[OhSix]

Ref: "A Pillar- B Pillar Found", also, "Any body Men out there to track a leak?"

4.5 inches of snow in April in New England, day before last. My entire headliner and rear seat assembly, bulkhead insulation, all rear interior trim are out, subwoofer, everything. The water is leaking from both corners of the outer rear cab bulkhead. Weirdly, there is foam rubber stuffed in the lower corners, both sides of the double walled structure. On the left, the cable for the fuel door is going thru a slash in the foam to perhaps keep it from rattling. On the right side no cable, just the foam stuffed there. Both of these were wet when I yanked them out 2 days ago. In the middle it's dry, and no sign of leakage, it looks like new. Also, no foam there??

By noon yesterday the April sun had melted and dried all the snow from the storm over night. All except the snow in the bed, which was facing north and shaded from the sun. So, no source of water from anywhere but the bed. Sure enough, the water was oozing in from the rear bulkhead wall, both corners. IT HAS TO BE FROM THE BED!

OK, how do I get there? I'll try the wheel wells this weekend. I know already that the lower bed is impossible to get out unless you had 4 guys or an engine hoist, etc. I tried doing that before- very heavy and binding- especially at the storage trough.

The bed is about 20" below the lower edge of the rear window, which if you go inside the cab the rear cab wall goes down about 28." Those corners with the foam rubber are the low point.

I really wonder if Honda put the foam in there to absorb incidental water from the bed. Why else wouldn't they put foam in the middle of the bed? The low point gets the water- so just put "sponges" at the low corners. I really don't think this is a sound insulation thing, as there are all kinds of layers of that in that area, plastic/fiberglass insulation wall, subwoofer case- (pretty impressive!), heavy and thickly upholstered seats with all kinds of foam, cloth, and thick leather and vinyl.

I will fix this sucker!!

Help body guys!! Help!

The foam you are describing is likely there for noise abatement in a cavity where Honda does NOT expect water entry. Foam, whether closed or open cell will retain water and cause rust over time - an issue which OEM pay close attention to.

IF you suspect water collecting in the bed is finding its way into the interior cab, I would suggest the route it is taking is unexpected from a design perspective. Its a total guess on my part but... the weep holes under the cab/bed wall might be plugged with debris, causing water to find its way to an "un-managed" exit point. There are 8 weep holes at the low point of the forward bed bottom, where an upward lip is molded to keep water from overflowing. See image below.

It would be very easy to inspect those weep holes. If blocked, clear them and test results.

Even if they are blocked, your issue suggests a seal or panel joint is coming undone. The entire cab/frame/bed interface *should be* as close to water proof as could be mass produced, so its likely the concentration of water in your environment is showing you a defect somewhere down under.

Assuming you've already inspected all passages to the interior, such as grommets and body plugs, to may have panel leaks - why that might be could be corrosion, an initial OEM defect in assembly or the result of some sort of traffic incident in the RL's history?

Keep us posted and best of luck!

 

[OhSix]

I've done the roof pieces, the rear and the roof rack channels, and then siliconed the hell out of them. I just recalled the I didn't have any leak issues when the factory one hinge hard cover was on, and the timing was right on this theory. This also backs up the leak being a bed to cab thing. The thing that settles it for me in the leak leaking when there was melting snow in the bed, and no source of moisture anywhere else.
I'll pull the LR wheel housing first, take a look and hope I see something suspicious. That likely won't be it, but hey I think I deserve a break on this caper by now!

I likely will need my son's help with the bed floor- because it's very heavy, and fussy to get out.

The pics are helpful Oh- six. It shows the relationship of the bed floor to those air vents, so I know inside the cab where the bed floor height is. I bet the seam sealer right under the bed bottom in the last pic you posted is where my problem is on my Oh-7.

Best,
Bluemill

I'm very curious about what might be at the root of your issue. There's a lotta real estate below the bed level inside the cab. Something around 8". The only point of reference I have is a standard body-on-frame truck, it'll will be fascinating to see what the naked butt of an RL looks like.

I'm headed in the direction you are talking about (removing bed floor) for an entirely different reason. Would you do me a huge favor? Get a few photos of your RL with the bed floor out? Interested in the entire area back there, cab wall to tail gate. It would be tremendously helpful growing a few dream seeds. I sure would appreciate it.

Thanks and best of luck. Looking forward to your results!

 

[OhSix]

After seeing how the seam sealer failed in my RL I wouldn't trust any of it. I would even be suspicious of one spot in OhSixes pic. See the black shadow behind the seal in the corner. That's how mine looked, which BTW I overlooked.

AH CRAP! Pointing that out just cost me a night sleep.

Thanks a lot pal.