Wet AGAIN!!!???

[powerslave124]

So it's a 2011 2500 club cab . What the hell is the problem with the back seat of the truck? I can't stop water from coming in and filling up the cubbies under the seat!!! The little storage units on the floor stay dry . But not the seat? Is it the top of the glass? The third light? How do I remove the huge ******** stain in my headliner? How do I stop it from smelling like old socks? Do I really need to go to GMC,Ford? NISSAN? please help before she suddenly bursts into flames.

 

[easongt]

So it's a 2011 2500 club cab . What the hell is the problem with the back seat of the truck? I can't stop water from coming in and filling up the cubbies under the seat!!! The little storage units on the floor stay dry . But not the seat? Is it the top of the glass? The third light? How do I remove the huge ******** stain in my headliner? How do I stop it from smelling like old socks? Do I really need to go to GMC,Ford? NISSAN? please help before she suddenly bursts into flames.

Put down paper and tape it to glass if necessary. Pull out hose and simulate rain or just spray it heavily. Should give you an idea.

Oh... make sure no vengeful neighbors or homeless people are sneaking in there and peeing.



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[easongt]

Seriously you might want to run a Carfax on it also to see if it's been wrecked...

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[quietpeen]

What have you done with the 3rd brake light?

 

[SETEX 6.4]

I second third brake light. Silicone it up.

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[PoMansRam]

Fighting the same fight with my 2017 Ram 1500 quad cab. I bought it used this year from a Buick/GMC/Caddy dealer. Pretty sure it's leaked since new. My 3rd brake light fix didn't work so I made an appt with the dealer. Most common source of leaks on 4th gen Rams is that 3rd brake light. If you remove the 2 screws and pull the light out, you'll see why. What a stupid design. The problem with siliconing it in place is, when you have to remove it to change bulbs, you have a mess on your hands and have to hope you get it sealed up tight again.

 

[gofishn]

Once you get teh leaked fixed, place some bounce dryer sheets under your seats.
For residual moisture removal. get some silca packs or, if you want to save cash, plain old dried rice. Both will absorb moisture quite well.

to help find the leak, use Vaseline on all door seals, then shut the door, open and inspect for Vaseline on surface areas. look for gaps in Vaseline ring left behind by the door.
If good sized window leak, imagine there is a noise, at highway speeds, have someone sit and give a listen.

 

[dakotakid846]

Jeez been battling this same problem for the past 2 months. 2011-1500 Laramie.

First had a very substantial leak, the whole headliner over the rear seats was wet and water dripping through the overhead speaker grate. Resealed the satellite antenna with clear silicone to no avail. Checked the sun roof drains and found one completely blocked. Cleared it, no water for a few weeks.

Then I noticed smaller wet spots in both rear corners on the headliner...pulled the 3rd brake light and noticed the gasket was caked with dirt and debris and there were water marks on the housing behind the light fixture. Also noticed the drip rail over the rear window was completely blocked with dirt.

Using a screwdriver I scrapped out all the crap...and up until 20 minutes ago, I thought I resolved the problem.

But wouldn't you know it... water in the corners again.

 

[dakotakid846]

Seems I had 2 different leaks all along, the sunroof drain and over the rear window in the corners.

The bigger sunroof leak seems to be fixed...but can figure out where the waters getting in.

 

[TXCOMT]

The problem with siliconing it in place is, when you have to remove it to change bulbs, you have a mess on your hands and have to hope you get it sealed up tight again.

Right, but if you're using LED bulbs in there, aren't the chances of needing to replace those pretty slim? That's partly the reason everyone is converting from Edison's incandescents to modern tech...longer life.

Funny thing is, I still running the stock gasket...this thread (sorry for your troubles, OP) has been a great reminder to remedy that before my head gets wet. Thanks, guys!

TXCOMT

 

[smiley]

This sucks!

 

[PoMansRam]

dakotakid- Did you clean up the factory seal on the brake light and apply RTV/silicone between it and the truck?

TXCOMT- I hear you and I've been thinking the same thing. You can buy whole aftermarket 4th gen LED 3rd brake lights for pretty cheap on eBay as well. My only concern is they'll last like most of the LED "bulbs" I have around the house. Not long Ugh..

