hey all,

I have been driven to the point of insanity over the last 3 weeks. The left (and only the left) drainage/weep hole in the bottom of the hatch (adjacent to the plate lights) seems to continuously leak rusty/brown liquid which drips onto the license plate cove and then down the bumper. On a white car, it looks like my XF has soiled itself. Looks terrible. I clean it up, and an hour or 2 later...it is back. Damn.

I have had the car since October but this is a recent thing; only been happening for about 3 weeks since it REALLY got cold here in the North East. Any ideas?

I have typed in every possible combination into the search function using the words "dirty,rusty, hatch and drainage holes"...all to no avail.

Thanks guys.

 

Look at the left rubber boot that is situated in the top of the hatch. There is one each on the left and right top corners, if one is loose or broken water can get into the door itself.
Or even the spoiler area could have a leak I guess.
Whatever it is dry it up before you reseal it.

 

Sorry 180, those black boots at the top of the hatch drain down into the sides of the car. That's not his problem. BUT... it's a good idea to check them anyway. I have one that constantly pops out. I check it every time I open my hatch. If you let water get in there, your rear quarter panels could rust from the insides out. That would be very bad.

Are the stains rusty looking or just dirty looking?

For your sake, I hope it's just a brown leaf that got stuck down into the spoiler drain hole on that side. See my post below about those drains and the lines that feed them. The picture may help you.

 

IF IT IS RUST:

I would check around the bolt down points of the spoiler, like in the photo. You may have to unbolt it and take it off to find out. But I'd bet that's where the water is getting in. I think there's a rubber gasket under there. If it has rotted, it may be leaking.

 

Also it could be something nasty/dirty has gotten into the drain lines for the spoiler area. Check this pic out of the inside of the hatch with the interior panel off.

The arrows show where the water drains from the spoiler area down to the exit holes above the license plate. If something got into those lines, they just might need flushed.

Do the stains look dirty or rusty? If it's rust you're in for some bad news. If it's just dirt, you can probably just flush those lines with a couple gallons of water and some patience.

But if it were me, I would want to remove that hatch's interior panel and look inside to be sure you're not rusting out, and to be sure you know what's going on.

 

great pics & help for all !!! I never knew those drain hoses where there thanks !!!

 

Just had the lower hatch panel off on mine to lube the spoiler mechanism. Good idea (and easy) to take it off, check out the interior / motor and see if water is getting in to the motor area. While you're in there, might as well put some lithium grease on the gears and struct mechanisms / rods.

If you haven't raised and looked under your spoiler / clean it when washing, it could be something has gotten up in there and continues to drain through the strut drain holes. It may just need cleaning and then take a long pipe cleaner and run them all the way through the drain holes to clean them out.

Hope it's something simple.

Good luck.