Hey guys, I've come across a bit of a mystery... You know how when you lift up the trunk mat, there is the spare kit, the gas tank, and the little well where the fuses normally lay (I attached a picture... the gas can does occasionally have that much condensation on top, but not usually, and the problem is still present with or without that gas can condensation). That well on the right side has been filling up with water, but only maybe about half an inch or an inch, nothing ridiculous / flooding-esque. The thing is, there's no water above the trunk mat and no leaks whatsoever (I've done a basic water test and placed tissue paper all over the trunk to determine if there was a leak, but all the tissue paper was perfectly dry and yet the well still filled with some water). To me, this means it's coming through the styrofoam from either the side or underneath the car. My current theory is that there might be condensation that's leaking through the styrofoam? Or, there might be water pooled up either underneath the styrofoam or underneath the car? The strangest part about this is that the water only appears when the car is driven... I can dry the compartment out, drive it 2 miles, and it's filled again, but if the car just sits there, it stays empty as far as I can tell. So, I had a few questions...

A) Has anyone seen or heard of this issue before or any ideas what it might be?
B) Any ideas on how to fix it?
C) The outside / top of my gas tank seems to be lined / wrapped in some sort of plastic, possibly mylar... are your tanks like this as well or was it something a previous owner might have done? Could that be causing it?

I also have a SRT-6 if that makes any difference. The issue doesn't seem to be major by any means, it's more a curiosity that I'd like to fix. Thanks for the help, I've been trying to solve this for a couple of weeks now haha.

 

That is a common problem and can lead to serious and expensive problems. The water is probably leaking from the wing mounting plate which has issues with the rope seal used at the factory. This seal moves and allows water to get into the trunk via the latch mechanism in the hatch, the water then exits at the bottom of the back panel, it makes its way under the carpet to the well and also behind and under the foam which is covering the door locking air pump come security module which sits in the right hand well. When the water rises it ruins the electronics and things start to go haywire.
I'll add some posts on this problem, you must see if any water has got under the foam ASAP to prevent future problems.

That is not the gas tank, the tank is in the bottom of the bulkhead behind the seats.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...tml#post491510

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ing-plate.html

 

You must dry that all out fast before it geys VERY expensive, like 180 says. If it gets into the central locking module, or any of the other electronics back there, your car will go bonkers and the cost to repair will skyrocket. To get the styrofoam out you have to remove the two upper side rear panels left and right of the liftgate, that will allow you to remove the center rear lower panel at the latch, then you take out the left and right lower trunk panels so you can lift out the styrofoam blocks in the bottom. The right side void holds the central locking module and at least one other electronic box that if it gets wet and corroded your in for a big headache. 180 has the fix with great pictured, for the leaking spoiler area, I have read it and if I had a srt, I would have done it. Good luck!

 

Thanks guys, I'm setting up to do the repair and had a couple more questions:

A) Are there any more detailed instructions / pictures of how to get the styrofoam blocks out and to dry out the car?
B) Does anyone know the part number for the O rings on the back panel? I was hoping to replace them and do a touch up sealing job, to sort of double the effort.

Thanks for the help guys, hopefully it'll turn out fine and I'll let you know how it goes.

 

You have to take out all of the interior pieces to be able to remove the styrofoam blocks.

Remove the black trim pieces on the back quarter windows. I believe these are torx screws.

The 2 tan plastic pieces that are on the upper part of the trunk area, the 3 black pieces that are under the tan pieces. All held on with plastic rivets.

 

Might it be worthwhile to go in through the rubber plugs first to see if there is any major water pooling?

 

What do you mean and how would I go about doing that?

 

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...tml#post671072

Should clarify..

 

Hey guys, just wanted to give an update. First off, thanks for everything, I wouldn't have found the problem, let alone the solution, without everybody on here. Glad there's a dedicated community to our car. I've uploaded some pictures showing some of our various steps.

My father and I started by taking the interior panel trim off, then the wing plate, and then the spoiler. As you can tell from the attachments, there was a lot of corrosion around a few of the screws and around the spoiler connection. Around the wing plate itself, the gasket was completely ruined and pushed way out of place.

Basically, we replaced the OEM gasket with a EPDM rubber weatherseal. We placed it where we did in the pictures because we wanted a flat-to-flat connection for a better seal... it might result in some water resting just above the Chrysler emblem, on that little shelf, but that water will likely evaporate / trickle out, whereas we felt this would give us better internal protection. We also replaced the O rings on the spoiler and wrapped the spoiler's studs in teflon tape to help seal out water. Lastly, we used some WD-40 spray on the spoiler-to-wing plate connection area to help prevent any further rust. We also, of course, removed the rust from all the parts before reattaching.

We're avoiding taking the styrofoam blocks out, thus far, because we think the water that's already in there can be evaporated out or sucked out through driving and then dried... I'm hoping to avoid it, but we'll remove it if it's necessary. We tried removing the rubber plugs, but there were no signs of water. This fix hasn't been tested yet, but hopefully it's completely waterproof now - we want to remove the water already in the trunk before we perform any waterproofing tests.

What do you guys think?

 

The OEM seal allows water to sit on the shelf above the emblem, and yours is a little bigger. I know that the water will sit in the bow of your top seal area and that is why the OEM seal went from one face to the other. It does not allow for water to sit in a pool like you have created.

I followed the OEM seal path so that pool does not get created on my fix. That pool of water will get dust and small particles of debris in it and will stay moist, not what you want next to your paint. The OEM seal bows the other way and is self draining to the sides.

The seal material you used I assume does not stick to both surfaces as you would be in trouble if you wanted to remove the plate again.

 

I appreciate the review. The seal is not double stick, we wanted to be able to remove the parts again should we need. When I went over the pictures again, I noticed your OEM seal was actually laid out in a very different pattern than mine was (picture attached)... we opted for placing it right around the holes, on the flat surfaces, because we wanted the seal to be pressured down by torquing the plate back into position. We're counting on evaporation taking care of any water that finds its way onto the top or bottom of the seal. We haven't tested this setup yet, I'm baking the car in the sun today and trying to get rid of the last of the water in the trunk before we do any testing, but once that's gone, we'll run an extensive water test and see if it (1) leaks and (2) where any water rests and whether evaporation handles it. I'll let you guys know what ends up happening and we can make any adjustments as needed. I really do appreciate all the help!

 

I have been reading the leak problems for the rear trunk lid leak. i did notice a little rust where it was dripping from. tks Bob

 

where can i find the oem gasket for the spoiler . i am also getting the water under trunk mat .tks

 

Thanks, this is a post that I have been looking for (although it's taken me 6 or 8 months to having the time to get around to looking).

Yes, water comes in the back, pools down (in my case) around the lock activating vacume motor which went out and when I replaced it the Chrysler Mechanic said that there seemed to be "dampness" on the insulating foam.

Time passed and I started finding water accumulatin in the boot, but didn't find the reason. Finally pulled all of the shaping foam out, along with the body panels, promising the car that I'd to get around to locating the leak when warm weather comes.

So, warm weather is here (don't tell the SRT that it's been here quite a while) and I've found your post.

THANKS! The wing seak will receive Serious Inspection this afternoon.

Best Wishes, Don