January 28, 200719 yr Hey Guys, Anyone have any tips on fixing an annoying rear hatch rattle - 98 outback wagon? I can't deal with it anymore. Thanks.
January 28, 200719 yr AFC, I've had rear end rattles early on in each of the 3 OBW's I've owned, the 97, the 02 and this new 07. I've was certain with the first two cars that the rattles in the rear could be traced down to the tailgate. In the 97 and the 02 it turned out to be the way the overhead centre seatbelt anchor had been stored in the headliner back by the tailgate. In the 07 the cause was solved by wrapping the trailer hitch wiring, that I had rolled up in the trays under the floor, with a workshop rag. What I'm saying, and what you may have already done, is that you have to eliminate every other possibility back in the rear of the car before you get into the tailgate. I figured two of them out by having my wife drive down a bumpy gravel road with me in the cargo area of the car. It was much easier to nail down where the rattle was coming from in that manner. Caution dictates that you try this only in a very low traffic area. Good Luck!
January 29, 200719 yr What he said. Then stick somone back there and see if they can find if the noise is in the hatch, or from the hatch itself. Also check the two spring loaded door(hatch) jamb thingies to make sure they work. nipper
January 29, 200719 yr Hey Guys, Anyone have any tips on fixing an annoying rear hatch rattle - 98 outback wagon? I can't deal with it anymore. Thanks. I know it isn't the safest thing to do but someone should ride in the cargo area to help isolate the rattle. Did you check the pull-out cargo area cover to make sure it's not the source of the rattle? That cargo cover rattles on my '99 and it's because the rubber insulator "pads" in each quarter trim panel (where the cargo cover fits into the quarter trim panels on each side) have shrunken over the years.....
January 30, 200719 yr Author thanks guys - ill give that a try....hmm....it just sounds like its the hatch...and when I hold the tailgate and shake it it moves - rattles.. i'll check those springs... mabey it isn't the hatch? Thanks.
January 30, 200719 yr I had the same problem on my 98 Legacy Wagon, I removed the metal catch on the cargo area and drilled the holes bigger so I could move it forward, it worked for a few days and then started back, so I ordered a new one from Subaru and replaced it, this also did not fix the problem, so on Christmas day my nephew who is a body man was at our Christmas dinner and he told me it was the latch in the door that needed replacing, he took some black tape and wrapped a little around the metal catch I had replaced and said that would keep the latch in the door from rattleing, it did, but he told me it would only work for a few days. I was going to order the latch for the door but the next day this car was totaled while I was on my mail route, hit head on by a young girl coming around a blind corner on the wrong side of the road. So I can not tell you first hand this would work on yours but I was sure it was going to fix mine. thanks guys - ill give that a try....hmm....it just sounds like its the hatch...and when I hold the tailgate and shake it it moves - rattles..i'll check those springs... mabey it isn't the hatch? Thanks.
January 30, 200719 yr Author Thanks. i believe that may be my problem. ill try the tape for now and avoid the collision! :-\
January 30, 200719 yr Dont put a lot of tape, you may have trouble opening the hatch if you do, he wrapped it around four times. Thanks. i believe that may be my problem. ill try the tape for now and avoid the collision!:-\
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