harpua Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 hey, i have an issue that i need to get fixed asap. I have a 1996 impreza outback sport. I pulled my spare tire out of its hiding spot in the back hatch of the car. I found the spare to be wet, and when i went to investigate further, i found about 3 or 4 inches of water in the spare tire well. I havn't spilled water, or left my windows open in the rain. I have heard of this problem before, but i don't know the cause or repair for it. if anyone has any info, please let me know. I don't really like the idea of a hot tub in the back of my Impreza. thanks for your time harpua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88rxsedan Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 well, its not the headgaskets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 i think i remember it being the brake light gaskets, water leaks down in there, and continues into the spare tire wheel well. I'm pretty sure it's not the rear hatch gasket, because mine is gnarly, holes, ripped up, and i have no problems like that. but yeah, at least it's not your head gasket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 I solved it in my 96 by taking out the rubber plug in the bottom of the well and letting the water drain, then I left the plug out. I don't plan of fording any streams so I feel safe it leaving it out. One of these day I may get around to fixing the source of the water leak and change the trunk weather stripping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjwirth Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 hey, i have an issue that i need to get fixed asap. I have a 1996 impreza outback sport. I pulled my spare tire out of its hiding spot in the back hatch of the car. I found the spare to be wet, and when i went to investigate further, i found about 3 or 4 inches of water in the spare tire well. ugh... sorry I don't have a solution for you, but I can sympathize. I had a 96 coupe and one day in the summer, the car just stunk. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the trunk and looked in the spare tire well. to make things worse, at one point we had a bag of sunflower seeds that was in the trunk and a bunch spilled into the tire well. you can imagine the nasty water and smell. I nearly threw up cleaning out that mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88rxsedan Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 i think i would of rather had a blown headgasket then clean that mess up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpua Posted June 7, 2005 Author Share Posted June 7, 2005 thanks for the idea corky...do you think my wagon will have the plug? I guess wagons and sedans can't be that much different as far as that is concerned.... I thought that when i heard of this problem before, something was said about the rain gutters being plugged or crap had just diverted the path of runoff...so water was able to leak into the car somehow. My rear hatch door seals are in perfect condition, so i don't see how water could be leaking in through there. and i havn't found any water dammage from the roof of the car or the side walls....i guess it could be leaking behind the interior plastic.... i don't know, maybe i will take it to the dealership on this one....it feels a whole lot like and electrical gremlin that is just too much of a hassle to mess with.... and a realization has just been hit....my rear wiper stopped working about 2 months ago....how much you want to bet that these problems are related...water leaking in through the back hatch past the wiper motor into the spare tire well...... hope i am on the right track.... thanks for the help harpua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwatt Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 thanks for the idea corky...do you think my wagon will have the plug? I guess wagons and sedans can't be that much different as far as that is concerned.... I thought that when i heard of this problem before, something was said about the rain gutters being plugged or crap had just diverted the path of runoff...so water was able to leak into the car somehow. My rear hatch door seals are in perfect condition, so i don't see how water could be leaking in through there. and i havn't found any water dammage from the roof of the car or the side walls....i guess it could be leaking behind the interior plastic.... i don't know, maybe i will take it to the dealership on this one....it feels a whole lot like and electrical gremlin that is just too much of a hassle to mess with.... and a realization has just been hit....my rear wiper stopped working about 2 months ago....how much you want to bet that these problems are related...water leaking in through the back hatch past the wiper motor into the spare tire well...... hope i am on the right track.... thanks for the help harpua I remember seeing a post about this problem recently---and I think the solution was to R&R the tail lamps to reseal them to the body..