Thanks for the reply and detail. I plan to pop off all the panels and go through replacing them all. My 71 also has a nice finish with mostly all new rubber except several grommets and I want to replace them all.


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There is a hole under the antenna area for a water drain.  Often the drain hose separates leaving a hole between the interior and muffler area.

On 4/27/2019 at 10:13 PM, jonathanrussell said:

One other thing to check after you have done all of the things mentioned above...tail light seals in particular.

On the inside of the hatch, there is a vinyl wrapped trim piece that extends across the bottom back of the hatch. That trim piece needs to be flat and sealed with sealant to the hatch. Otherwise, fumes get sucked into the lock mechanism and in through breaks in the seal of this trim piece. Most of the time, in my experience, after 45 years of not being removed and re-sealed this trim piece is wavy and has many spots where there are air gaps. Last summer, a 72 that I had just rebuilt was filling the cabin with fumes. I had sealed every possible entry point and then it hit me that I had not re-sealed the hatch trim panel. Did that and no more exhaust fumes.

Just got a 240z and am having the same issue. Yours and @Zed Head 's comments made me check this hatch panel and yep, completely warped. Ordering a replacement panel now, but any suggestions on a particular sealant to use, or types of sealants that work best for interior trim paneling to keep out the elements?

Edit: I just ended up ordering some Permatex Silicone RTV. Hopefully that will work fine but open to others that people find works well/better.

Edited December 26, 2025Dec 26 by dlocicerelli

Foam weatherstrip tape. Allows removal later.

Ahh, makes more sense than the messy adhesive that I was going to use. I assume you just tape the weather-stripping to the back of the new panel and then secure it to the hatch with the OEM (or replacement) screws & plastic rivets and that should eliminate any gaps for fumes to pass through. Thanks!

Check door and hatch rubbers by laying a thin/small piece of paper between them and close the door/hatch, if you can easely pull the paper out without any resistance you have a leak there. check the whole door/hatch rubber this way! Your welcome! ;-)

Also in the hatch lower side are 2 big round rubbers, check if they are there and okay, and seal the doorcards also the small one in the hatch.

I have had the same issue in my 77 280z and im going to now go through all these suggests. Hopefully they will work

Thank you!

2 hours ago, Clark166 said:

I have had the same issue in my 77 280z and im going to now go through all these suggests. Hopefully they will work

Thank you!

Is this a new method?

Old School. Known folks that have done it for a long time. Glass techs have done this for years.

I was being clever to draw out the bot. I actually meant is this a new bot method.

I reported one of the posts. Lets see what happens.

Maybe he will show up and be legit. Doubt it Seriously