I prefer to handwash the car myself but winters here prevent me from doing so. The last two snow storms has left mountains of snow everywhere, not to mention excess amounts of salt on the roads. I'd rather run the car through a car wash with undercarriage sprays than not at all. Glad the seals were replaced.

 

JoycesJag-Sorry I did not see your post!! On a long thread like this I tend to get lost.
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So what really is the culprit causing the water to leak into the trunk? Anyone jumped in the trunk and found out? lolzz.....

 

Two or three members likely have. They just haven't been let out of the trunk yet to post their results.....

 

In my case it was the trunk seal. The leak got worse over the years and got so bad that even hand washing the car let lots of water in. I replaced the seal and applied black silicone under the outer edge with emphasis on the body seams. No leaks after that.

I also installed drain valve grommet (XR847028) to replace the solid rubber grommet on the floor to avoid collecting water if it would leak again.

 

12RM is probably on the right track I'd guess and certainly worth a shot

FWIW - I've just ahd a similar problem on my sons Clio, the rear lights suffered from condensation, the windows would steam up AND the boot was FULL of water!
I removed both lights and found one to not be sealed around the edges.....a little lick of clear silicone and the boot is now a water free zone

Top trick - make sure the areas are as dry as can be, then put down a light dusting of talcum powder....close it all up and apply water, reopen and see where the talc has got wet

Good luck

 

The 2000 s-type has 21 points of concern for ingress of water by Jaguar one of which is the rear lights.

 

Mine does not leak in the rain, but if I handwash and really spray around the trunk/boot area a little water will collect under the tire. Unless it starts leaking in the rain I'm not going to mess with it.

 

Think about this for a moment, the seal around the trunk is raised up from body about a half inch. In order for water to reach the trunk it must be forced in to bounce up and in the trunk. If your leak is with a rain then I would be looking at the light seals. I try to keep all the channels clean and free of debris and dirt so the water will naturally run off. I hope this helps.

 

Gus makes a good point. Once you've either resealed or replaced your trunk's rubber molding, you need to get in the habit of keeping the trunk channels cleared of debris. Leaves, pine needles, pollen, dirt, and anything else that collects in there can exacerbate the leaking issue once again. So when you check your oil level and tire pressure every weekend, also make a point to pop your trunk and spend a minute or two removing the debris from the trunk channels. You can use a shop vac, or you can pick it out by hand. Finish by wiping the channels with a damp rag, and you're good to go for another week....

The S-Type is more susceptible to leaking trunk seals than any vehicle I've owned in the past. And with the battery located in the trunk, that's a combination just asking for trouble. So make sure your seals are intact, and then make an effort to keep the trunk channels clean. Do those two things and you should be good to go....

 

That's what I thought and looked for the leak around the lights, but couldn't find one by letting water around them. But still, letting water to the rear window where it can flow around the trunk and water got in. I couldn't find any flaw in the bodywork so it must be the seal, even though it looked just fine.

There is some sort of grease or other lubrificant inside the seal and in the old one it was completely dried out. It could be that it helped the water to get under the seal.

 

Open the trunk and look at the rubber to the body of the lights gently with your fingers lift one of the corners and you will see and understand. To fix it means applying a small bead of silicone on a clean surface to seal it and do not do it in excess.

 

Hello Gus,

Thank you for your suggestions, but by any chance you have any pics of the sealed silicone you used on the areas to help illustrate how it should be done?

Cheers!

 

No sorry I do not but if it stops raining I will try to get one for you.

 

As you can see I have not sealed my lights and you must excuse the dirt and pollen on the car but you are seeing the real problem. What I would do is clean the area and use a silicone sealer and put a small bead along the area of concern. Sorry for the delay, I forgot. Look at the rise for the trunk lid. I hope this helps!

 

This is very helpful.....Thanks Gus for taking the time out and showing where the leak points are at.

 

Hi All

I have a 2002 S Type and the boot/trunk is leaking with water pooling in the floor.

I put the rear seats down, removed all the trim from inside the boot and got in with a flashlight, my neighbour poured 24 gallons of water over the rear of the car and I found water getting in through the boot catch and on closer inspection found that the boot spoiler seal had perished so I repaired it but afterwards the car still let water in, next, I removed the rear light clusters and sealed both sides of the sponge gasket with non setting ruberised screen sealant, but it still let water in so I bit the bullet and bought a brand new trunk seal from my local Jaguar Dealer and put it on - the bloody thing still lets water in when it rains, which it does a lot in Cumbria.

Can anybody help me with an idea of where to go next or some pictures of leak spots, the ones on the lights were a help, but that didn't stop the leak.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!!

 

Not sure to what extent you were testing but look at your rear window seals

 

Well, I have just removed the new seal, cleaned & treated the rusty spots then put the trunk seal back on with a small bead of silicone sealant around the lip on which it sits.

Also taken out and re sealed the lights, lets see how it gets on in the next inevitable rain storm!

 

2000 and we have had some bad storms lately, with the car sitting outside and my trunk never leaks, ever! I have mentioned several times here what I do to all the rubber seals everywhere on the car and when doing so, I am probably cleaning any debris that might have lodged near the rubber. The seals are like your skin, they need moisturizer just like you do to keep it looking new. I use a product called black magic which is a moisturizer for the rubber on the car every time I wash it including the sun roof. My rubber seals everywhere look brand new, not rigid or gray looking from no care, and conform to the areas they are suppose to, keeping the car sealed tight. Maybe just lucky but I swear by that stuff and use it on all of our cars. Never have leaks and have never applied silicone anywhere except on the lower part of the front windshield and that was suggested here to stop water from rolling on to the engine.