wet carpet, take 2. AAAARRRRGH!!

[wgregt]

Hey gang-
I posted a bit ago abut the carpet being wet in my rear cargo area, UNDER the OEM plactic cargo tray I got back there. I took it out, took everything out of the cargo area, poured baby powder everywhere, and let it sit for a week, then vacuumed it all out. It was 100% dry when I put the tray back in, and put the 12v compressor, the fire extinguisher, and everything else back on top of the cargo liner and strapped it all down again. Problem solved, right?

Nope. Pulled it out again today to re-check, and the carpet's wet AGAIN. Noting has spilled, the tray isn't wet, nothing has been put back there at all. Not driven at all in the past 10 days since everything was put back in.

Arrrrrgh! How is this happening? Does anyone here have one of these OEM cargo liners? Does the thing somehow "sweat" and trap moisture from the air under it somehow? I looked under the cargo area from below, and there are no leaks, though I can't see much b/c of the gas tank.

Any ideas/wild hunches? This makes NO sense to me at all. Nothing was carried in the back seats either (never is really).

I'm stumped. And growing more pissed by the day.

-g

 

[Blaine B.]

Is your hatch sealing? That might be the problem I suppose. Or rust holes on the bottom. Or on your roof. Not much else. Perhaps you could pull the carpet up and check the floor?

 

[verticalspark]

I had a similar problem that you having. I would check the weather stripping and the seal around the back window.

 

[Saudade]

Is it wet ONLY under the tray? What's the weather been like?

 

[wgregt]

Hatch: seems to be closed. I always slam it real good.

Rust holes on the bottom? On the underside of the cargo area? I didn't see anything, but I guess you're thinking that water from the road is being thrown up and soaking thru from the backside? Can't be. I didn't drive it. I RARELY drive it, in fact. Maybe once a month or so.

Yeah, it's wet ONLY under the tray, which covers the entire cargo area. Carpet elsewhere is dry. LA weather. Rarely rains. NO rain where I live since...feb. for a couple days? Our "rainy season" is done. I haven't washed it either.

Verticalspark: similiar problem? You had wet carpet under the cargo tray as well? Weatherstripping/seal did it for you? How so? What was the problem/fix?

-g

 

[heyhar]

Could it be those gaping holes in the floor under the carpet? We have four XJs, and all have a leak in various spots. The plastic tray is preventing the moisture from evaporating, it's probably always damp under there, not only when you pull the tray. The hatch gasket is a good place to start. When I first got my '92 ten years ago, the hatch leaked bad. Clean out the trough along the top, make sure it's not filling up. If it's an older model <'96, you can loosen the hinges on the roof and slide the hatch a hair forward, tightening the seal against the gasket. If the gasket is worn, get a fresher one at the junkyard. Sit in the back and have someone run water in the seam. If it's gonna leak, you may find it this way.

 

[wgregt]

The trough along the top is clean and stays clean. Anyhoo, how would water coming in @ the hatch seam find it's way to my floor UNDER a tray?

Plus, their ain't any water around. No washing, no driving, no sprinkler, no wet streets. It's in a garage most of the time.

I'll pull the rear carpet today and report back. Baffling.

 

[mojojojo]

maybe there is some moisture in the carpet and padding (that u cant feel) that is sweating due to the liner ?

try leaving the hatch open all day on a nice sunny day and hen re installing the liner. maybe it will evaporate whatever moisture is in the carpet and padding ?

 

[wgregt]

Well, something's going on. I didn't have anything in the cargo area at all for 20 years. Bought a cargo liner, put some safety stuff on top of it and tied it down: instant problem.

 

[Saudade]

LA=Los Angeles? If you're certain there are no holes in the floor (rust, or leaks around the shock mounts). Could be just some condensation. Things cool off at night and the humidity generally climbs. Once the sun comes up everything warms but the thermal mass of the fuel tank stays cool and allow moisture trapped in the air in the carpet to condense. The other areas are exposed and as the inside heats up the moisture evaporates. Lawn sprinkler can put a lot of moisture into the air. My XJ (here in OC) always has water dripping off it early in the AM this time of year.

Otherwise, I have no clue.

 

[wgregt]

yeah...Los Angeles area/OC.

