Hi,

I'm in Portland so it's raining a lot more. The carpet in the back of the bed was getting wet so I replaced the sweeps on the tailgate window. The seal on those looks good and the roof is dry but there still seems to be water getting in. Any thoughts? The cap looks solid.

Dave

 

Hello Dave.
have you checked the weather strip seal at the tailgate and also the window weather strip at the cap. i have the same problem on my 78 bronco i also live in Oregon just 30 mins south of you.

 

@martinbarrio

i just found weatherstrip sealer at fred meyer today. i didn't know the stuff existed. so i'm going to apply to the outer sweep and see if that fixes the problem.

i don't see how the rain could get behind the top of the rear window so i'm ruling that out for now.

the water is coming out thru the sheet metal access panel on the inside of the tailgate. i added some missing screws there and that helped the problem but still a decent amount of water getting in. it kinda seems to be getting under the carpet and then wicking up. i really need to get in there while it's raining.

 

if number 1 outer window seal and Number 4 inner window seal on the diagram are bad, cracked or missing that well make rain get in to your tailgate.

 

I bought new #1 and #4 that appear to have a tight fit but water still gets in. Putting sealant along the top of #1 to see if that helps.

Where could I find these great diagrams?

 

Is the paper water shield still inside the tailgate? That shield keeps water from dripping onto the access panel and into the bed.

 

No. I had been wondering if there used to be something like that.

So it is normal for water to get in there? That makes sense. The old strip didn't have any sealant on it. I just need to cover that access panel from the interior with a trash bag or like?

Thanks BB

 

I found a good write up on the tailgate problem. The paper that is missing was not very valuable to begin with and this post illustrates a proper fix using a rectangular piece of sheet plastic and gorilla tape to secure the shield on the inside of the tailgate.

1983 Ford Bronco Tailgate Tech pictures, videos, and sounds | SuperMotors.net

 

That is a good write up. The sheet of plastic and tape will work good - did that with both of my broncos.

 

great write up superdave1 ill do that to my 78 just to make sure .

 

I had enough messing with it. Spray the foam for windows and door jambs to seal the openings.

 

Dave, order yourself a LMC catalog - Ford Bronco-handy to have around with many diagrams! TR

 

Good luck getting that open again.