Mk 1 Focus Boot Leak - FOUND IT!!!

[HoraceM]

Hi all, As a new member here it may have already been posted, but I thought I'd post it anyway, that I THINK I've found the source of my boot leak on my 2004 hatchback. After stripping off the various parts to reveal the basic bodywork and applying sealer to everything that looked a likely spot for ingress, I eventually deduced that on my car it wasn't coming from the back lights or the ventilation flaps, but was coming through the (non-existent) gaps in the panel joints which are behind the rear bumper (for those of you that I've read about who feel daunted by the prospect of removing the bumper, don't worry, it really is only a few minutes work with the right screwdrivers, spanner and a torx bit - have a look online and you'll see it's quite easy, really)   I know my old nail is not the best in the world but I still didn't want the boot filling with water, so tracking this down was my mission. On my car it wasn't the big openings with flaps over, although I did seal one of those up completely. No, after spraying the back of the car with a hand pumped flower water spray, I could see that water was coming in through a miniscule split in the sealer/paintwork behind the left and right side edges along the back of the bodywork, near the corners. Even looking closely at it, it looked fine, with god paintwork (I thought) but when sprayed with a fine jet of water for a short while, a trickle of water inside the boot could be seen each side. I gobbed a bit of sealant over the offending gaps and it's been fine now for a few weeks, even after rain of biblical proportions. Hope this helps some of you still having trouble. ATB HoraceM