Good day folks,

I recently purchased a low mileage '98 Neon that's never seen salt for my wife to replace her rotting '94 Slowpaz. The car is in mint shape except for water getting into the trunk. The previous owner disclosed this prior to the sale and I just assumed that it was the trunk seal/gasket. Alas, this does not seem to be the case afterall as it looks factory fresh and seems to seal just fine. Now I am at a loss to explain how water is getting into the trunk whenever it rains. Short of waiting for the next time to rain and camping out in the trunk, any suggestions? The plastic surrounding the tail-light lenses?

Thanks in advance.

In other news, I was pleasently surprised at the quality of the ride offered by the Neon. Smooth ride & steering without being too numb. Certainly less tiresome to drive long distances than my car, though my car does have a somewhat sportier handling package. It's certainly not winning many races, but that wasn't the intended purpose of the car.

 

tail light gaskets

 

Ahh, I wasn't aware there was such a thing. Reasonably easy to replace?

 

Yes, its pretty easy to get at. Just pop the trunk lid and look up. Twist the bulb out and back the two screws out. Presto! Pull the light assembly out and swap the gasket.

 

ok the tail light gaskets arent part of the trunk, theyre bolted to the car's body. if you pull back the carpeting in the trunk - directly behind where the tail lights are - ull see 4 long plastic bolt type things. you un-screw these to get your tail lights out. you will notice that on the back of the tailight there is a black -foam gasket. - cuz where you took to the tailight out you can now see holes directly into your car.

you can place a small bead of silicone or other sealant around the edge of the holes on the car - where the gasket makes contact.

 

Sorry, I was describing the mono brake light. They leak there as well, at least mine did.

 

oh and the neon was intended to race... it did so well in SCCA they had to make a spec neon class... and before that they had to give other cars what was called a trunk kit of otherwise illigal parts for a stock class just to compeate with the neon... the neon was just given really cool wheels... and thats about it...

 

OK I have been through this same thing and it wasnt leaking in any of the normal places everyone suggested... Open your trunk and look in the upper corners outside in the "well" up in the corners near where the window meets the trunk channel. I found that I had tiny hairline cracks in the factory painted-over sealant used to prevent water coming in. I took my finger and generous amounts of silicone and covered all of the areas on both sides. And guess what... no more leaks, after having sealed the brakelight, the taillights and everything elseand yet it was so simply staring me in the face the whole time.

 

I've also seen the moon roof drain into the trunk on some neons. Genious design! lol

 

I just finished caulking where the back window meets the trunk rain gutter(original caulking was cracked),running a bead on the trunk lid brakelight gasket and around both tail light gaskets.And yes,all were leaking! If it leaks after this im just going to drill drain holes in it! ..cough....crap...cough...