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subyrally Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 its the seals on the tail lights, ive seen it in a few wagons when i used to work at a garage. you have to pull the lights out, completely remove the old seals, which is no easy task due to the stickiness of the material, replace the adhesive seal stuff and press back into the hole. you should be able to find the seal maker stuff at any parts store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subie-dubie Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Ditto...Tail light seals. I took mine out and hit them with silicone clear and reinstalled and have no more problems. I am in Houston, and having the car sit in the heat made the car smell like swamp! As with others, I took out the plug and left it off, and have not had any more problems. I guess I am too cheap to buy new seals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 get a sump pump and put it in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinsUBARU Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 I put silicone sealant around all of the gaps between the lights and the body and it fixed my water problem. At one point, I thought about making a tide chart for my trunk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dome24 Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 I solved it in my 96 by taking out the rubber plug in the bottom of the well and letting the water drain, then I left the plug out. I don't plan of fording any streams so I feel safe it leaving it out. One of these day I may get around to fixing the source of the water leak and change the trunk weather stripping. I have a bad leak in my 97 coupe, i tracked it down to the pass side rear wheel well, with the trunk open if i look back and up in the p/r i can see light leaking thru. so if light can go thru i figured water can too. i pulled all the "carpet" out and felt around and had lots of water stuck down inside the fender, im not sure quite yet how im gonna get it all out or how to stop it. I thought about spray foaming the weel well from the outside but im not sure if that will stop it all. I got the car in the winter and it had been sitting for a fwe months, took it into a buddys shop to clean it out and realised the entire sparetire well was a solid block of ice, spare, jack, lug wrench, and a few other random tools, gone the way of the cave man. I thought about pulling the plug in the bottom of the trunk to help but it won't get all the water by any strech. oh well ill try it anyway. When i get new taillights/mine are cracked, ill be sure to seal them up really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christmas22 Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 I also had that problem, in my 01 impreza and the tail lights were sealed up but directly underneath the light housing on the inside of the trunk there was a round plug that had somehow dissapeared. I found a new plug at the hardware store, and that solved the problem. the water was not as bad as having the top come off a gallon of milk on the way home from shopping in my wagon, and having it leak into the compartment under the floor, and all around the tire...of course this was in february so it all froze..along with all the straps and such I keep in there....ooohh that sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 hey, i have an issue that i need to get fixed asap. I have a 1996 impreza outback sport. I pulled my spare tire out of its hiding spot in the back hatch of the car. I found the spare to be wet, and when i went to investigate further, i found about 3 or 4 inches of water in the spare tire well. I havn't spilled water, or left my windows open in the rain. I have heard of this problem before, but i don't know the cause or repair for it. if anyone has any info, please let me know. I don't really like the idea of a hot tub in the back of my Impreza. thanks for your time harpua Hello: If you see any visible rust, then I recomend a quick sanding and application of rust primer. Just my two cents, living here in the heart of the rust belt. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted September 3, 2006 Share Posted September 3, 2006 Well, I found that the nuts holding the lights in had worked themselves loose. I re-tightened them without doing any re-sealing and they're holding tight a year later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomW Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 (edited) Been troubleshooting a leak in the trunk of an 2007 Subaru Impreza. Using a hose, found drips at several places around the seal, typically at seams that were not sealed properly (possibly after a rear end collision repair). Sealed 4 such leaks; and still some leakage. So removed the entire weather seal around the trunk, and with a big tube of adhesive coated all the metal and glued the entire seal back on. No leaks from under the seal, but notice a small amount of water collecting on the inner side of the seal/metal interface (on the trunk inside of the seal) all along the lower back edge. In desperation, at night took a bright LED flashlight and shinned it all along the seal from the outside, while someone else opened the rear seat hatch and watch from inside the trunk. Low and behold a small sliver of light was shining thru, at the top of the lower aft portion of the seal, about 1 inch long, right above where the water was found. Opened and closed the trunk again, and did the light check again, and the position of the light shining thru moved and changed length, but still in the general area. So conclusion is that the weather seal is just not seating tightly on the trunk lid, along the back lower portion, which allows water to seep through. I was wondering if anyone knows if the trunk lid is adjustable in order to "pull" the trunk lid tighter down onto the seal? Maybe at the latch? As a final option does anyone know if replacing the weather seal would fix this problem, until it ages and compresses again in the future? Edited October 5, 2018 by TomW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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