i KNEW it!!
if all of us are having this problem, imagine how may else are having it.
RECALL!!!

 

drivers side had to loosen the three bolts and used a silicone sealant

 

I recently discovered a leak on the drivers side all the way to the rear in the corner behind the spare tire. Turned out to be the seam between the roof and the rear quarter panel. The seam is about 4 inches long. The watar was running down the sheet metal that makes up the corner support behind the rear side window and then dripping down onto the sound insulation and bleeding through to the carpet. originaly I thought it was the window seal but on closer inspection I could see the water running inside the structure of the corner post. A little silicon sealant on the outside of the seam and so far the leak is fixed.



Leaf

 

Thanks Leaf....it continues to amaze me how many places these dang things leak from

 

LeafAngel, what are the steps to find this leak? What did you have to remove/take apart to find it?
I assume I remove the spare, but then what? Are there panels that have to be removed? Do they just pop out?
My driveway is a fairly steep incline, and this weekend when my wife opened up the back, she discovered a trail of water that appears to have drained to the rear most edge of the carpet. You could put your finger in this groove on the carpet and it was saturated!
I have use the hose many times, and never found any seals leaking, so suspect what you have found might be my problem, but unclear on exactly how to go about finding it??

 

Well here goes.

I ended up removing almost all of the interior trim and panels at the rear of the vehicle. However, having found my leak I could have gotten by without removing some of them.

Start with removing the spare tire. Remove the three bolts that hold down the plastic panel that the spare sits on. Remove the panel. Remove the piece of trim that runs along the floor at the very rear, just inside the rear doors. There are some clips holding it, you just have to pull it loose. Remove the piece of trim that runs across the top of the rear opening also. Then remove the two plastic panels that line the side of the interior of the vehicle at the very rear they just pull out also. One of these pannels is up behind the side window. The other covers from the very rear to half way behind the spare tire when it is in place. here's some pics:




There is some sound insulation behind the plastic panels that can be pulled out of the way to expose the sheet metal behind.

The old garden hose test is next. Run water over the roof with a garden hose and watch for the leak. As I mentioned before, mine was coming from the seam that joins the roof to the top of the rear quarter panel.

Hope this helps!

Leaf

 

LeafAngel, great pics! Very clear now. Was suspecting I was gonna have to rip'er apart. Dreading it, but not afraid to give it a try. Seems the strips are very tight...I was just trying to pull on the rear step panel and it didn't budge. Will get out my panel removal tools and go at it maybe this weekend.
Thanks for the extra effort and confirmation. I bet that is my problem too.

 

Ok, here goes.....I am sure I have found my leak source. Bet those that have leaks have the same problem too and have not been able to figure this one out?

I stripped out the rear carpet and sides. Carpet was saturated!

I had my wife put the hose to the X while I was inside with a very bright light. It is amazing how much water volume the window seals can take...no leaks on either side. We removed the hose nozzel, and just let the volume come out on a 3/4" hose. As if it would be a very heavy rain.

She moved to the back over the top of the tailgate, no leaks. ???Geez, how is this thing leaking? Thought maybe the leak was from the plugs in the floor under the carpet for when we are driving in the rain, but not sure that is a problem, however will seal those in when replacing everything just to rule those out.

So, I said to her, put the water down on the middle of the tailgate and move it back and forth along the seam. While looking down in the crack where the doors meet in the middle, I started to see water at the very bottom in the black rubber weather seal. It was running across and filling up slowly, then it started to overflow into the truck floor! This is where the water is coming from for sure!

Now, if I am on a hill (My driveway) likely this is not when it get's wet, but if I was ever parked downhill, it definately would run in.
But, she says to me....I bet when you wash the truck and force water in the middle, is when the water comes in....HMMMMMM.

Ok, that is likely when it happens....since the water can pool on top of the doors under the tailgate on that large flat surface, then runs to the middle and has to go somewhere...it trickles down and runs in to the bottom seal and in it goes.
So, when I wash up the X, will not spray in there.

I don't really see any way that this can be fixed. It appears to be the design of the seals and the crack. However, I will add some stuffing of sorts to tighten the seal and see if that might help some.
Also might ask the dealer when I take it in next time if they can put some new seals on in case these might be deformed or worn down.

Anyhow, that is my story and what I have found.

The carpet is so wet, that it is now out and in the garage. The felt backing is what is really wet, so guess it might take about a week to dry out.

LeafAngel, thanks for getting me motivated to get into this. I had no way to detect that this much water was under that carpet! Couldn't feel it by touching the carpet.

Suggestion for those of you that now wonder if you have the same problem is to park your X on a good hill. Leave it there for a while. The water will drain to the rear most section of the carpet. Just in front of the rear entry sill cover (plastic molded snap in piece) there is a little recess in the carpet. Run your fingers in this recess and you will see if there is a pool of water in your carpet.

 

My 01' XLT started to leak this weekend. It was passenger side rear vent. I thought I may have knocked something loose after I hammered it to get unstuck from the snow drift. Now I think it is the rear seam. Mine leakes from above the rear upper corner down somewhere and comes out on the inside where the upper and lower plastic panels come together on the inside. I could see it coming out as I was driving down the road. I first noticed drips on rear shelf next to vent. Thought i left vents open (not the case). I will get up on a ladder and check that seam. Hope that's it.

Thanks,
D

 

Update!
Well, after I thought I had it licked, I still have a leak. Since the carpet is out while the interior is drying out as well as the felt while in the garage, we had a very good rain on Friday while I was working. When I came out to go home, I thought..let me crawl in the back and look around. Dang! I have a flood going on back here. Looks like a river!
Found while there that the water was seeping from within the Right rear corner inside the sheet metal. Inside the corner, which backs up to the taillight housing, it was near a 1/2" deep inside this area. It was running out along the seam behind the rear A/C hoses that exit the bottom of the floor, then was running out into the floor just in front of the tire hump. It was fortuanely draining out of the truck via one of the holes that is in the bed of the floor. Couldn't see how it was filling up in this cavity, so I headed home.

So today, I started a deeper investigation....Found an actual small hole on the very top outside of the truck! Likely this is where the water was coming in since it was in the very rear top corner seam just behind the weld bead. So, I mixed up some clear epoxy and filled in this seam area and did the same on both sides.
Then, I decided to remove all hardware such as hinges, ect...anything that was bolted on the rear hatch areas and sealed with silicone, including the threads. I then removed the taillight, removed the little filler panel at the bottom that has one of those snaps into the backside of the cavity, and sealed this with silicone.

Now, I can't imagine any way this thing can get water into it! Will monitor until the next rain and see what happens!