Tail Light Re-seal pics

[Chad T]

Hey Guys,

Re-sealed my tail lights today. prior to doing it I was able to find a few threads but no pictures so I took some in case somebody wants to do this. Pretty simple.

Didn't take a picture of the bulb holder but it just has a big white knob that unscrews to loosen it. I just unplugged one of the connectors and was able to set them aside. Here is a pic of the lens. You can see 4 of the mounting studs. There are 2 more in the middle.



I let the car sit in the sun for a bit but it was a pretty hot day and the old sealer was soft. Remembered about the bag of nitrile gloves I bought right after I got the goo all over my hands.



Used a plastic scraper to get most of it then finished it off with some wd 40. I tried laquer thinner but it went through the paint. Cleaned the sealing surfaces with rubbing alchohol before installing the new sealer.



I just sat the lens in my lap to install the butyl tape. From what I could find searching the net this is the stuff to use and it worked perfectly. 5/16 butyl tape from napa. I just described it to the guy at the counter and he knew exacltly what it was.



I started and ended on the bottom towards the center of the car. It smashes together pretty well and was easy to work with. What I did was set it in place gently with my fingers. Then I put the paper backing back over it and smoothed it out and smashed it firmly onto the tail light lens. You need to have it stuck pretty good before you try to bend it around the corners.



Installation is the reverse of removal. I just tightened it down gradually and evenly. With it being a hot day it oozed into place without too much effort.

I did this because I found out the water I was getting in the under hatch compartments was coming from the tail lights. Took a drive and seems to be less fumes coming in the cabin as well.

I would encourage anyone to do this as a maintenece item. Mine were obviously letting lots of water, air, dirt and fumes in the car. Not a bad little 1/2 hour job.

[Dan Himan]

A bad hatch seal and/or key body seal will suck in exhaust fumes.

[mytrplseven]

Good post. BTW, Goop would have taken off the sticky stuff and not affected the paint.