In terms of rear glass leaks, my take on that is, if the glass seal is leaking across the top, you "should" see water run down the glass. The head liner does do a 90deg bend downward and extends about 2" below the top edge of the rear glass, but like said, you typically would see water travel down the glass.

What I've found with my 2017 is, even after doing the youtube/forum fix for the 3rd brake light, if I blast my garden hose around the light and top/center of the rear glass, I am STILL getting water leaking at each rear pillar.

 

[PoMansRam]

Below is a pic with the 3rd brake light removed from my 2017. That groove or ridge you see behind the light, in the roof structure is what I believe channels the water to either rear corner of the truck. The white crap you see was someone's attempt to stop the leak before I bought the truck.



Here was my attempt at fixing it..

 

[easongt]

My 2013 Ram never gave me any problems, but reading this thread has reminded me of something that I had forgotten. When I brought my truck home new from the dealership and look under the seat, there was a spare 3rd brake light. Makes me wonder if there was some sort of recall or adjustment they were doing and they left the spare under the seat or if the dealer just noticed mine was leaking before I purchased it. Funny I had forgotten all about that.

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[dakotakid846]

PoMansRam- i cleaned it up about 2 weeks ago, need to replace it but didn't have the time then. Also cleaned the housing behind the light at that time too.

Just took the light off again today...and I see more water marks back there. Obviously there is water getting behind the 3rd brake light.

Gonna make a trip to see what kind of weather stripping I can find.

I agree if it was the window seal, there would be water coming down the glass on the inside...it seems really isolated to the top corners above the window seal.

 

[dakotakid846]

And here's the channel where the water is using to get to the corners...





So frustrating to have such a nice truck but it smells like a swamp for a week after every rain storm.

 

[SETEX 6.4]

Fighting the same fight with my 2017 Ram 1500 quad cab. I bought it used this year from a Buick/GMC/Caddy dealer. Pretty sure it's leaked since new. My 3rd brake light fix didn't work so I made an appt with the dealer. Most common source of leaks on 4th gen Rams is that 3rd brake light. If you remove the 2 screws and pull the light out, you'll see why. What a stupid design. The problem with siliconing it in place is, when you have to remove it to change bulbs, you have a mess on your hands and have to hope you get it sealed up tight again.

I don't care what a pain in the ass the silicone might be. When I baught my truck new in May of 2014 within a week I had siliconed the 3rd brake light up so it wouldn't leak like my 2008 1500 did. I haven't had to get back into the 3rd brake light yet in over 4 years and no leaks. When I do I will just cut all the old silicone off, change bulbs and seal it up again.

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[easongt]

How many of you guys that have had a problem with leaks use a car wash regularly? I'm wondering is that big rolling brush could be causing a problem with the factory seal. I do use an automatic car wash but not religiously. I haven't had an issue with either of my Rams but y'all got me concerned LOL.

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[PoMansRam]

I don't care what a pain in the ass the silicone might be. When I baught my truck new in May of 2014 within a week I had siliconed the 3rd brake light up so it wouldn't leak like my 2008 1500 did. I haven't had to get back into the 3rd brake light yet in over 4 years and no leaks. When I do I will just cut all the old silicone off, change bulbs and seal it up again.

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I hear you, but you have to be careful not to scratch the paint in the process and you will shred the factory foam gasket in the process. Without the added thickness of the foam, I'm not sure the mounting screws will snug down all the way without adding washers. Again, not a difficult work-around, just more to think about.

I have a feeling my upcoming dealer visit is just going to result in them adding a bead of RTV to the gasket I put on the 3rd brake light. Like you say, I don't really care at this point, as long as it never leaks.

 

[SETEX 6.4]

I hear you, but you have to be careful not to scratch the paint in the process and you will shred the factory foam gasket in the process. Without the added thickness of the foam, I'm not sure the mounting screws will snug down all the way without adding washers. Again, not a difficult work-around, just more to think about.

I have a feeling my upcoming dealer visit is just going to result in them adding a bead of RTV to the gasket I put on the 3rd brake light. Like you say, I don't really care at this point, as long as it never leaks.

Yep. I would much rather deal with silicone than deal with wet smelly interior or deal with a stealership.

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