The trunk in my sister's 4 door keeps filling with water, is the number 13 part in that diagram the right gasket/seal I need to replace to fix the leak? Anything I should know about installing it? Thanks

 

Yes... if that's what's causing the leak. Pull off the side moulding in the trunk and see if the roof drain tubes are attached properly. Check to see that they're not clogged (pull off and poke at the drain holes). Check to see that the ABS wire harness has not corroded at the plug because water splashed/dripped onto it as it leaked down into the spare wheel well. Don't ask how I know.

 

It could be that, but on my GSR that was not the case. Before you go out and buy one, look to see any places on it that have cuts or anypart coming up. If not then it's not the bad guy. My bad part was the gasket that protected my taillights from hitting the trunk, that gasket. Open ur trunk and look @ the back of ur taillights. That black foam looking puzzle piece that goes around where ur taillights goes. That was my leak.

 

We had the exact same problem (leakage in the hatch, with water accumulating in the spare tire area) and cause (taillights). In our case, the taillight assembly was leaking and you could see moisture inside the taillight lens. Once we fixed it - this was at a body shop, so I'm not sure if they only replaced the gasket or the entire taillight assembly - the leakage problem was gone.

 

I had a leaky problem like nsxtasy described and I replaced both taillight gaskets and the leak went away immediately. They aren't cheap from the dealership, but it will most likely remedy the problem.

 

They're not very expensive. Each one lists for around $30 and places like Delray Acura sell them for 20 percent off.

The one for our '94 GS-R hatchback is shown as number 4 in the illustration below.



If you need to get the entire taillight assembly (shown as numbers 1 and 6), obviously that's more money ($270 list and you can get it for around $215).

 

My '97 GS-R hatchback also had leaky taillights (water in spare tire well), which I fixed for free if you don't count the cost of the RTV silicone caulk tube I already owned. I just took the lights out, and reinstalled with the old gaskets and a lot of goop. Part of the problem is that with the car pointed uphill, water that drains around the hatch accumulates along the top of the light assemblies, underneath the black plastic ramp fairing that forms the top of the taillights that you see exposed when the hatch is open. In the underneath part, there are a number of plastic-casting reinforcement webs, and they form dikes and make a series of puddles which only drain away when the car is pointed nose-downhill. The puddles constantly are in contact with the foam rubber taillight / body gasket, and after a while they inevitably leak. In my car, there were obvious "bathtub rings" of algae where the puddles lay. Along with my RTV fix, I also drilled some small drain holes in the plastic webs, to allow water to drain downwards towards the sides of the car. This will be much more obvious to you when you unbolt the taillight housings from the body. This fix has worked perfectly for several years now, parking always outside in Seattle. PS -- the other way the taillights can leak, right into the lightbulb/reflectior assembly, is also common on Hondas here. I've had perfectly good luck drilling the smallest possible hole (1/16th" for my set) right through the face of the lens at the low spot. The hole is too small to see, or to cause problems with water coming in.

 

Anything more than $30 is too expensive for 2 pieces of foam, IMO. h: