Tailgate leak!!
 

Hey folks, got another good one for you. Any ideas would be appreciated.
After several hose tests we determined that I have a pretty good water leak at the openings of the chrome tailgate handle where the handle posts go through the bezel in the gate. Don't quite know how to seal this issue. I have pulled the carpets up and got them dried out but don't want to put the down until I can resolve the leak. Thanks for any input.


Regards,


FSGB ( Ron )

Are your 3 tailgate drain holes cleared of any debris? There is one on each side with black plastic inserts that just pop out, and a center drain with no cover. Have you removed the inner door panel to take a peek-see?

Hey, Common Sense, thanks for getting back to me. The drain holes are the culprit here or at least the weather stripping. No plastic inserts in the outer holes and all three appear clear. I guess time has taken it's toll. Simply put, the drain holes are sitting atop the weather stripping, the water is pooling on top of the stripping and running inside. My van sits at a slight angle left in the driveway so water follows gravity, result wet carpets.

Hello again, Common, forgot to tell you original licence plate bezel was cracked when I bought the van. My tech guy happened to find one identical colour from a vendor of his who was scrapping a van similar to mine. We replaced the bezel so had the door panel off for that purpose. We had to be creative to fasten and seal the new bezel as some fasteners were rusted and not useable. worked with the good ones and used urethane windshield caulking for a good seal. Worked great except for the door handle post entry through the bezel.

Glad you found the issue and got it repaired. My plate bezel has been cracked for quite some time. It's like my BACK-UP sensors...Someday...:)