Rust/leaking area by gas cap and trunk

[bugman987]

I started preparing the 1988 camry for installation of the new struts I ordered. When I started to removed the back seat I discovered that a mouse had decided to build a nest behind the back seat many years ago when the vehicle was stored in a barn. Luckily, just a few droppings and a bit of torn up matting.
Seats removed.

Piece that covers top of strut.
Cover removed with access to the struts nuts

I decided to remove the rusted trim piece and see if I could get a new one.

There is one hex nut on the inside of the trunk and two plastic clips that hold it on.

When I was undoing the nut, I noticed the carpet was wet. So I started looking around and found standing water in the wheel well behind the rusted trim piece. I found a rust line from the bottom of the gas tank fill hose.
There seemed to be no rust above the gas filling hose and the door latch mechanism seems to be fine.

The exterior seems to be well sealed, but I guess one of the nuts is leaking. There is a small rust spot below the gas cap and I want to fix that.

Any suggestion on where the leak may be originating? And second where would I find the replacement trim piece.
Lastly, what is this thing? It seems to be an air vent that is overbuilt.

Thanks,

[dem2757]

you could use an epoxy around the joint. it would eliminate seepage, but not the standing water in the crack itself. as for the "vent" im as puzzled as you are, i had to move it to access the power antenna of my LE

[white90dx]

You may be surprised at that rust... it looks like the visible rust on the outside is due to the same leaking that you see on the inside. Get ready for a little more work than you barganed for.

As for the vent, it is there to make sure that air from the cabin can make out ot the vents - it goes up to the little vent openings on the package shelf. Gotta have a place for the air to escape, right?

-Charlie

[Kingdom934]

That is a common area for almost all camry to rust. Mines has holes...I'm talking holes around the gas door/area. My dad old camry (same gen) had the entire panel rotted away. It is very evil on that side. Assuming the metal around the gas cover is exposed to gas and the elements.

Try check around the rear window trim (the corners). Rust seems to occur around the edges and can lead to leaking. Check the lower bottom edge (the edge where the window points to the gas door) to see if there is rust build up/leaking seal. Rust tends to happen there also.