Hi all,

This owning a full fat malarkey is not strait forward is it!

I have only had the car a few months, and checked the boot and electrical compartments for water, all was fine.

Last week i had a sudden bluetooth failure, so when i took the module out and tipped it up water came pouring out , i had a good look at the other electrical equipment in the compartment and they seem fine. The boot however had about a pint of water in it.

I have stripped the boot to see where the water is coming in but there are no obvious leaks. The seal is intact but the top corners look like this

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

I have just repaired my leak which was coming into the spare wheel well. I had a tow bar fitted, common leak area, and so I resealed the mountings. I also checked the tailgate seal and found the OS could be easily pulled off the flange indicating that it had been removed previously and yes there was this putty like substance present. I resealed the edge of the flange with silicone and refitted the tailgate seal. So far no more leaks, and that's with 50mph winds, torrential rain and snow. So I think I can say job done. However I do check the spare wheel area and the side compartments regularly.
As a point of interest where is the blue tooth unit fitted? '88 RR Classic, '90 Classic, '93 Classic, '02 Discovery TD5, '55 Discovery 3, '01 P38 4.6, '06 L322 Vogue TD6, 2012 L322 Vogue TDV8, 2017 L405 Autobiography
Wife. '01 Freelander, '07 Freelander 2.

The top corners of the tailgate seal are a known problem, the seal just doesn't like being bent round the corners resulting in water ingress to the boot area below.
The "putty" is pre-installed by LR in new seals to help sealing. Yours appears to have dried out.
The seal itself doesn't look too bad, might be worth cleaning out the fitting channel, applying a bead of good quality silicone sealant and refitting the seal.
The alternative is a new tailgate seal.
About £40 from Dan@Duckworths.

Thanks guys, i have some good quality sealant that i will try on the boot seals.

I am a little perplexed as to where the water could have come from to fill up the blue tooth module, whilst i have the boot in pieces i want to seal any potential problem areas.

regards, Luke

The water tracks down from the top corner of the tailgate seal, between the D post body panels and also behind the D post internal trim and then drips on the bits below the level of the rear fixed side window.
Sealing the tailgate seal at the top corners will probably solve your problem.

I had a good pint of water in the spare wheel well, new tailgate seal from Dan and it's been bone dry ever since

I have refitted the old seal, and with the boot still stripped out and talc'ed i took her to the carwash.

Well, there was a steady drip from the top, corner (what would be behind the D pillar.). I have Pm'd Dan but in the interim i have used a fine bead of silicone sealant to the main seal. But i don't hold out much hope that it will seal properly.

It seems that although face of the seal is fine, and there is no cracks or brittleness, the crimp channel that fits to the car has gone rusty on the corner (mainly top, but the middle of the bottom has gone to) and the water goes behind that part and travels down.

I Strongly recommend, to any one who has not fitted a water shedder to the electrical gubbins to do so. It is only a matter of time before your boot starts letting water in. That may be ok on a normal car, but it will cost hundreds on these beasts.

I took out the bungs in the spare wheel well, next to the compressor. Any water getting in finds its way straight out. Plus its hidden behind a shroud so you don't get any spray coming in. OK as long as you don't go very deep wading, or if you do just put the bungs back in.

My new motor had a small amount of water in the boot well (good name for it . . . ).
Whilst clearing it out, I realised the lower tailgate latch plate was loose, allowing a fair bit of movement when shut.
Now tight to "within an inch of it's life" and a lovely snug fit - maybe that's how it was getting in - we'll see - not much sign of rain here today

Water shedder added to "the list" as a precaution -

 Where do you go after one of these . . . ?

I put a few large bags of silicone desiccant granules in my side equipment compartment, that way if there is ever a leak the bags will absorb it before it gets to the modules and I'll be able to see/feel if there is a leak before any damage is done.

I have rebuilt my compressor today and I found that my spare wheel was soaked with beads of condensation and was wondering if this could have been caused by the compressor getting hot as it was overworking and that was causing the condensation or does any one else know what could cause this ?
Roger.

Had the same water issue and a new seal from Dan sorted it out