Preventing Rear Hatch Ledge Water Pooling?

[ConchZ]

I've got an issue with rain water pooling on the corners of the rear hatch ledge. The water gets deep enough to seep into the drain holes on the bottom of the hatch itself. From what I can tell, the water runs down the outer hatch weather stripping, and then drops into those corners. I figure it can't be good to have water sitting on the hatch ledge and seeping into the hatch. I don't have any rust issues there, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Anyone else had and solved this problem?

Matt

[EScanlon]

Park facing uphill.

Sorry, it is a known problem.

[MikeW]

I suppose you could always make sure you've got plenty of wax covering the paint in those corners. Unless you're going to be at a car show no one is ever going to see it anyway so you could probably add lots of wax and not even bother to wipe it off.

[hls30.com]

While Mikes solution would work, I think Enrique has the better answer. That daub of wax will collect grit.

I put a pair of 12x12-1.5" pavers from Home Depot/Lowes down and park with the front wheels on them-changes the attitude of the car when parked, and if you keep the shelf clean, the water runs out. I have also filled those two corners before a repaint to ad some "grade" in the area and stop the pooling.

will

[MikeW]

Well, what do I know. I park in the garage and never drive in the rain.

[zbane]

Not being terribly familiar with the S30 line, would it be possible to tastefully weld on either a slanted plate or drain holes?

[hls30.com]

Well, what do I know. I park in the garage and never drive in the rain.

Mike,

You know enough to come in out of the rain, and bring your Z with you!

Edited September 12, 2009 by hls30.com

[EScanlon]

Not being terribly familiar with the S30 line, would it be possible to tastefully weld on either a slanted plate or drain holes?

You might be able to weld something, just like if you were to add some fiberglass, epoxy or some other material but the biggest problem is the shape of the hatch itself doesn't allow for much build up in those corners before it interferes with the hatch.

Drilling holes would only vent the water INTO the cabin right about where the tail-light metal, fender and inner support metal comes together. Even if you were to successfully locate, align and drill the hole such that it actually did vent to the outside, the possibility of the water then creeping in between one or more of the metal pieces there would quickly cause more problems than it's worth.

Sounds absurdly simple and in need of a simple fix, but it's one of those problems that quickly morphs into a HUGE problem.

Parking indoors, or uphill... wish I could tell you different.

There may have been other attempted "fixes", yet nobody has ever come forward and shown a true-blue fix that doesn't fail eventually.

FWIW

E

[Pomorza]

What kind of shape is your weather stripping in?

[EScanlon]

What kind of shape is your weather stripping in?

The length of the weatherstripping is such that it still pours into that area.

Look at the two attached pictures to get an idea.

E

[Pomorza]

I too seem to have that problem. I would think that the weather stripping would keep rain from even entering that area. Well there are a number of things that I can think of you could do. First off I would fix that rust, as rust is never a good thing on a car.

But anyhow you could get a piece of rubber and place one end near the end of the weather stripping and the then near the end of the car. That way the water will never come in contact with the metal. You could extend the weather stripping that is there so that the water will just pour out of the car.

In my opinion this is one of those, try till you find a solution type of situation. I'm working on my Z later today so I'll take a good hard look at it some more and give you some more ideas.

Jan

(P.S if my suggestions need pictures to explain let me know)

[ConchZ]

Sounds like we all have this problem with our S30s, and nobody has solved it. You can't extend the weather stripping, because there's nothing to attach it to. I can't not drive the car in the rain, because I live where it rains frequently and unpredictably. I can't even park it facing uphill, because we have zero hills. Our island ranges in height from sea level to 16ft. Not much slope. Maybe I'll get bigger tires/wheels for the front.

I've thought about building up the corners of the hatch ledge, but not sure if you can do that enough without interfering with the hatch closing. It'd also look like a sloppy attempt to patch rust. I currently don't have rust there, as I've already fixed the little bit of surface rust that was forming, so I'd like it to look original and correct. I may try the idea of putting a lot of wax in those corners. If that works, maybe there's some clear sealer that can be put on there for a more permanent fix. That still wouldn't keep the water out of the hatch itself, but I think I can stop that by plugging up the two small drain holes on the inside lip of the bottom of the hatch. Mine currently have no rubber plugs. I have plugs on the two larger holes, but not those tiny holes. Were they supposed to be plugged?