Taillights

[Volvoluke]

Hi everyone, whilst in the boot earlier I noticed a fair amount of water in the side compartments. It appears to be coming in from the taillights. Has anyone else had this problem and if so what did you do to solve it? I've had a quick Google for replacement light seals but couldn't find much. Thanks

[mjk164]

Hi Luke, I used to have this problem on my 1993 960. I find that after a long time the sponge rubber seal gets squashed and hardens so it no longer make a good seal. If you have cause to replace the light unit, then a new one will have a good new seal and all will be well for a short period. However, I have found that giving the seal surface a light coat of non-hardening gasket goo will do the job. Mine have been leak free for several years now. The other important issue is, if you go to a "hand" car wash where they use a pressure washer (or you use one at home), tell them not to direct the flow around the light units as it will destroy the seal and it will leak again.

[bob12]

Take the whole fitting off (just 2 nuts I seem to recall). Clean the mating surfaces up. Run a bead of ordinary silicone seal (clear from Wicks or Screwfix is fine) around the gasket and refix the fitting. That should fix it. Bob

[Laird Scooby]

In addition to what's already been suggested, once you have access to the rubber seals, get them in hot soapy water and give them several good squeezes each and let them soak a while.
Repeat in warm clean water until they don't produce soap bubbles any more then dry them out as flat and in shape as possible.

Clean the mating surfaces on the light clusters and also the car and dry them. Use silicone sealant between the light clusters and rubber seals and silicone grease (it's waterproof) between the seal and the car. Only a thin smear of each is needed as long as it is complete to reduce the ingress of water.

Also check other possible water ingress points, if you have roof rails check where they mount onto the roof (means removing the headlining) and also check the sunroof drain hoses in the cubby holes behind the rear arches.

Usually if the light cluster seals fail, you will have water in the light clusters as well as in the cubby holes so if your light clusters are dry inside, chances are it's not their seals leaking.

[Volvoluke]

Thanks for all the replies! Silicon seems a much cheaper alternative to buying new lights just to get the seal. Sadly on closer inspection today it seems some of the water in the right hand side is due to corrosion of the inside of the wheel arch!! What a nightmare. Apears I have a lot of work to do seems I'm also planning to do the head gasket after advice given on my recent post. This old Volvo's lucky I like it so much

[jpliddy]

hi i got my sunroof seal back to life with silicone grease very handy and plenty on ebay. if the lenses are fading like mine .i used coloured bulbs and all good now .
a friend was following me lucky and told me the red rear lines looked like candle lights .
im not a big fan of silicone but have had to use it in certain situations but fails and can be a pain to remove ! only my personal view.!

[john.wigley]

We had a similar issue with Linda's '87 'E' reg. 744, 'Volvoluke'. The water built up inside the rear lights to the extent that you could see it sloshing around in there!

A quick and easy way to alleviate the problem at no cost if you are unconcerned about originality is to carefully drill a small (c1.5 mm dia.) hole at the bottom of each unit. This will allow the water to drain harmlessly away. A quick prod with a pin or paper clip is then all that is necessary to keep it clear if it becomes blocked with debris.

Whilst not intending to detract in any way from the comprehensive advice given above, this expedient worked well for us for the remainder of our ownership of the car.

Regards, John.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

We had a similar issue with Linda's '87 'E' reg. 744, 'Volvoluke'. The water built up inside the rear lights to the extent that you could see it sloshing around in there!

A quick and easy way to alleviate the problem at no cost if you are unconcerned about originality is to carefully drill a small (c1.5 mm dia.) hole at the bottom of each unit. This will allow the water to drain harmlessly away. A quick prod with a pin or paper clip is then all that is necessary to keep it clear if it becomes blocked with debris.

Whilst not intending to detract in any way from the comprehensive advice given above, this expedient worked well for us for the remainder of our ownership of the car.

Regards, John.

A good tip John and a common fix on Citroen Saxos and their Pugrot equivalents for water ingress into the rear light clusters.

However i think it was me that first mentioned the light clusters getting water inside, the O/P seems to have water in the cubby holes behind the arches.

The experiences i've had have always been if the light clusters get water inside, it's the seal unless like the Saxo i saw, there is a leak further up so the light cluster is filling up as a side effect to the main leak.

Usually if other parts of the back end are getting wet, there's another reason.

[TonyS9]

The pre 96 side rear window gutter seals go brittle and warp. The window is bonded but there is a filler piece between the window and the outer skin. This lets in water that trickles down the inner wheel arch to the cubby holes where there should be a drain.

Most pre-96 cars have issue with this. I havn't tried any fix yet, seals are NLA, but I did have to weld up the inner wheel arch and the bottom of the cubby holes because of it.