Water Getting In Boot

[COLIN LS]

Hi any thoughts on stopping water getting in boot ......thanks all

[Dale_V]

have a read of this http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=71374&hl=%2Bwater+%2Bboot

[Rupert Dubreaux]

Hi Colin

I solved my water leak by fitting a new boot rubber seal ,from Seals Direct cost about £35 with vat and delivery ,you need about 4 metres of ETS59 .

http://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/shopping.asp?intDepartmentId=68

My drive is on a slope and the boot used to be soaked after even a small shower since replacing the rubber it is bone dry.

Probable the best £35 I have spent on the car.

Thanks go to the member whose post pointed me to this site and what seal to buy.

Good luck with your leak!

[steve2006]

Parking with the front facing down a slope in rain will also fill the boot, water collects around the two corners of the opening nearest the rear screen and overflows into the boot.

Some members have 'modified" this fault by drilling holes in each corner and fitting drain tubes.

[ManicMark]

Hi take the seal clean it run a bead of clear silicone along the metal lip , replace the seal , job done . Had this problem 5 years ago done this been dry as a bone ever since. the lip isn't tall enough & water sucks over it & into the boot.

[Parrot of Doom]

I had a water leak, on mine it turned out to be getting in just below the rear window. There's a hard plastic barrier there, just below the chrome trim, and with age, the clips holding it to the body had broken, letting water run down the window, over the chrome trim, and behind the plastic.

I got a lump of black tak and secured it in place, no more water now.

[Cotswold Pete]

Hi take the seal clean it run a bead of clear silicone along the metal lip , replace the seal , job done . Had this problem 5 years ago done this been dry as a bone ever since. the lip isn't tall enough & water sucks over it & into the boot.

Seems like the topic of leaky boots comes up now and again. Had both of mine with leaky boot syndrome. As you say the leaky seal comes out easy.

I found using a bluntish flat head screw driver (about 10mm head width) is good for prising open the seal, clean out. I found it easier to and more effective to fill the seal with silicone (less messy when getting the seal back on) and then some pincers to clamp the seal back on.

Both cars bone dry after, though I would say to check for rust around the boot lock, which is where it ends up doing any damage to metalwork.

Takes about 40 minutes and cost £4.

[MNP]

With all the rain of late I have also had this problem, so thanks to the members who recommended the new seal, which I have fitted. Of course with no more recent rain I don't know how effective the cure will be for me but the boot certainly takes more of a shove to shut so is more 'air tight' than before. I confirm that 4 metres of the ETS59 is just right with a little surplus left over.

Rode my motorbike into Shrewsbury this morning to get some moisture absorbing crystals to continue the job of drying out the boot!!

I did put a smear of Waxoyl under the seal as some light corrosion was present, also, as Pete mentioned, more so around the boot lock.

Mark.

[dsutton1974]

My LS had it's MOT today (went straight through, as expected), but when I lifted the boot carpet this morning to check that the spare tyre was inflated and legal I found about 4 INCHES of water sat in the wheel well

After taking out the wheel and tools etc I removed the two large bungs and gallons of water ran out onto the road... The boot lining is now hanging up in the garage to dry out.

Now here's the weird bit... nothing above the water level is wet! I really can't suss where this huge volume of water came from. The boot seal all looks to be intact and undamaged.

I will get the seal off tomorrow and clean all the gutters and then silicone it back on - hopefully this will sort it.

[MNP]

Good luck Daniel.

Just checked my crystals and they are slowly absorbing the moisture.

There was old silicon under my trim when I removed it so obviously a previous problem. Took ages with a

finger nail and screwdriver to remove the old stuff before fitting the new strip.

Mark.

[Cotswold Pete]

My LS had it's MOT today (went straight through, as expected), but when I lifted the boot carpet this morning to check that the spare tyre was inflated and legal I found about 4 INCHES of water sat in the wheel well

After taking out the wheel and tools etc I removed the two large bungs and gallons of water ran out onto the road... The boot lining is now hanging up in the garage to dry out.

Now here's the weird bit... nothing above the water level is wet! I really can't suss where this huge volume of water came from. The boot seal all looks to be intact and undamaged.

I will get the seal off tomorrow and clean all the gutters and then silicone it back on - hopefully this will sort it.

Sounds like my first LS400. Had MOT, then handed onto me. I had it for a week or two and thought I'd check out spare wheel and found 2 inces of water, and nothing above water line wet. But it must have been like that for ages, as the alloy wheels were pitted. It had not rained for about 4 weeks (remember those days), so I assume water had gotten in a while back.

Seems to me that the MOT chap looked at the spare, saw tread was fine, and did not notice tideline.

I suspect a number of LS owners out there not actually checked to see, and when I did discover the leak it was not as if a huge amount of water was actually coming in at each time.

So I now check the spare well every few months (but since sealing, never had a drop coming in).

The boot lining will probaly take a week or so to get properly dry, I was lucky it was summer and a warm garden shed did it in a few days.

[dsutton1974]

Spent a couple of hours sorting the boot seal with silicone this afternoon... hope that's cured it !

[MNP]

Just an update after yesterdays rain. No further water ingress now, just the residual/original dampness to dry out, so if the silicon trick doesn't work, the replacement seal is a good option.

Mark.

[Rupert Dubreaux]

Glad you seem to have got your leak sorted Mark ,it is nice to have a dry boot .

[MNP]

Thanks Rupert, yes mould, corroded alloys etc, not nice!!!

Best wishes, Mark.

[ManicMark]

What happens is as follows, The metal lip under the seal is not tall enough so causes a capillary action if the seal isn't a really tight snug fit.water sits & pools on the flat surface at the sides & top of the boot & gets sucked over the lip,

water will always travel downhill so runs down the seal to the lowest point by the bottom of the lights & fills the spare wheel well. The silicon ensures a tight seal or check edge so stops the capillary action. My Mr's is a hard metal roofer copper & zinc, so is used to calculating how much up-stand is required for different types of pitch & so forth.