'99 TL Trunk Water - Rust - Photos - Suggest Repair?
 

Attached are photos of the trunk of my '99 TL I just took yesterday. I write this as both a cautionary tale and request for suggested repairs. I have not checked below the truck deck in a few years (I should have) https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...b2b0b4c548.jpg
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until yesterday. I could not loosen the spare tire hold down, so I ended up cutting it off with a Dremel. Much to my surprise, there were several cups of water below the spare tire and evidence the water was higher at some points. I removed the tire and bent the spare tire bracket back and forth a few time and it just broke off from all the rust. I then used a pry bar and removed the 1/4" thick rubberized coating at the bottom of the truck where the spare sits. As you can see by the photos, the water must have been in there for quite some time as it rusted a 6" x 6" area enough that I could put a screwdriver through the bottom of the trunk.
I did a little research last night on the net and found at least a few options. Obviously, I could cut out the area and have a piece of metal welded in (although I would have to have someone else do the welding as I do not have the equipment). Another possibility appears to be to use POR 15 and fiberglass mat material to seal the area. Any other suggestions or experience with either technique???
I did buy a new trunk seal last night online ($56) and will look at the rear tail light seals to see where the water is coming in because it is not obvious. Anyone one else with a TL trunk leak to show the way?? Thanks - Mike

Common problem. Tail light gaskets.

Not a pretty site Mike. Being that your issue is right above the fuel tank, kind of limits your options. One approach might be to locate a salvage yard donor car, and cut out the necessary spare tire hold down area, to use as a patch panel. Remove as much of the rust as possible, POR 15 the entire area, than Epoxy, and or fiberglass in the patch panel. Short of removing the fuel tank, ( A major task ), there don't appear to be a lot of options. As Iggy can attest, some of our cars also have a fuel tank rust-through issue on the top of the fuel tank itself. Be grateful you don't have that problem.

So, the Kansas City area got a day of rain yesterday which gave me a chance to do a real world search for more water in the trunk. After pulling back the liner in the trunk, I could see that there was some water getting past both of the tail light gaskets and running down to the trunk well. I went ahead and added the gaskets to my online order. Thanks Iggy and frankjnjr for your input! After talking with the POR 15 tech rep on the phone yesterday, I think I'm going to go that route for the trunk repair. It will be another week or so before it arrives, but I will post my repair photos when complete. I will also need to come up with a fix for securing the spare tire.
Last, I suggest that any of you that has a 2gen TL check your truck well for water to prevent the kind of damage I found.

Hey Mike, Don't know how far you are from Wichta, or if you have any people in that area, but LKQ Pick Your Part, currently lists several 2G cars, from which you could secure a patch panel, to include the spare tire hold-down. The slight difference such a repair might create in the height of the hold-down, probably won't matter. If it does, all you would have to do is slightly hammer down the metal surrounding the patch, and fit the patch in accordingly. Also, when you treat the rusted area with POR15, do you have a plan for treating the rust on the underside of the trunk well? If not, I can suggest a couple ways you could do it, as there is going to be very little space between top of the fuel tank, and the bottom of the trunk well.

Repair Photos
 

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Here are photos of the old and new taillight gaskets to show the difference. There was definitely rain water getting past them and draining into the trunk well. Also included photo of the new installed trunk weatherstrip.

Looks really good. Has it "tested well"? Were you able to make any accommodation for the spare tire hold-down?

:thumbsup:

I will post photos of the POR 15 and fiberglass patch repair when I complete it in a few days. To address frankjnjr, the gas tank sits farther forward of the bottom of the trunk well. Therefore, I have complete access to the underside of the trunk well below the car where it rusted through. I considered and appreciate the suggestion of cutting out a piece of trunk from a donor TL, but I really don't want to part out the welding and I don't have that equipment. So, I think I will proceed with the POR 15 repair once the fiberglass mat arrives and figure out another solution to secure the spare tire in place. As you can see in the photos, I am currently using two rubber bungee cords.

Trunk Fix - POR 15 and Fiberglass mesh
 

Here are the photos of the trunk fix. POR kit - included degreaser, metal prep, POR 15 & fiberglass mesh (purchased separate from POR starter kit). The black POR 15 hardens to final cure in about 5-8 hours.https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...da5355c567.jpg
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Looks really thorough Mike. Any thoughts on the hold-down?

Final underside repair photos
 

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Here are photos of the SteelStik epoxy I used to fill in the rust holes on the underside of the trunk well and the POR 15 coated underside after the epoxy putty cured. Water tested and everything is dry now. Ended up using the four threaded plastic topped screws that are meant to keep the trunk liner in place to use as anchors for two ratchet straps in an "X" pattern over the spare tire to keep it in place. I also used two carabiners that I hooked through the bolt holes in the spare and threaded the straps through them to keep the spare tire in place in the case of a rear end collision.