V8V boot leak - solved?
Discussion
I’ve only had the car for a couple of months, but I’ve been plagued by water getting into the boot. It’s getting in while parked, not when driving. Some Googling suggests that the source of the Nile is easier to find than the source of the water in a Vantage boot…
I know about the water ingress kit (have you seen the prices now? - according to PH they used to be about £7 a side - now way over £100 each…). For that amount of money, I’ll just use a blade to wipe down the rear screen before opening the tailgate.
I’d also read up about the drain holes - a quick blast with 6 bar of air resulted in loads of muck flying out of the seal.
I also found that my rear lights had no sealing washers on the mounting bolts, so I got hold of some and congratulated myself by buying a new boot carpet, as the hardboard backing of the original was really manky.
Imagine my irritation a day later to find a sopping wet brand new carpet - so I re-seated the lights and fitted better neoprene washers. Still ended up with wet carpets….
Today, I pulled all the carpet trim and sound deadening out of the boot and felt around for the dampness - I found a really badly-fitting rubber grommet half-sealing a 19mm hole just below the near side rear light - it was so poorly located that as soon as I touched it, it fell through the hole in the rear panel. I’ve now replaced it with a proper-sized rubber grommet that I had lying around. I washed the car this afternoon and it appears to still be dry in the boot.
Have I finally found the source? Can I re-fit my carpets now?
I know about the water ingress kit (have you seen the prices now? - according to PH they used to be about £7 a side - now way over £100 each…). For that amount of money, I’ll just use a blade to wipe down the rear screen before opening the tailgate.
I’d also read up about the drain holes - a quick blast with 6 bar of air resulted in loads of muck flying out of the seal.
I also found that my rear lights had no sealing washers on the mounting bolts, so I got hold of some and congratulated myself by buying a new boot carpet, as the hardboard backing of the original was really manky.
Imagine my irritation a day later to find a sopping wet brand new carpet - so I re-seated the lights and fitted better neoprene washers. Still ended up with wet carpets….
Today, I pulled all the carpet trim and sound deadening out of the boot and felt around for the dampness - I found a really badly-fitting rubber grommet half-sealing a 19mm hole just below the near side rear light - it was so poorly located that as soon as I touched it, it fell through the hole in the rear panel. I’ve now replaced it with a proper-sized rubber grommet that I had lying around. I washed the car this afternoon and it appears to still be dry in the boot.
Have I finally found the source? Can I re-fit my carpets now?
Sounds like you’ve sorted it. What year is your car? I don’t think boot leaks are common on Vantages (if you don’t count the design flaw of pooled water going into the boot when you open it!).
Early cars (certainly pre-2007) had drains at the bottom of the rear window I believe, which drained this pooled water. The only problem being that they blocked very easily. My 2007 doesn’t have the drains, nor the ‘gutters’ that you mention of the later cars, so water just pours into the boot if you don’t clear it before opening.
Early cars (certainly pre-2007) had drains at the bottom of the rear window I believe, which drained this pooled water. The only problem being that they blocked very easily. My 2007 doesn’t have the drains, nor the ‘gutters’ that you mention of the later cars, so water just pours into the boot if you don’t clear it before opening.
Damn - I should have known better…..
It rained quite hard this afternoon, and when I checked the boot, it was damp again…. I pulled even more of the boot lining away and it’s dripping off the underside of the rear “buttress” - just inboard of the fuel filler.
I think I can see that the drain from the fuel filler recess is clear, but I’ll get the airline on it anyway. I’m wondering if it’s coming in via the gas strut bottom mount point. I had to fit the repair plates, as the threaded plate had come loose from the bodywork, so I may need to seal it properly.
Still - gives me an excuse to tinker tomorrow….
It rained quite hard this afternoon, and when I checked the boot, it was damp again…. I pulled even more of the boot lining away and it’s dripping off the underside of the rear “buttress” - just inboard of the fuel filler.
I think I can see that the drain from the fuel filler recess is clear, but I’ll get the airline on it anyway. I’m wondering if it’s coming in via the gas strut bottom mount point. I had to fit the repair plates, as the threaded plate had come loose from the bodywork, so I may need to seal it properly.
Still - gives me an excuse to tinker tomorrow….
I went through this recently, The car had to be parked outside overnight for a couple of weeks due to a Laundry reno. Opened the boot to find a swimming pool. It's definitely water tight in the boot.
