Hello all,
As mentioned in my intro, I had to address my leaking rear tail light/brake light lenses a day after picking it up from the dealer (so-called triple gaskets, and poor lense design from
Command Electronics)
I wanted LEDs in the rear, so I pre-ordered LED lenses from Command Electronics, especially after reading about many others on here having the same issue. So, I took my "old" lenses off and sure enough, BOTH sides were leaking into the wood housing portion, causing wet wood and discoloration. If not addressed, delamination would occur in short order. Ridiculous, IMO.
Why is it leaking? On my Axis, the lenses are 14" wide and there are only 3 attachment points on the top and bottom. There needs to be 4 bolt holes on the top and bottom of the lenses for a better seal, due to either the irregularities of the lense (distance too much between screw holes and it bows), or gel coat surface. Having just 1 middle screw hole allows the lense to warp and allow space in those "triple gaskets" (garbage). Notice how the gasket wasnt depressed, and the parts that were deperessed still rusted out ALL of the screws.
The fix for me was soaking the discolored wood with Minwax as you guys have, used 3/4" wide, extra thick butyl tape I had left over from a 1963 Aristocrat Lil' Loafer I had rebuilt from the frame up. I used a toothpic to trim the excess tape, glued toothpics inside the stripped out holes, added silicon bronze screws and the new LED lenses look awesome. The cleanest look available, and will not leak for 50 years IMO...
AJ
Thor Forums
