DIY - Replacing EK hatch rear tail light gaskets

[Chris S15]

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!


Aim:
To replace old & worn rear tail light gaskets. I was sick of having water in my boot after just 1 day of raining.

Required:
Cutting board
Very sharp knife or very sharp stanley knife
Permanent marker
25cm x 100cm closed cell foam/rubber material (bought from Clark Rubber) @$29.99 per/sq. The minimum is half a meter, but the dude was ok with selling me only a quarter of a meter. Paid $7.50. Purchase the material that is twice as thick as the old gasket.
Very sharp scissors, small to medium sized
Your old tail light gaskets to be used as a template
Methylated spirits
Cleaning cloth
8mm socket and/or 8mm spanner
Flashlight
2 hours of free time

Steps:
1) REMOVE TAIL LIGHTS. Remove rear tail lights using 8mm socket/spanner. 4 nuts hold the tail light in.

2) STENCIL OLD GASKETS. Remove old gasket and place on top of the new gasket material (from Clark Rubber). Draw a stencil of the old gasket onto the new gasket with the permanent marker.
Step 2 - End Result.


3) CUT OUT STENCILS OF NEW GASKETS. Using the cutting board, sharp scissors and knife, carefully cut out the stencil. The best method i found was to fold the gasket in half and cut out a slit, then use the scissors to cut out the shapes. With the smaller holes, it's easier to do the same thing, but make ' V ' shaped cuts into them, then fold the other way and repeat. This gave me the best shape to seal around the bolts. With the locating holes, just use the knife and push through the material, but not too far, enough to go through. You'll want it as tight as possible around the locating studs.
Step 3 - End Result.


4) PREP TAIL LIGHT AND VEHICLE SURFACES. Clean the tail light gasket edges using the metho and a cleaning cloth. Also clean the car's tail light section with metho and a cleaning cloth. This will ensure there are no contaminents and the seal is as clean as possible.

5) FIT NEW GASKETS TO TAIL LIGHTS. Place the newly cut gasket onto the tail light, with the permanent marker side facing the tail light (no one is going to see it, but it just looks cleaner to me). The new gasket for the left side will be used on the right side and vice versa. But if having the marked side facing you doesn't bother you, then disregard.
Step 5 - End Result. (Before and After)


6) ISNTALL TAIL LIGHTS. Install tail lights with new gaskets back onto car. The fitment will be a lot tigher and will require more effort to install, as the gasket is twice as thick. I place it on there, and did all the nuts up by hand as tight as i could. Put your weight behind it and push, as you push tighting the nut. Once all were hand tight, i used an 8mm spanner to tighten them all. Up to you, but i did it in a gradual, criss-cross sequence, like you would a head gasket, extractors, etc. But if you're not fussed, disregard. This ensured a good, tight and even seal.

7) LEAK TEST. A good excuse to go to the carwash and clean your pride and joy. Wash your car as normal, but spend a bit of extra time around the boot/hatch with the rinse. Once finishing washing the car, check for leaks from INSIDE the car. DO NOT OPEN THE BOOT/HATCH, as this allows water to drip directly into the boot, giving you a false leak. I used a flashlight from inside the boot to check for leaks.
Step 7 - End Result. NO LEAKS!!!!

Other comments
I hope this helps everyone! Enjoy!

[omgzilla]

Excellent write up dude!

You beat my to it though - I was half way through writing an identical DIY.

I did mine the exact same way, but I used a light smear of silicone around where the gasket presses onto the light casing just to keep the gasket held to the casing a little better and hopefully keep a good seal after the foam loses its 'spring'.

Tip to others: If you plan on doing the EK9 Taillight mod, now is the time to do it! So you can cut the gasket to suit and not have to go and take it off again when you get around to doing the mod, as there's a possibility of damaging your nice new gasket.

+Rep!

[simonnowis]

nice work, i did the exact same thing awhile ago when my boot leaked,
but i put clear silicone around the gap betweem the gasket and light to stop even one drop of water getting through ever lol.

Tip: for ppl who are doing this dont get foam that is too thick thinking it will be better.
, just slightly thicker then the stock gasket as ur taillights wont be completely flush with the body of the car otherwise.

rep+

[Chris S15]

Nice job but it has been posted ALREADY by another member.

Yeah, but that was for different tail lights. This was specifically for EK hatches. Plus i wanted to go into a step by step detailed guide to really make it easy.

But, if posting something more specific and detailed is frowned upon, just let me know and i'll remove this article.

Thank You.

[Chris S15]

nice work, i did the exact same thing awhile ago when my boot leaked,
but i put clear silicone around the gap betweem the gasket and light to stop even one drop of water getting through ever lol.

Tip: for ppl who are doing this dont get foam that is too thick thinking it will be better.
, just slightly thicker then the stock gasket as ur taillights wont be completely flush with the body of the car otherwise.

rep+

I was concerned about flush fitting too. But the range at clark rubber was either a slightly thinner foam or 1.5 times thicker foam. So i opted for that one. Just takes a bit more effort to screw in, but once in, it's all good.

[simonnowis]

yeh i used the same foam from clarkrubber, if you examine closer u know its not the same as the stock gasket thickness but still ok with bolted on with force, but anything bigger there'll be too much of a gap.

[boyricer]

Thanks for the DIY. I wish i could see the pics.