Pulled everything out. Taking fotos now. Saw some rust, but appears to only be surface rust. Oh...are there two OEM plates screwed into the floor in the rear cargo area, right behind the passenger seat at the corners? Mine has 'em. I'll post fotos, but right off it looks like a "fix", as they have 2 phillips screws in each one. Right off doesn't look like an OEM thing...anyone else seen these?

Took a good loong look at the weatherstriping seal that goes around the rear door when it's open. Noticed my rear hatch pin (and the area around it) is pretty damn rusty. OK..long shot idea: when I DO break down and wash it, water's getting under the seal somewhere, running around the rear window to the bottom/latch area, then running under the carpet along the indented troughs, then heads toward the back of the passenger seat (which happens to be where these 2 metal plates are), which happens to be where the carpet has been staying wet (pretty much the ONLY part of the carpet that's wet is right on top of these metal plates.)

Thoughts? Taking fotos right now.....

 

[gradon]

Mine leaks a little where at the top left corner where the wire harness is--the weatherstrip is a little indented there. The water collects in the corner by the spare tire. Don't fix it soon enough and all that humidity makes the head liner sag. 3 out of the 4 XJs I've owned have had water leaking in issues(usually it's the pass. side floorboard)--PITA!

 

[Saudade]

Hmmm.... Plates? Could be the PO hacked open the floor to replace the upper shock bolts. Do you see hex head bolts or what seems to be a stud with nuts on them. This is looking up at the upper shock mounts from ground level.

 

[heyhar]

What I've noticed is that quite often the moisture will wick away from where it entered, leading you in the wrong direction. Also, you mentioned keeping it in the garage. We live in the woods in the mountains in Northeast PA. We keep two cars in the garage, and back a car out on a summer day, and the cool, moist air in the car hitting the hot, humid air outside will sometimes cause condensation on windows and hard surfaces. The old Firebird will grow mold if I don't keep an eye on it. Just a thought.....

 

[wgregt]

Here's what I got: These are fotos of the 2 metal plates that appear to be added/screwed on, right where the passenger seat starts in each corner. Are these OEM?
Also, anyone happen to know what the going price is for the weatherstripping that goes around the door? Dealer best place to go for it? This one is 21 years old, never been changed...

 

[Saudade]

Never had my carpet up so I don't know for sure. They look to "nice" to be a hack of some kind.

Team Cherokee carries door seals.

 

[wgregt]

Took the 2 plates off. They look OEM. I agree: too nice to be a hack job. Underneath them, everything is A-OK. No rust/holes at all. Apparently, the only rust I see is on top of these two plates. So, rust=water, so now I just gotta figure out how water got to these plates.

$80 for the hatch seal? Ouch! Plus, how would water ONLY get to these plates and no where else. Almost like water is hitting/splashing ONLY directly on top of these plates. Headliner is good...the plot thickens....

 

[Saudade]

Hard to believe a bad hatch seal would not show water closer to it. Have you taken a good look at the rear door seals? I know mine are pretty bad near that location from closing the doors with the seat belts hanging out a bit.

I managed to pull up my carpet around the rear seatbelts and see the same plates. Looks like they are extra "support" for the bottom seat cushion.

 

[wgregt]

So...if you take your rear carpet out, there are 5 indented channels in the floor running parallel towards the back of the passenger seat.

Only 2 of these channels run all the way to the seat though: the outside ones. The interior 3 channels don't run that far. Just so happens, the 2 outside ones also run to the metal plates (that I just removed that showed rust) and to the area of the carpets that's wet.

It's also wet/damp running all across the gate entry, L to R. None in the middle of the carpet though.

And the gate pin and the gate latch (that you see @ eye level when the gate is opened) shows a lot of rust. The latch especially so. Like the depression/inset where the pin is has been sitting in water. I do see water there when I wash it and open the gate. I just wipe it up and figure it's gone. Apparently not.

So now I'm thinking that either the water pops over the little inset where the pin is, and runs down the channels to the back of the passenger seat, OR the hatch seal needs replacement, though I don't see any tears/breaks/holes.

I'm gonna close the hatch and hit it with a hose real good & see if I catch any leaks inside.

 

[Saudade]

Good plan!!