- Sun May 01, 2011 5:02 pm
#253201
sloshing sound coming from behind the seats? You probably have clogged drain tubes for your rear window compartment.
things youll need.
phillips screwdriver
8mm socket
10mm socket
shopvac
caulk or weather stripping clay.
possibly a small flathead screwdriver.
flashlight
Roll down your back window
then your going to need to remove the rear interior.
starting with the top center peice. It just pulls off.
then there are two screws holding each upper side peice on, you can now remove those and then pull the side peices out.
next you want to remove the storage bins. There are a couple screws on the base, where it sits over the carpet. remove those. Then there are two screws holding the back of the center console on. Take those out. Now pull up on the front of the storage bins while pushing down on the rear. The rear is held on by clips which need to be slid above the storage bins.
next pop the lower side panels off, they should pull right out.
at this point you should have something that looks like this.
remove the speakers which are each held on by two 8mm bolts.
now your going to need your shopvac.
locate one of the drain tubes. there is one on each side of the car (driver and passenger). Its the black hose that comes out and goes into the floor in the pic.
Turn your shopvac on and gently pull the hose out from the floor. Put the end of the hose in your shopvac and close your fingers over any gap to make a good seal on the drain tube. Hopefully one of the two hoses will yeild water. Keep sucking the water out until you can look down into the top of the compartment with a flashlight and see that the water is pretty much gone.
If you cannot manage to get the water out using this method then just keep going and youll be able to get it out easier later.
Time to diconect the plug for your rear window. The plug is clipped to the floor and runs up the driver side of the panel.
now your ready to start removing the compartment. You want to do this to make sure that you get it cleaned out. You dont want to have to vacuum out your water everytime it rains.
There are a series of 10mm bolts all around the edge of the panel. Go ahead and remove them all. Your compartment should be sealed so its not going to fall off and water shouldnt start leaking out of the seam.
Now that youve done that its time to pull the window and panel free from the compartment. If you werent able to drain the water yet now is when your going to want that shopvac handy. There are a couple of really great places to place your hands for pulling the panel off. They are at the top, one on each side. Just pull the panel off really slowly from the top down, it may bend a little bit towards the bottom but thats ok, just pull it out as gently as you can. (once again, if you havent drained the water yet youll be able to now, just be ready for it to start coming once the panel is removed enough for it to come out of the sides).
Here is the panel removed
Here is what i saw. These pictures show the drain plugs, even though you cant really see them.
Time to take the shopvac and pick up any remaining water and all/any debris that is in the compartment.
After that pull out the drain plugs. They can be removed from the top. (this is where you may need a small flathead, i was able to remove them fairly easily with my fingers).
Pulled part way out here.
My drain tube was completely gunked up, it was even kinked.
Time to clean the tubes up. I vacuumed them out with the shopvac and then sprayed them out with an air compressor. Finally running some water through them.
While your cleaning them you also want to clean the channels out that are on each side of the plug. This is where they hold onto the sheet metal and you want to make sure they are sealing good.
Now its time to remove as much of the old sealant as possible. Again, you want to make sure you have a good seal when you screw the panel back on. Dont forget to do both the window panel and the chasis.
Vacuum again to pick up any peices of seal that are in the compartment. Then stick your drain tubes back in.
Now its time to put things back together. Clean off both surfaces with a wet rag so make sure the surface is clean. Your going to need something to use as a new sealant. You could use any type of silicon caulk or you could do what i did and use weather stripping caulk/clay. Its nice because you just peal off strips and then stick it to the car chasis exactly where you want it, mess free. I layered mine up with two side by side strips first and then one strip on top of/between those two. I do not have a pic of this as i was ready to get this thing put back together. Just make sure that you place it on the inside edge of the chasis, that way there isnt any spaces for water to sit.
seal the blue area and not the red
Once youve put some sort of sealant on place your window and panel back into the car and screw it on.
Time to test. I just dumped a couple piters of water into the top of the window compartment. Should see the water come out under your car and not in it. If there are leaks inside, then your just going to have to pull it back off and apply more sealant.
After testing it this way i took it to a car wash and with my window rolled up i sprayed down towards the seal with the pressure washer to ensure i wasnt going to have any suprises later.
Once your sure there are no leaks go ahead and install everything in reverse order of removal.
