing it outside?

Yes it could easily come in around the bolts holding the wing down. Also rear window seal, boot seal, lights (which you've addressed). The mrs' Ford fairlane even had water leaking in around the key barrel for the boot - took me forever to figure that one out.

...and yes bolts and double sided tape holding it down

Edited April 12, 2014 by mistermeena

[89CAL]

Yeah jump in the boot with a torch and get someone to spray water over it. Best way to find the leak, even if it is a bit squashy in there

[Missileman]

Alls I read was boost leak lol

[ausdrift]

Rather than go down the kidnap-experience route, I did it a different way. I taped paper to the underside of the boot lid, horizontally under the lip of the boot area at the sides and also placed paper on the boot of the car. Then I poured buckets of water over it all, opened the boot and looked to where the water marks came from.

I've previously, aside from re-sealing the tail lights, also used the same sealant stuff to check and seal under the rear window and also along the metal seams from where the boot is welded around. I also checked the rubber weather strip on the boot, and that's fine too.

On close inspection the sealant/tape between the wing and the boot is dried and cracked everywhere, and that's consistent with the boot being the water entry point. Just wish it was something a little easier.

Looks like Easter weekend might be the time to tackle this. I had a quick check under the boot lid, but couldn't exactly see which bolts would be for the wing. Can anyone describe exactly the location of them and how many? I can probably work it out, but its always nice to use someone else's experience instead.

[ausdrift]

Can anyone confirm how many bolts, and where, and what holds this thing to the boot lid?

[mistermeena]

I'm not sure on the location/number of bolts sorry never done this type of wing. There's probably four though. The sealant stuff you describe under it will be a sort of rubbery double sided tape that sticks the wing down and stops it vibrating. It will be a total bitch to remove no doubt.

So the paper trick confirmed that its coming from the wing mounts? For a quickfix option you could try getting the nuts off underneath the wing and squirting some silicone around them before refitting.

[ausdrift]

Ive yet to tackle this; one of those jobs that isn't that much fun but I will have to address. Ill probably try to do it right though as I noticed the beginnings of a little surface rust, so wanna investigate that more. I hear fish oil is really good for rust prevention, so might incorporate that into the whole 'solution'

[Hadouken]

I did this 3 years ago. There's no need to remove the wing.

It is eeither the putty joining the seems or the where the plastic cover on the bottom of the window is.

Solution... chisel out all putty and reseal with silicone or something to that effect.

Unscrew plastic thingy on bottom of rear windshield and silicone the f**k out of it.

This should do it.

[ausdrift]

as a post script to this. I chiselled out the sealant on the seams to the side of the boot, filled it with silicone sealant and..... while that seals perfectly it wasn't the cause of the leak. It appears that the water (from testing pouring buckets of water over parts of the boot area) enters from under the wing over the boot lid which is attached to the trunk lid. I have since silicone the whole wing (as couldn't be farked trying to remove it properly, as all the 18 year old tape has well deteriorated) which should finally provide the fix. haven't had a chance to test yet, but I feel like the problem should bee fixed now finally.