1972 cutlass,
i have a leaky trunk, i just had the rear patch panel replaced. it was good for a few months, but now it leaks again. is there any cheap fix i can use to maybe spray inside that panel from underneith, inside the trunk and seal it up? or should i just drill holes in the trunk pans so the water can flow out.

oldman72

 

Are you talking about the panel between the rear window and the trunk?
If so, then they were not sealed well enough from up top or maybe where the window is. I would not seal anything from the bottom, as that would encourage rust and more leaks. Also, it may just move the leak around. The source needs to be found from above.
Is the rubber weatherstrip sealing like it should?

 

Where exactly is it leaking from? Can you post a picture?

 

i think its leaking through the panel between the window and the trunk. water goes underneith the vinyl and leaks into the trunk. the weather strip inside the trunk seems fine. i just had the panel replaced but i m not sure about the window seals. i live in seattle and need a good body shop that wont charge me an arm and a leg.
oldman72

 

I just went thru this and mine was leaking in the pinch weld of the rear window. The trunk was fine [it held all the water the window let in.]

 

so how do i go about getting this fixed, is this somthing i can do on my own without tearing up the vinyl, do you have a pic of the pinch weld?

 

Just a thought, but when the back panel was replaced, did it include the pop rivets that hold the moulding clips in place or did you need to drill holes to put rivets in? If the body shop had to drill holes in the panel for the rivets, that could be your issue.

 

...and repairing the channel, 99.9% of the time....The hard cold truth.

 

X 2

A glass company can it it rather easily if the rust isn't too bad

 

The factory studs for the trim clips are NOT pop rivets. They are welded-on studs with no holes EXACTLY for this reason. Stud welder guns have optional tips to weld new trim studs in place. Drilling a water leak path in a brand new piece of sheet metal is a really bad idea.

Now, this may or may not be your problem. Is this a Supreme or a fastback? It's possible that welding the new panel warped something, causing the water leak. Did you inspect the welds before any filler was put on? Were there sections that were skip welded? Filler is not waterproof and will crack. Was seam sealer used where appropriate? Your shop needs to make this right.