I just bought a 2000 Outback Sport. Water is repeatedly collecting in the spare tire well. Interestingly I had test drove a 2000 RS at a dealer that had water in the spare tire well also but just put it down as a anomaly. Anybody know about solutions?
Depends what's causing it: heavy rain? washing with a hose? automatic car wash? immersion in a river? (Avoid the last one at all costs!) Likeliest is either an ill fitting hatch seal or latch, or maybe a leaky light housing or body part - partiuclarly if it's been repaired. First off
-check that the hatch seal is fitted properly, then check that the tailgate is latching securely. If it's still leaking, fold the back seat down, climb into the load area with the spare and carpet removed, make yourself as comfortable as possible and get someone to spray all round the back of the car with a hose or a pressure washer. When you see water inside, track it back to its entry point. As a last resort if it defies resolution, get a Saab drain plug (like a normal grommet, but with a drain hole in the middle, put the right sized hole at the lowest point of the boot floor and insert it. You'll still have a water leak but it won't rust out your boot! Really though, the only real problem is likely to be if it's the result of a rear ender and it's entering from somewhere in the roof or above the tailgate. Otherwise, just time & patience. Cheers
The older Plymouth/Dodge Neons had that same problem. After suspecting and searching around the trunk seal, turns out it was the tail-light seals that were dried out and letting water enter and collect in the spare tire well. Replacing the gaskets corrected the problem.
I had this problem develop in an '89 Colt hatchback. In my case, small hidden rivulets of water were entering via the UNDERSIDE of the vertical sections of rubber seal around the hatchback, and gravitating into the well. I didn't notice until at least 5 gallons had accumulated back there over a period of about six months, and a whole lotta rust had developed. I thought the sloshing noise was the fuel tank. I fixed the problen by removing the stripping, filling the underside with silicone RTV, then re-installing the stripping. -Danny
hidden rivulets of water
around the hatchback, and
accumulated back there over
thought the sloshing noise
the underside with
My Forester spare tire well has several rubber plugs in the bottom. Maybe one is missing???????
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