Leaking Taillight. Need help.

[tets]

My taillight in the trunk lid on the drivers side has water in it (2001). I brought it in to a local collision shop and they said i should just replace it.
The dealer wants $260 bucks for a new one and the junk yard wants $150 for a used one.
Has anyone else had this problem? Can I somehow re-seal it myself or somewhere I can find one for cheaper?
Any advise would be great.
Thanks

 

[brentalan]

Ebay has them buy it now for $125 or you can try your luck bidding.

 

[mharrison]

It would only cost a tube of RTV sealant to give it a try. I would certainly do that before I spent $260!

Take it off, redo all the seals, and see what happens.

 

[00_slow_5spd_ls]

2nd that motion

 

[01lssport]

It can definetly be sealed with RTV.... More than likely the bulb has melted the black plastic housing and caused a crack that allows water to get in. I had this happen on my 01 with the passenger outside taillight. The only reason you might want to buy a new taillight is if the chrome reflective coating on the inside of the taillight is peeling. This happens if the problem persists for too long causing the taillight to look darker than the rest when viewed from back of the car. Hope this helps.

 

[eastcoastLS]

It can definetly be sealed with RTV.... More than likely the bulb has melted the black plastic housing and caused a crack that allows water to get in. I had this happen on my 01 with the passenger outside taillight. The only reason you might want to buy a new taillight is if the chrome reflective coating on the inside of the taillight is peeling. This happens if the problem persists for too long causing the taillight to look darker than the rest when viewed from back of the car. Hope this helps.

+1. The water, after a while, begins to make the chrome peel off. Check the black plastic housing for any cracks. Look for any plastic in the housing that may be near the bulb, this would cause it to melt/crack. Remove the bulb from the housing and look in the housing through where the bulb enters.

 

[rickztahone]

a agree w/ trying to seal it, it's inexpensive and it doesn't hurt to try. if not you can find some tail-lights cheap on ebay sometimes, i bought the inner one for 45 bucks a while back and it was brand new. try to seal tho, best bet

 

[rickztahone]

not sure if this is the one you need (i have 1 in 4 chances of getting it, lol) but here's a buy it now one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Linc...ryZ33716QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[lseguy]

Had this problem on my 2000 and 2002 LSE.

Both situations were the same. Hairline crack along one of the "crevices" on the black backside of the light housing. Hard to see, but it was there. Cleaned it, sealed it well with silicone RTV, and never had the issues again.

 

[DunItRight]

If its cause of the bulb I would just buy a new one anyway. Tell another junkyard you can get them for 125 bucks, they may give you a lower price yet. Or just try bidding like one said but if you are for sure that its not the issue with the bulb then just seal it as long as the water didnt make any other gastly spots.

 

[daves2000ls]

It can definetly be sealed with RTV.... More than likely the bulb has melted the black plastic housing and caused a crack that allows water to get in. I had this happen on my 01 with the passenger outside taillight. The only reason you might want to buy a new taillight is if the chrome reflective coating on the inside of the taillight is peeling. This happens if the problem persists for too long causing the taillight to look darker than the rest when viewed from back of the car. Hope this helps.

+1, this is exactly what happened in my 00, took some RTV and sealed it up last year, no problems since.

 

[eastcoastLS]

People, he is talking about the lights on the trunk lid, not the outer tail lights. I don't believe it is common for the "inner lights" to melt the housing and develop a crack. I have a feeling its leaking from the foam/rubber washer that seals the bulb to the housing. Just my educated guess.

 

[lseguy]

People, he is talking about the lights on the trunk lid, not the outer tail lights. I don't believe it is common for the "inner lights" to melt the housing and develop a crack. I have a feeling its leaking from the foam/rubber washer that seals the bulb to the housing. Just my educated guess.

You sure? His post says "tail light", which I interpreted to mean the outermost light housing..aka the tail light. Which also happens to be the most often to crack/get water inside.

My interpetation could be wrong. It's happened before!

 

[eastcoastLS]

You sure? His post says "tail light", which I interpreted to mean the outermost light housing..aka the tail light. Which also happens to be the most often to crack/get water inside.

My interpetation could be wrong. It's happened before!

I'm pretty sure he is referring to the one bulb light on the trunk lid.

My taillight in the trunk lid on the drivers side has water in it (2001).

 

[itsnotmydaddys]

I agree with the RVT I did this on mine and it fixed the problem. One thing that I was told is that the LS' housing wasn't designed to have the bulbs on a lot, so if you have angel eyes or just like the look of fog lights on that will cause this due to it heating up a lot quicker.

 

[tets]

People, he is talking about the lights on the trunk lid, not the outer tail lights. I don't believe it is common for the "inner lights" to melt the housing and develop a crack. I have a feeling its leaking from the foam/rubber washer that seals the bulb to the housing. Just my educated guess.

Yes, this is right. Its the light on my trunk lid, not the outer light. Its leaking from somewhere on the rubber seal. I guess my best bet is to try the rtv sealant and see if it works. It just started I believe so there is no damage to it. I called a guy I know at another dealer and he said that usually when ppl bring this in to be repaired that they just put some sealant around it and drill 2 small holes in the bottom for the water to escape from. So for now I'm going to dry it out and reseal it, hopefully that works.
Unfortunately now I also messed up my mcclaren grill by spilling super glue on it so I dunno how I going to fix that. If anyone knows what will take off superglue without messin up the paint, please God let me know.
Thanks for your help guys.