99 300M Spare Tire well damp/condensation?

I was cleaing out my trunk tonight and took off the tire floor cover to
clean around the ridge and noticed condensation on the spare tire as well as
the lining was damp.

Any idea on what happened? or is happening? I haven't hauled anything in
the trunk in quite a while.

Mike

 

Might it be a leak - from below or from above - rather than
condensation? I don't recall reading any posts about a condensation
problem in the trunk of the 300M on the 300M Club forums
(http://300mclub.org/forums/index.php?sid=426876de8fc01e7e267dc347d2afee34).
You might so a search there. Also, join in over there. Certainly
there are other questions you might have about your M.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

One thing to be careful of (I discovered it the hard way with my Intrepid!)
is
to watch if you park 'uphill'. If your vehicle has a curved front lip on
the trunk,
parking 'uphill' makes the curve a 'cup' that holds water. If you have a
sufficiently steep driveway, you can actually FILL that cup and water may
leak at the weather strip.

I put an antenna on my trunk for HAM radio, and it didn't seal at the
weather-strip.
One day I pulled out of the driveway on a hot summer day and heard sloshing.
I opened the trunk and my spare tire well was FULL to the brim, soaking and
ruining the cover board! The spacesaver space and jack were nothing but
a solid block of rust and a rubber donut!

I re-routed my antenna wire to the front corner of the trunk, then came in
through
a hole and in through a wire grommet. Moving the entry point to the corner
put the access point 'above the water line'. Even still, it never sealed
well
again until after I had multiple sessions in the trunk and worked on it.
What
eventually worked was this 'rubber softener' I got from VW that I massaged
onto the weather stripping after warming it with a hair dryer. But even
then,
it wasn't perfect if I let water stand in it.

Mike

 

Well!

That's probably what it is..we have probably a 15 degree incline on our
driveway...you've probably nailed it with that reply.

Maybe I need to start backing it in.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Pressurize the inside of the vehicle by setting the AC/Heater to outside
air, instrument panel outlets, and blower on high. Close all windows, doors
and deck lid. If air can be felt escaping from the quarter panel to outer
wheel house panel seam(s) , force sealer back into the seam and let dry.
Clean all dirt and water from seam before applying sealer

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Pressurize the inside of the vehicle by setting the AC/Heater to outside
air, instrument panel outlets, and blower on high. Close all windows, doors
and deck lid. If air can be felt escaping from the quarter panel to outer
wheel house panel seam(s) , force sealer back into the seam and let dry.
Clean all dirt and water from seam before applying sealer

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

A "permanent" fix, be it a leak or condensation, is to drill a *small* hole
at the lowest point where water could puddle. This will allow any
accumulated water to drain out, and cure a condensation problem.

 

Not sure if the design is the same, but the 97 Neon (and other similar
years) was notorious for water in the trunk well. Problem was a
gasket, but not the one you may suspect. The gasket behind the
taillight assemblies became brittle and cracked over time. The design
of the trunk lid channel was such that it transported water right onto
the taillight gasket. Water drained right from the taillight opening
into the spare tire well.
Another lesser known culprit was the small louvered vents that were
used to prevent pressurization of the passenger compartment. With the
fans on, air has to have somewhere to go.You had to look from
underneath the car to see them as they actually vented into the area
between the inner and outer body panels. If you pulled the carpeting
up from the sides of the trunk well, you could see them. Sometimes
they would leak. I think they put them way down there so there would
be no audible air movement noise.

 

I've already had one time this winter where the inside of my car has been
frosted on the inside of the windows as well...I guess that must be the
reason for it with the moisture in the trunk area.

I guess I've got my work cut out to track this one down..thanks for the
info!

Mike

 

Water used to leak into the trunk of my 300M every time I took the car to a
particular car wash.

 

the permanent correct fix is to repair the leak from the trunk seal or tail lights