Tail Light Gasket to Help Prevent Water Leaks

Hey guys,

The e30 has a problem with water finding its way into the car.

This could lead to a moldy smell as well as rust.

Potential sources of water getting the truck are:

  • Trunk seal from the trunk deck lid to the body.
  • Antenna grommet
  • Tail light seals
  • Sunroof drain
  • Screws for the license plate
  • The trunk hinge has a spot weld to the body between the trunk seal and the bottom of the window, my previous e30 tore the spot weld and it would leak from there.(took forever to notice and figure that one out.

Late model or early mode its the same procedure.

Unscrew this round clip to remove the rear tail light housing for the bulbs

Undo the 2 clips for the harness connector and remove the 6 x 8MM nuts, dont loose the bracket there is 1 per side.

the tail lights just pop off the body once the 6 nuts per side are removed.

next step is to remove the rubber gasket. and install the new one.

the new gasket almost seams as if its too short but keep at it.

now is a great time to clear the rear end and wax it to.

old seal on left, new seal on the right.