Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

I have noticed in the recent rain that there has been a lot of water appearing in my boot

It is all on the near side, towards the back, seeming to come more from the side rather than from below. It seems to get wet after it has rained whether or not I have used the car, and even if I havent used the rear washer. This leads me to suspect the ariel (which I haven't gotten round to looking at yet to confirm), which would make sense since a couple of weeks ago I replaced the knackerd electric one with a manual one. I did get it off another Cav, but used the original rubber thing to hold it in place, as it was in better condition. Assuming that this is no longer watertight, what is the best thing to do? Is there some stuff that I can put on it to seal it, or is there a better way to make it watertight.

while you're in there check your sunroof drainage pipes havent come loose and put water in the boot (pipe goes through floor on both rear corners of the boot)

check the lights are sealing and the rear quater windows.

Check the aerial for signs of corrosion too, this will help confirm your theory.

So a couple of days ago I poured some water over the car at the points that were suggested, but clearly it wasn't enough (or I don't have a major leak). This morning (after it had been raining) I had a feel around the inside of the aerial seal, and sure enough it was moist (which makes sense since I only took it off recently to fit the new aerial and just bunged it back on when I was finished).

Question is, is the seal supposed to seal on its own, meaning that it is knackered and that I need a new one, or am I supposed to have made the seal watertight by applying something to the seal before I put it back? would a layer of something like silicon sealant prevent water ingress?

I would have thought that as long as it's all dry when you assemble it, some silicone sealant would do the trick.

As to whether it should seal itself, perhaps it should, but the seal may have hardened over the years and disturbing it has caused the leak.

So I have applied some black silicon sealant around the suspected leaky seals. I haven't used a lot and it doesn't look too bad considering (I suspect that it helps that they are black seals on a black car). Now I just need to wait till it rains, although looking out of the window, I may be waiting some time...

You can still buy the black aerial seals from Vauxhall. Might be worth bunging a fresh one on.

they are about £6 i bought one a couple of weeks back

Gaz wrote:they are about £6 i bought one a couple of weeks back

Did you happen to get a part number Gaz, as I've been told (several times) they don't order them in anymore.

Ta.

I'll get you one, when i go to the garage.

90407367

90407367 - the vauxhall 'phallus' gasket

I've got water in my boot aswell, I didn't want to make a new thread so I decided to post in here.

It seems to be all around the edge of the boot but the top isn't wet and theres a small puddle in the spare wheel bit.

my first thought was the rubber for the aerial but its on both sides.

(pics are gash as they're on my phone with a crappy flash with no lights near by)







I'll empty my boot tomorrow and get better pics, maybe give it a mini detail and try and set up a heater in it to dry it off if I can't see anything obvious as it might just be trapped moisture.

My manual has damp in exactly the same areas as well but not quite as bad, i.e. no puddles, just damp... Not sure if it's got anything to do with the square vent on the offside, inside the rear bumper. I've heard that if it's blocked, it stops recirculating the air.. I've cleared the one on the auto before, and there's no damp in the back as far as I can tell, I haven't touched the one on the manual, so it may be worth doing that...

How weird that this thread has been resurected.

Laughed at wifeys car (2005 Volvo S40) this week as it has been laid up in the garage for 6 weeks while she couldnt drive and while getting it ready for her return to the road I found a tiny patch of mould in the boot.

Today I thought id fix the aerial and change the grommit and decided to take all my stuff out the boot, found an oasis of mould in my boot which was hidden by the bread tray I have to put my tool box and stuff on. Both corners were damp, n/s more so, but mould was on o/s.

Blew the sunroof drains through and poked the pipes through in the boot floor, wiped any rusty colour cack away and dried, checked for any holes(none thank fook) and sprayed some clear grease in the corners.

When I get back from hospital, will shove the fan heater in the boot for half hour.

Doesnt help that the car has been run ragged these past 6 week but she done me proud!

I have found that the rear quarter window seals fail quite often. Best way is to take the window out and then put a bead of black sealant round the window appeture and then put the window back in.


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Martin, check the drainage pipes in each corner, they can pop out and rain water just runs into boot. They should be plumbed through the grommets in the floor. Also water can drip from your open bootlid in each corner and land in the boot floor.

Right this is my situation:


Nearside:












Offside:
















Generally speaking it's not too bad, but it's right at the corners and along the sides where it's the worst.
I don't get puddles, but just damp spots and a bit of mould.



No puddles in the spare wheel bay, although one of the metal plugs( towards the bottom of the pic) was loose, so that probably didn't help. Still, with the weight of the spare wheel on it, nothing should have got in.

I've left the boot empty, as in the pics overnight tonight, dried out the nearside carpet and dried everything up in the boot and did some silicone work around the edges where the rust marks were the worst, indicating water/damp entry. The rear sunroof drain pipes are definitely clear and allow water to drop to the ground.

My next task would be removing the rear bumper and checking the bodywork for any obvious corrosion and checking the ventilation flap on the offside. Hopefully I'll have a crack at that tomorrow.


While I was there, for handy reasons I noted down the part number for this bit: The nearside carpet, the one with the light in.

Part number is: GM-90269651-TDW, that was stamped on the back of it.

Judging by the way it's stained, I would guess that it's coming from the top and running down. The seam under the rubber strip at the joint of the roof and rear quarter is common, but anywhere down the line of the quarter just inside the boot shut will allow water to run down the inside of the quarter like that.

Ye that could be a possibility. When I open the tailgate, there are run marks on the inside of the D-pillar pretty much all the way along it. So you may be onto something there. I'll poke about more tomorrow.

Gaz wrote:

90407367

I got one of these for sale somewhere if anyone needs it...
I always had a leaky boot on both my cavs

As I said previously check the rear quarter windows as on the nearside of your car it looks exactly like it did on my TD (rust marks etc) and the water gathered in exactly the same place. Also check the grommits where the wires enter the tailgate as that is very common in my experience.

Good luck in your quest bud.

vauxhallnutter wrote:As I said previously check the rear quarter windows as on the nearside of your car it looks exactly like it did on my TD (rust marks etc) and the water gathered in exactly the same place. Also check the grommits where the wires enter the tailgate as that is very common in my experience.

Good luck in your quest bud.

I will get to the end of it!! Cheers mate. I may have to check everything at this rate, so providing fair weather it should be ok. I'd rather get it sorted before the really cold period sets in.. Knowing this place, it's unpredictable...

The rubber grommits are fine, checked them both. That leaves pretty much the bodywork and the quater windows.

As per usual my day never went to plan, I have Friday off and going to the GF's mums so I'll tackle it at her house as it's quite big

Just need to remember and take stuff with me... probably bring everything and forget my buckets -.-

Hopefully I'll remove the trim and carpets and give it a good clean, is there any point in spraying primer (on the boot floor) before putting the trim/carpet back in?