Sealing tail lights - water leak

[Dave C]

Thanks Mark, for your suggestion that I should do some further investigation
... :-)

The gasket is NLA available from Audi, and they assured me it's NLA
worldwide.  It is also a common VW part, and not available from VW either.
This applies to the 1988 and earlier 5000 with trunk lock in the center of
the lid.

I found the gasket available from two places.

1. There is a guy selling it on eBay (item #  220342306567) for an inflated
price of $16.50 incl shipping.  Maybe he bought the closeout inventory.

2.  http://busdepot.com/ seems to be the only other place.  Their price is
$5.95 and they are shipping two to me for a total of $16.  I have two of
these cars so I figure it's best to have a spare on hand. I hope the quality
is OEM and not Chinese.  The current seal on the car only lasted about half
as long as the original.  Time will tell.

I >will< smear some goop around the new seal when I install it.  Will look
for the 3M product suggested by Mark.

Thanks everyone.

Dave C.



On Thu, Oct 27, 2011 at 9:58 AM, Mark Rosenkrantz <speedracer.mark at gmail.com
> wrote:

> You sidestepped the factory procedure?  Now the Audi gods will be angry.
> ;-)
>
> You found it!  One of the 3M products never dries... stays tacky... that or
> silicone would be the thing to use.. I'd only be concerned about the
> silicone sticking to the painted surface.  No experience there.
>
> Glad I "helped."  =)
>
> Mark Rosenkrantz
>
> On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 8:25 PM, Dave C <dconner at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> OK guys ... this discussion has been very helpful.
>>
>> I did some investigation this evening with a hose and paper towels, but
>> doing it solo with no one locked in the trunk ... :-)
>>
>> It appears the water is coming in around the lock in the center of the
>> trunk
>> lid.  I found that place leaking once before and since I had already
>> replaced that seal, I thought it couldn't be leaking there.  But it is.
>>  And
>> it's surprising how much water can seep through such a little space.  The
>> "rubber" seal appears to be intact, but apparently has shrunk over time.
>> That's why each time I re-seal the tail lights the leak appears to be
>> getting worse ... the rubber seal is getting more dried out each time.
>>
>> I'll try smearing some sealant goop around the seal and see if that fixes
>> the problem ... maybe an appropriate thing would be Permatex® Black
>> Silicone
>> Adhesive Sealant, which I happen to have on the shelf.
>>
>> http://www.permatex.com/products/automotive/adhesives_sealants/sealants/Permatex_Black_Silicone_Adhesive_Sealant_b.htm
>>
>>
>> I'll also try ordering a new seal, and see whether they are still
>> available,
>> looks like p/n 161827527
>>
>> Dave C.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 5:59 PM, Tony Hoffman <auditony at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Mark, I was LMAO at this one!! I might have one or two of those
>> > (disgruntled, that is). Would love to lock her in the trunk, oops, did I
>> say
>> > that?
>> >
>> > Dave, I misread the original post, I guess. I was thinking the outer
>> > taillights were leaking, not the ones on the trunklid. You are right on
>> > target. Also, check the spot where the bolts hold the center are under
>> the
>> > license plate. Those need some butyl as well.
>> >
>> > Tony
>> >
>> > On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 2:48 PM, Mark Rosenkrantz <
>> > speedracer.mark at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Step #1; put lock carrier into service position
>> >> Special tools required; flashlight, paper towels (Audi special towels
>> are
>> >> NLA), beer, and hose with water source.
>> >>
>> >> Lock yourself in the trunk with flashlight and towels.  Use a friend
>> (paid
>> >> in beer) to soak the trunk with the hose.  Hopefully they will also let
>> you
>> >> out.  Note; wives and disgruntled girlfriends are a bad choice here,
>> unless
>> >> you volunteer them for trunk duty, in which case you get to drink the
>> beer!
>> >
>> >
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>
>