Hatchback leak

[harborman]

Had the car out in one of our big rain storms here lately. It was parked and when I went to back up, a good deal of water leaked from the top center of the hatch. I am thinking the large gasket which goes around the hatch lip is deformed along the roof line. I squirted some water in that area with the hatch open, and water drained along the sides and and down but also into the seat area in the center. Seems difficult to see the gasket between the hatch and roof. I assume the hatch has to come off to replace that gasket?

[stepson]

No, just raise the hatch and begin removing it carefully from the open hatch. Generally speaking, you can reuse the old hatch seal if it's not missing chunks.

Stan (MrMerlin) had a nice write up about the overall procedure and what needs to be done to reuse the old hatch seal