Expert: Drew Young - 10/3/2009

Question
Our 97 Ford ranger (4x4) is leaking water into the cab through the ceiling, somewhere near the back window. It is ruining the ceiling and getting the seats wet. It started on the passenger side but now both seats are getting wet. It's Ohio in the fall.. and we're getting a lot of rain, and it will be impossible to fix when it gets below freezing!nWe have sealed any seams in the paneling in that area, but it doesnt seem to be working. We also took off the back break light to check if that was the problem, but it was dry inside. Any suggestions where common leaks are found in that area?

Answer
Dear John,
It seems to me that you are right in the area of the leak you are seeing. To have that type of leak only two things can be happening.
1)The rear window set could be loose and leaking. Given the age of the truck I would have to say that the only way to have it repaired would be to have a glass shop remove and reset the rear window.
2) The high stop third brake light gasket could be flat and leaking past the body and into the pinch weld flange that makes up the rear window opening. To repair this it would require a new gasket or unit. You wouldn't want to seal the third brake light in place because it would make it hard to replace the bulbs should they burn out.

I hope this helped,
Drew Young
Auto-Water-Leaks.com