Rear window leak?

Has anyone experienced a leak in their rear window?

Ive located where the water is coming from inside, but I don’t know where to tackle on the outside.

The leak is in the top track of the sliding window. Is the window gasket going bad maybe? I’ll try and take pictures, but it’s a weird angle to try and get a photo.

 

Take a look at this first.

 

I’d start with the 3rd brake light. Pull and off and inspect the area

 

You can disregard my above post, as it looks like you found the leak location.
You say it is up top?

 

This is where it is:

3rd brake sounds probable, but wouldn’t it be leaking from more than one area?

 

Did you check behind the light?

 

Headliner looks soaked. Brakelight is my bet.

 

Not necessarily, water seeks the path of least resistance.
Like a house roof, where the drip is, is not typically where the water is coming in. So it will travel until it finds the right spot to drip.

 

Its been raining here the past few days, supposed to clear up tomorrow. I'll pull off the light then. Just looking for discoloration from water damage right?

 

If not a trail of white crust or maybe even spots that are starting to rust.

 

got it. I’ll take a look in the morning. I should also add that the headliner is in no way wet.

 

That's a good start.

 

Not that you need it.
But here is a DIY on the Light.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-changing-third-brake-light.28069/

 

Thanks. This will help with removal. I've got plenty of RTV sealant laying around, should I just seal the brake light afterwards?

 

I guess it depends on a few things.
Firstly, why is it leaking.

Is it the rubber gasket that’s allowing the leak?
Or is there a different reason it’s leaking?
Is the rubber gasket a replaceable part?
And is a whole new light affordable?

I’ve never been afraid of RTV, and if I thought it would solve or help solve a problem, I would use it.

@Bishop84 has probably done enough to know “what to do”.

 

Yeah mine sprays in the side sometimes when I’m washing it at the car wash

 

Looks like it was a combo. Both the gasket and the light itself. The gasket between the metal and the “housing” was bad, and the gasket between the red plastic for the light and the housing was bad.

The gasket on the housing is not able to be purchased, without buying the whole thing. $135!

Went with RTV sealant after drying everything up. $6 instead of $135.

 

Well for all those still tuning in, despite (what appears to be a good seal with the RTV), the leak has reappeared. Definitely slower than last time, so I guess I’ll just keep looking for holes or whatever.

 

I guess the only place left is the screws in the 3rd brake housing? But they have to be made in such a way that they don’t leak, right?

 

If you wanna rule out the 3rd brake light completely just cover the whole exterior perimeter of the light with putty tape sealant and see if the leak is gone after that or not. It’s gonna look ugly for a bit but at least you’ll find out if that where it’s coming from or not.