The water was going around the rear light and then leaking in at the top of the pressure release flaps. I could see the drops come in and drip down. It's just had a service and I believe the fix was to seal the pressure release flaps in with silicon.
The water was going around the rear light and then leaking in at the top of the pressure release flaps. I could see the drops come in and drip down. It's just had a service and I believe the fix was to seal the pressure release flaps in with silicon.
I know it wasnt on an Aston, but when my sons Ford Fiesta was leaking water into the boot and having reviewed and tried all the various fixes it was still leaking. So I bought a cheap party type smoke machine from the internet that came with a remote control. Stuck it in the boot and pressed the remote control button (Obviously needs power and cable routed away from potential leak area). Only needed a couple of attempts to get enough smoke into the car and find the hole/gap. I remember watching this method on Wheeler Dealers when Ed was fixing up an old DB7 if I remember correctly. Worth a go if you are still struggling.
I've been here several times before, but I think I may have finally stopped the rain water getting into the boot. I have a feeling that there wasn't a single leak, and I've been gradually sorting them as I go along.
So - for reference, these are the potential sources of water in a Vantage boot:-
1) when the rear hatch is lifted, water on the tailgate pours in due to the design. Solution - spend a small fortune on the aproved water ingress kit, wipe down the hatch before lifting it, or simply don't open the hatch when there's water on it.
2) rear lamp seals - each of the three location bolts has a rubber / neoprene washer on both sides of the panel that they bolt into. The washers can go missing or get damaged. Solution - fit new washers (cheap ones available from Ebay)
3) Air pressure relief flaps - the plastic housing can let water in as it isn't very well sealed in the side panel. Solution - re-seal the housing.
4) Small rubber grommet filling a 20mm hole just below the left-hand rear light - on my car it was very loose and was letting water in. As soon as I touched it, it fell into the recess. Solution - fit a tightly-fitting grommet.
5) hatch gas strut lower location points. The ball for the gas strut lower end is screwed into a steel plate that is bonded to the inside of the aluminium C-pillar. On some cars, the bonding fails and the steel plate comes loose. This also allows water in. The mechanical solution is a pair of genuine repair plates, but critically, these only reinforce the gas strut location - they do not re-seal. Solution - apply some sealant to the inner face of the plate when fitting
6) Rear hatch water drain holes. There are some very small holes in the rubber between the hatch glass and the metal rear section. These drain through a paid of holes just inboard of the rubber bump stops on the underside of the hatch. These holes can block, which will stop the water draining from the hatch. However, if the holes in the rubber are open AND the drain holes in the hatch are blocked, the water may escape into the boot.
Hope this helps
UPDATE - after quite a lot of rain, my boot carpets are still completely dry!
Now - sort out the water getting into one of the rear lights.....
So - for reference, these are the potential sources of water in a Vantage boot:-
1) when the rear hatch is lifted, water on the tailgate pours in due to the design. Solution - spend a small fortune on the aproved water ingress kit, wipe down the hatch before lifting it, or simply don't open the hatch when there's water on it.
2) rear lamp seals - each of the three location bolts has a rubber / neoprene washer on both sides of the panel that they bolt into. The washers can go missing or get damaged. Solution - fit new washers (cheap ones available from Ebay)
3) Air pressure relief flaps - the plastic housing can let water in as it isn't very well sealed in the side panel. Solution - re-seal the housing.
4) Small rubber grommet filling a 20mm hole just below the left-hand rear light - on my car it was very loose and was letting water in. As soon as I touched it, it fell into the recess. Solution - fit a tightly-fitting grommet.
5) hatch gas strut lower location points. The ball for the gas strut lower end is screwed into a steel plate that is bonded to the inside of the aluminium C-pillar. On some cars, the bonding fails and the steel plate comes loose. This also allows water in. The mechanical solution is a pair of genuine repair plates, but critically, these only reinforce the gas strut location - they do not re-seal. Solution - apply some sealant to the inner face of the plate when fitting
6) Rear hatch water drain holes. There are some very small holes in the rubber between the hatch glass and the metal rear section. These drain through a paid of holes just inboard of the rubber bump stops on the underside of the hatch. These holes can block, which will stop the water draining from the hatch. However, if the holes in the rubber are open AND the drain holes in the hatch are blocked, the water may escape into the boot.
Hope this helps
UPDATE - after quite a lot of rain, my boot carpets are still completely dry!
Now - sort out the water getting into one of the rear lights.....
Edited by Nigel_O on Wednesday 5th January 13:41
Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff