I have 1970 Chevy and the tailgate has two drain outlets on each side (bottom). They are covered by what looks like a factory rubber gasket that's attached by pins on both sides of the outlet. Now, after a heavy rain all the water accumulates in the tailgate. Two days ago when I manually removed the rubber cover I got splashed with all the water that was inside the tailgate. It is kinda strange that the outlets are covered, don't you think? Can I just simply remove the rubber leaving the outlets open all the time? I do not want my car to rust from the inside. Thanks.
Sounds like something a rustproofing shop would insert to plug the holes they make when they do the inner door panels. Usually there's a small slot in the sheet metal to let the water drain out. Why not cut the rubber with a slot or something and that way you'll keep the drain hole smaller?
Forgot that I took a picture with my cell phone. The quality is bad but it shows the rubber cover which I now stretched a bit. picture
if it's like my convertible, the rubber flaps are there to keep dirt and stuff from getting in, and it was holding water in.... I got lucky and cleaned it out about a year ago, and left the rubber intact. A bunch of crap was preventing the water from draining.
I had no garbage blocking the outlets except the rubber. I guess thru all the years (driven in nice weather) the rubber got stuck onto the body and created a seal. I am just surprised that the amount of water did not pushed it right out.
I had the same things on the drains in the tailgate and the doors. The ones on the rear driver's side door would stick for some reason. The door would fill up with water in a heavy rain.
I have moved the rubber gaskets and now they are working. It was raining today and there was no water in the tailgate. Cool.
Standard on all GM cars These were on most all GM cars on the bottoms of the doors in the 60's & 70's. They acted like a check valve of sorts, keeping outside air from going inside yet allowing water to drain out (in theory). In the real world they usually ended up getting plugged with dirt, leaves & sometimes even aftermarket under coating causing them to hold water in the doors (or tailgate) accelerating rust issues. The safe bet is to just remove them.
I had a similar ssue on my Dodge. The drain plugged in the underside compartment. Then the wagon sat in the elements for a long time. Then I got it, theres rust starting to form on the undercompartment and some has started on the lower body. When I get my cash stableized im going to handle it before cancer sets in. Once cancer sets in it gets expensive to get rid of.
