Sorting the boot out.

[Morgan1]

That aerial seal looks the first point to look at. Mine had perrished and you would thought it would never leak but it was like a fish tank in there. Definitely start there, hopefully an easy fix lol

[mikegamble]

While I’m sorting out the aerial out I’ve put some gaffer tape over the opening to keep the water out, reducing it as a potential problem.
Last night it poured down so, the morning I went out to examine for potential leaks. The tape held fine but the water appears to have got in through the rear boot panel, between the lights.
The car was parked on a gentle incline, nose down.
Any suggestions before I start taking the rear apart?

[pimgmx]

There's supposed to be a foam seal between the rear light unit and the car body.
Like ALL foam on an XJ40 it deteriorates over time, and I wouldn't be surprised if that worn seal is a/one of the source(s) of your water ingress.

The light units are easy to remove, four small nuts each, after you've removed the PCB and bulb holders from them.
(also a good excuse to clean & de-rust the PCB and bulb holders)

I don't like irreversible fixes and would NOT recommend a sealant (especially no silicone, it will 'eat' into your paint eventually) to reseal the light units.
Instead, I would get a roll of black weather-strip from the local DIY store to recreate the seal glued to the light units.

[rvdz]

There's supposed to be a foam seal between the rear light unit and the car body.
Like ALL foam on an XJ40 it deteriorates over time, and I wouldn't be surprised if that worn seal is a/one of the source(s) of your water ingress.

Also check the rear light units themselves for water ingress. One of my previous cars had a number of very small cracks/crazing (hardly noticeable) in the lenses which let water in, this eventually filled the light unit up to the hole at the back where the bulb sits. The water then trickled out into the boot. Depending on the position of the car the water ran along the seam in the metal to the middle of the boot where it reaches the boot latch and dripped down from there. Try sticking some dry tissue in various strategic places in the boot and wait for it to rain again.

[mikegamble]

Ok, I’ll have a good dig around.
Hopefully the pictures will upload this time....

[naki_k]

Remove the black plastic finishing trim on the horizontal part between the lights. There’s 4-5 screws holding it on. Under than seal the grommet holes with silicone seal and redid the trim and screws. As the silicone is still wet the screws should go in and get sealed around them

[naki_k]

On late models they did away with these and just used adhesive tape fix the panel on. But yours has the holes to seal.

[mikegamble]

I’ll whip that piece of rear trim off over the weekend and see if I can resolve that and, I’ll also take a look at the rear light clusters.

I’m going to have look silly now.......

I’ve rebuilt the aerial, just about to go and refit it and I noticed this in the corner of the box that I had all the bits in

I can remember remember removing it, but I can’t remember from where.........

[naki_k]

I’ll whip that piece of rear trim off over the weekend and see if I can resolve that and, I’ll also take a look at the rear light clusters.

I’m going to have look silly now.......

I’ve rebuilt the aerial, just about to go and refit it and I noticed this in the corner of the box that I had all the bits in

I can remember remember removing it, but I can’t remember from where.........

It clamps the may gear wheel in place.
I would pull the unit back out and get it fitted, otherwise things will start coming adrift when you use the aerial. It is secured with a circlip on top.

[mikegamble]

Cheers. I’ll try and get it done tomorrow morning