What are the purpose of those vents??

those vents are to let stale air release from the car keeps fresh air moving

just had a good look around and it bone dry looks like you had a numtpy with a sealant gun

around at the factory lol :)

you've done a great job with smoothing the silicone :)

those vents are to let stale air release from the car keeps fresh air moving

Interesting, didn't know that.

you've done a great job with smoothing the silicone :)

The good old bit of spit on a finger!:)

that's the way :D

just had a good look around and it bone dry looks like you had a numtpy with a sealant gun

around at the factory lol :)

The vents are not actually sealed with silicone from the factory its just a rubber gasket around the edge that should hold tightly against the car body to create a seal but in my case it didnt!

I am just glad i found it and could share it with anyone that has a leak that they cant find and then googles mk3 Focus boot leak!:)

Thanks heaps Wes. I have had the inside of my boot disassembled for a number of days and was doing my head in over the water in my boot.

I had my son put the hose on the car only to find no leak. Then after driving it on a beautiful sunny day (yes, I'm in Oz and we get a few of those even in winter :)) found more water in the boot! Very frustrating.

After reading your posts, I checked the grommit you mentioned under the car and hey presto, lots of water running past my ears!

Very very glad you put this topic up!

Now I just need to work out how to remove the rear bumper. Was that intuitive enough for you? Or should I be researching that too?

Thanks,

Craig

Hi Craig. I was hoping my bad luck would help somone else out. Bumper is easy to remove, 2 visible screws on the lip either side by the rear lights, 2 plastic clips under the rear lower edge of the bumper and 3 screws in each wheel arch area, then just give it a pull to release any clips on the rear. Before you do that though the other thing i did to eliminate leaks through the light cluster was to remove it and put plenty of grease on the foam gasket seal then refit. I wouldnt use silicone there as you need to remove the cluster when changing bulbs etc. Just dont drop the plastic nut into the car body like i did although that did lead to finding the leak in the end!:)

Thanks Wes. Was going to ask you how to remove the rear light cluster too, but found a great clip at

which explains how to do it well.

Cheers,

Craig

How to remove a light by Elmer Fudd ;)

22 minute clip to remove a light, did he drop the nut into the body as well then?

He seemed to do a lot of waffle and fiddling.

Maybe a 'Pesky Wabbit' got in the way. :d

He seemed to do a lot of waffle and fiddling.

Maybe a 'Pesky Wabbit' got in the way. :d

Dont tell me you actually watched it all? If you did then you are having far too many rest days!

Dont tell me you actually watched it all? If you did then you are having far too many rest days!

I skipped a few bits but wanted to know how to remove the lights properly so I can change rear indicator bulbs for chrome ones.

TBH he could have compressed the procedure into a couple of minutes.

As an addition, where he says about scratching around the holes on refitting the lights I reckon an application of tape over the holes would be useful and reduce possible water ingress.

A couple of minutes? Here you go - 3 seconds - undo both nuts, dont drop them in the cavity, pull off light, refit same as removal!:D

I plastered mine with grease on the gasket to rule out any water ingress and the fact it wont set makes it good for future removal to change bulbs.

I have already tried to remove my light nuts by hand and they are uber tight and a rotten position so the guide was useful if not particularly to the point.

I have already tried to remove my light nuts by hand and they are uber tight and a rotten position so the guide was useful if not particularly to the point.

I found pushing the cluster in as you undo the nut made it easier. If its still too tight you can get a pair of pliers in there easy enough.:)

I would think that pliers would maul them up even with a cloth wrapped around them?

It didnt with mine. There is probably a slotted tool available for easy removal in the garage. If not then there should be as it would be useful to have a T-bar with a knuckle and then the slotted socket at the end, it would make it alot easier!

Probably whacked on with a specific tool at the plant, shame they don't sell one.

Yes, the clip is very long winded but you only need to watch 30 seconds of it so you know where the screws are. It would have been nice to include the pitfall. Hoping I manage to keep a firm hold of the screw, but out of interest where did you retrieve the screw from when it fell Wes?

I ended up having to force it through the grommet hole with some parrot nosed pliers. Only other option is to remove the bumper and take out the vent that was leaking on mine to get access to the cavity. To be honest it wouldve been quicker to remove the bumper but i didnt know it came off so easy at that point.

Probably a good idea to pack the cavity with a cloth so the plastic nut has nowhere to fall into.