[Update: While you're in there doing this, it's a good time to lubricate the latches, hood release, etc. and clean and prep. the weatherstripping everywhere on the car particularly if you live in a cold climate. Make sure to lubricate the moonroof! Spray some WD-40 on those rails to keep it from freezing up! WD stands for "Water Dispersant" and that is what you want to achieve with the moonroof rails. I have a friend with an F-150 that has a moonroof and his just broke because it froze up recently!]

Sometime before last summer (!) I noted that I was seeing some occasional water ingress past the top of the rear glass hatch weatherstripping, once in a while there was a little drip-drip of water that would find its way inside and down the back of the glass, disappearing into the innards of the rear hatch. Everyone knows that Ford Escapes from these years have this problem with the original weatherstripping. Ford Tech Makuloco has a video about how to replace the seal completely (scroll down), which now costs close to $200 if you can find a good, new-design seal.

Well, on the advice of Honda owners with leaky weatherstripping, I bought some Honda Shin-Etsu Silicone Grease and some , intending to try them out as a stopgap measure, but never did the job.

Yesterday I ran my car through a particularly ambitious touchless car wash which lasted almost 15 minutes and sprayed my car every which way with tons of chemicals ranging from stuff that smelled like shampoo with Xylene in it to purple bubblegum, and then a lot of high pressure water. It worked well and cleaned the car (including the undercarriage!) better than I expected for $15, but it definitely underscored the water ingress problem. So in today's relatively mild weather (50s! In New England!) I decided to try the Shin Etsu Grease and Rubber Rejuvenator spray.

Some pictures. First the back glass from the inside. The "vertical" trails show how the water is getting in. Eventually, this water makes its way into the rear hatch area and corrodes the latches but *ALSO* can lead to corrosion in the back-up camera system and wiring, knocking it out and causing the car to throw DTCs, and potentially locking you out of the car! So if your car is showing this water ingress, it's probably time to get moving before you have problems with all the power locks and the backup camera system, if you've got one.

Sorry for the somewhat blurry images here, this was handheld. The last photo's weatherstripping looks better than it seems in the photo in particular.

Here's the inside surface of the hatch glass, showing water trails that happen because of ingress past the seal. Eventually this will rot out the rear hatch at the bottom and cause lots of other problems.


Inside Surface of Glass Hatch Showing Water Trails from Ingress Past the Weatherstripping

Here is what the 11-year-old weatherstripping looked like when I opened the hatch:


2010 FEH Dirty Old Rear Glass Weatherstripping

First I cleaned it with some Simple Green Glass Cleaner and warm water:


Washed Weatherstripping 2010 FEH with Simple Green and Warm Water

Then I sprayed some Rubber Rejuvenator on it liberally and let it soak in and dry. You can see that it caused the seal to "swell" a little bit. That's good!


With Rubber Rejuvenator Spray

Finally I applied the Shin-Etsu Grease. A little goes a long way. You could do several cars in their entirety with ONE TUBE. I think this will protect the seal from drying up and hopefully this will do the trick.


With Honda Shin-Etsu Silicone Grease Applied

Then I cleaned the back window inside surface carefully and used some isopropyl alcohol to dry it, particularly in the areas where it contacts the weatherstripping. After about 15 minutes I closed and locked the hatch.

I have not tried a water ingress test yet. I will let things sit overnight and then tomorrow I will hit it with a hose and see how it goes! Here's hoping this can carry me for another 6 months, and then I'll replace the weatherstripping in the spring or summer. All I really need is for it to stay sealed under winter conditions - I VERY rarely use the glass hatch opening, I usually open the entire hatch.

Fingers Crossed! If this doesn't work, I'm doing FTM's procedure for the 2008-2012 Escapes:

 

The part number for the improved seal is BL8Z-7842084-C.

A local dealer let my mechanic friend with an established account have it for $128. Amazon has it for $140:


PSA 1: The size of the box Motorcraft ships this in requires that the seal be folded. When you remove it, it will have kinks and depressions. Lay it out flat in the sun for a few days, outer side up (the side with the holes) to allow those to work themselves out. If you install it with the kinks, etc., depending on where those are, it will leak again. Trying to fix it with a heat gun after it is installed will not work. (Ask me how I know.)

PSA 2: If you install it and you think Ford screwed up by sending you one that was too long, the error is one in installation by you. Start with the seamed part of the new seal at the bottom center of the hatch and work out from there. Be sure to completely press it all the way down on the metal flange, especially in the corners...if yours seems too long, the corners are the most likely areas where you screwed up. A rubber mallet will help you with that.

PSA 3: You will notice immediately your hatch glass is much harder to fully close and secure. That is confirmation your new seal is "thicker and plusher" than the one you replaced. Give it a few weeks and it will be fine.

 

Thanks, GatorJ for the tips from someone who has done the job. I know I'm going to do it eventually. I should have tried this stopgap during the summer, and I'm just hoping to get a little more time out of the existing seal so that I can do the job right.

I'll update this post as soon as I have a chance to get it wet. You can see from the pictures that my seal was dirty and saggy - stuff was definitely leaking past it.

 

UPDATE: I drove the car for about three hours in the rain today and there were zero leaks past the seal. It wasn't a torrential downpour but I hit some semi-heavy rain on the highway and drove about 80 miles total, watching the back glass carefully, using the rear wiper. Whenever they occur, the rear wiper shows them right away because of course it cannot wipe them away.

No little trickles or drips down the inside of the glass.

So I think I can say that this stopgap measure works - at least temporarily - to prevent leaks and ingress while I buy the replacement seal. I like the Honda Shin-Estu grease and I'm going to use it on more weatherstripping throughout the car. It certainly doesn't seem to hurt, it doesn't degrade the seal, and it looks like the Honda enthusiasts are on to something.

 

My pulled apart junkyard strips are still working too. It's not the only seal that was bad on my car. Almost all the doors had to have them replaced. I should check the trunk door again as there was rust on the bottom lip. Likely the same problem.