1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Waterproofing spoiler attachment to hatch

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by kc410, Dec 31, 2022.

  1. kc410

    kc410 Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2013
    262
    250
    0
    Location:
    2010 Prius IV
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Happy New Year to all the PC ppl :)
    While investigating a leak in the hatch area of the 2010 I found rust on some of the spoiler mounting nuts & part of the wiper motor mounting bracket.
    So I decided to remove the spoiler - should be easy...
    4 of the 5 nuts came off fairly easily. The right side nut was corroded to the molded in spoiler bolt.
    When the nut was turned the bolt started spinning in the spoiler mounting. The impact driver did not help - the bolt head would just spin.
    These 5 nuts are in a recessed area & a socket is the only way to turn them.
    Eventually I got the nut removed after drilling 4ea. 1/16" holes straight down the threads of both nut & bolt then using an impact driver on the 10mm nut.

    Spoiler Nut.jpg

    It appears the OEM weatherproofing for these bolts was a very thin foam gasket that was glued to the spoiler.
    The 2010 repair manual does not mention any gaskets on these 5 mounting studs or the two plastic clips at the spoiler ends.
    I did remove a very thin gasket from each of the 7 mounting points.

    Two questions:
    1) What have others used for gasket material when reinstalling the spoiler?
    I thought about bicycle inner tube material but it is about 5x the thickness of what I removed.

    2) The stud & nut that I had to drill the threads to remove are both still serviceable.
    The stud "head" is still well secured inside the spoiler but it spins easily when turned.
    My game plan is to drill a few small holes where the head is hiding inside the spoiler material & try to force in some JB Weld.

    Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions?
    Thanks!
     
    #1 kc410, Dec 31, 2022
    Tombukt2 likes this.
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    8,056
    1,395
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    You can't put a small hole on the underside of the spoiler that will allow you to slide a screwdriver or some kind of device to push down on the stud that's spinning or would allow you to put some maybe push up on the stud that's spinning reach in with a tongue depressor or something similar with JB weld on it smudge that over the stud head push it back down into the plastic Make sure there's some of the JB or whatever smartly applied on top of the stud as you pull the tongue depressor out let that dry for 12 hours and then when you reassemble use a dab of goop at each penetration so when you set the spoiler down squish the goop squeezes out just lightly turning the bolts that you can turn You wipe that goop up with the tongue depressor or a stick or something along those lines and let the goop set It will keep water from going down those points and should you need to pull the spoiler again you'll undo the bolts slide something in between the spoiler and the bodywork and the goop will release That's what I think I would try if that's unsuccessful I guess I would try to leave the one stud unnutted. Or if you could get the new nut to start on the stud just a little by hand you may be able to take set of needle nose pliers or your grinder and pre-slot the top of that stud so you can fit a screwdriver keystone Flathead and then turn the nut while holding the studs steady from underside of the hatch but that may not be accessible easily I have not bothered taking the spoiler off mainly for these reasons on any of the Gen 3's generally you don't want to be trying to take these off just because of this reason I guess you could also come up with some pretty stout adhesive and glue the spoiler right down to where it goes and be surprised how well some of that three bolts and glue will hold that thing down at any speed you're going to drive in a Prius I'm pretty sure.
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Jan 1, 2023
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,662
    38,207
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Ugh, no tips, but thanks for the heads-up. I took the spoiler off for a look, probably 10 years back now. Should maybe revisit. So many crappy, finicky bits…
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Jan 1, 2023
    Grit likes this.
  4. kc410

    kc410 Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2013
    262
    250
    0
    Location:
    2010 Prius IV
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Progress:
    First the bolt head spinning in the spoiler ABS material;
    I drilled 3 shallow 1/8" holes very close to where the bolt head edge "should" be located.
    I found out the bolt head is max ~5/8" dia. In normal use that would hold the bolt properly, but when forced the head will spin easily.
    With everything quite clean I pushed some fresh JB Weld into one of the holes that had a passageway to the spinning bolt head.
    Turned the bolt head a few turns as I kept the hole full of JB Weld.
    Filled in the remaining holes I had drilled & let it set up overnight. Appears to be quite strong.

    For the gasket material I used 2mm "Foam Sheet by Creatology" found at Michaels. I wanted black but it was sold out so I got purple.
    No one will ever see it & I can use the purple for other things.
    The only gasket that needs glue is around the 3rd brake light wire opening.
    This gasket was slightly thicker thicker so I cut two & will stack them with E6000 glue.



    The spoiler attachment area on hatch has been cleaned & all the spoiler mounting holes are covered with painters tape.
    Now to check for leaks & reinstall.
     

    Attached Files:

    #4 kc410, Jan 2, 2023
    Tombukt2 and Mendel Leisk like this.
  5. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    8,056
    1,395
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Excellent work You should never have to touch that again ever
     
    #5 Tombukt2, Jan 2, 2023
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,662
    38,207
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Yeah good tip for dealing with that loose bolt/stud.
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Jan 2, 2023
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)