Your done. Enjoy.
things youll need.
phillips screwdriver
8mm socket
10mm socket
shopvac
caulk or weather stripping clay.
possibly a small flathead screwdriver.
flashlight
Roll down your back window
then your going to need to remove the rear interior.
starting with the top center peice. It just pulls off.
then there are two screws holding each upper side peice on, you can now remove those and then pull the side peices out.
next you want to remove the storage bins. There are a couple screws on the base, where it sits over the carpet. remove those. Then there are two screws holding the back of the center console on. Take those out. Now pull up on the front of the storage bins while pushing down on the rear. The rear is held on by clips which need to be slid above the storage bins.
next pop the lower side panels off, they should pull right out.
at this point you should have something that looks like this.
remove the speakers which are each held on by two 8mm bolts.
now your going to need your shopvac.
locate one of the drain tubes. there is one on each side of the car (driver and passenger). Its the black hose that comes out and goes into the floor in the pic.
Turn your shopvac on and gently pull the hose out from the floor. Put the end of the hose in your shopvac and close your fingers over any gap to make a good seal on the drain tube. Hopefully one of the two hoses will yeild water. Keep sucking the water out until you can look down into the top of the compartment with a flashlight and see that the water is pretty much gone.
If you cannot manage to get the water out using this method then just keep going and youll be able to get it out easier later.
Time to diconect the plug for your rear window. The plug is clipped to the floor and runs up the driver side of the panel.
now your ready to start removing the compartment. You want to do this to make sure that you get it cleaned out. You dont want to have to vacuum out your water everytime it rains.
There are a series of 10mm bolts all around the edge of the panel. Go ahead and remove them all. Your compartment should be sealed so its not going to fall off and water shouldnt start leaking out of the seam.
Now that youve done that its time to pull the window and panel free from the compartment. If you werent able to drain the water yet now is when your going to want that shopvac handy. There are a couple of really great places to place your hands for pulling the panel off. They are at the top, one on each side. Just pull the panel off really slowly from the top down, it may bend a little bit towards the bottom but thats ok, just pull it out as gently as you can. (once again, if you havent drained the water yet youll be able to now, just be ready for it to start coming once the panel is removed enough for it to come out of the sides).
Here is the panel removed
Here is what i saw. These pictures show the drain plugs, even though you cant really see them.
Time to take the shopvac and pick up any remaining water and all/any debris that is in the compartment.
After that pull out the drain plugs. They can be removed from the top. (this is where you may need a small flathead, i was able to remove them fairly easily with my fingers).
Pulled part way out here.
My drain tube was completely gunked up, it was even kinked.
Time to clean the tubes up. I vacuumed them out with the shopvac and then sprayed them out with an air compressor. Finally running some water through them.
While your cleaning them you also want to clean the channels out that are on each side of the plug. This is where they hold onto the sheet metal and you want to make sure they are sealing good.
Now its time to remove as much of the old sealant as possible. Again, you want to make sure you have a good seal when you screw the panel back on. Dont forget to do both the window panel and the chasis.
Vacuum again to pick up any peices of seal that are in the compartment. Then stick your drain tubes back in.
Now its time to put things back together. Clean off both surfaces with a wet rag so make sure the surface is clean. Your going to need something to use as a new sealant. You could use any type of silicon caulk or you could do what i did and use weather stripping caulk/clay. Its nice because you just peal off strips and then stick it to the car chasis exactly where you want it, mess free. I layered mine up with two side by side strips first and then one strip on top of/between those two. I do not have a pic of this as i was ready to get this thing put back together. Just make sure that you place it on the inside edge of the chasis, that way there isnt any spaces for water to sit.
seal the blue area and not the red
Once youve put some sort of sealant on place your window and panel back into the car and screw it on.
Time to test. I just dumped a couple piters of water into the top of the window compartment. Should see the water come out under your car and not in it. If there are leaks inside, then your just going to have to pull it back off and apply more sealant.
After testing it this way i took it to a car wash and with my window rolled up i sprayed down towards the seal with the pressure washer to ensure i wasnt going to have any suprises later.
Once your sure there are no leaks go ahead and install everything in reverse order of removal.
Your done. Enjoy.
94 blue lx sedan (sold)
95 black ex sedan (wrecked)
93 white z6 del sol (Sold)
95 red y8 hatch (sold)
98 red coupe
95 black ex sedan (wrecked)
93 white z6 del sol (Sold)
95 red y8 hatch (sold)
98 red coupe
