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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 01:25 AM
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Question Water leak in boot....

Hi folks, have had a problem with water getting into my boot recently and have narrowed it down to a few possibilities!!

My spare wheel well was half full of water but im near sure that was comming in from the tail lights and finding its way to the spare wheel?

However, i did also notice the compartment at the bottom of the lights was quite wet also, so i dried the complete boot out and set about tracing it with a hose....the water seems to be comming from the inside of the petrol filler compartment neck??
If i open the petrol flap and hose around the filler neck and cap the water starts to drip inside the car (on the inside of the driver side quarter panel) below this petrol filler surround and down the panel into the side of the boot floor ....i can unscrew 4 small screws from the outside of the petrol cap/holder, but will this whole part lift out so i can seal it up with seam sealer or such, or is the petrol cap/neck all part of this as well, meaning i have no easy way of realeasing it to gain access to seal it?? Its dripping quite bad into the boot!!

Also thre small black box (breather flap i think) also leaks into this boot well, so i will seal this as well.

Are there any other problem areas for water leaks in an Impreza boot i should know about, cuz i HATE water leaks/condensation in a car especially now in the colder wet weather, so id rather get them all sorted now together

The car is a MY99 by the way.

Thanks everyone
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 01:34 PM
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Rear lights can be a b**ch to seal up right . . . and water can p**s in . . .
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 01:48 PM
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I've got a MY99 with water getting in the boot too. I thought I'd sealed it ages ago, but it's just as wet as ever when it rains heavy. More on the passenger side, but the carpet's soaking it up and me boot smells like a tent now.
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 02:52 PM
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Thought it was just mine!
My passenger side tail-light has some black sealant around it, done by the previous owner, seems ok now though (famous last words!!)
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 03:02 PM
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mine leaks real bad around the passenger side as well, what kind of sealant is best to use?
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 03:22 PM
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I had the v.3-6 lights - with the clear indicators - fitted and not enough of that black gungey sealant has been used. When it rains heavily, it pisses in via the O/S light and I get a sodden carpet on that side, plus a nice reservoir of water in the wheel well. Irksome.

I must get it sorted... keep putting it off, lol.

Last edited by joz8968; Oct 6, 2008 at 06:06 PM.
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 03:27 PM
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well guys i had same water problem also thought of all the possible leak points. i found mine was leakin in the ariel gromet on the passenger side back quarter. fairly fills the boot up in bad weather
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 03:45 PM
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this is strange, mine leaks as well but only on drivers side, so gonna get the black silicon out at weekend and sort it out hopefully.
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 04:33 PM
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Its not just the clasics which have the problem.

Mines a 2005 wrx, and like you all, water seams to find it way into the spare wheel well.

Im proberbly not on mine own, but I have spend many an hour layed in the boot, with the boot lid shut and the other half spraying water on it with the hose pipe.

Although not 100% sure i belive it is getting in from around the rubber boot seal. Seams to run down the inside of the back pannel from around the boot lock area.

It did have a small shunt in the back when it was a bout 6 months old. Not sure if this is the cause.
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 05:07 PM
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mine leaked around the passenger side light cluster, there was lots of sealant but it was not in the right place so water filled both the light and the boot. I cleaned it up and resealed it and the problem's been gone for 4 years now.
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 05:33 PM
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more often than not it is the rear lights that are at fault

i seal my lights with butal tape, the only place i know where to get this is a volvo dealers, it is a black sealant that stays soft, very easy to use, when you need to remove the lights, use a hair drier to warm the sealant then remove the nuts from the back of the light and just ease them out. hope this helps
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Flib
mine leaks real bad around the passenger side as well, what kind of sealant is best to use?
butal tape from volvo dealers quite cheap and works well its what they use to seal there lights.
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 05:40 PM
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also had problems with leaking through the rear lights apparently the correct stuff is Carafax non-setting mastic, available, so I'm told, from Halfords
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 06:11 PM
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Originally Posted by ulusaba1
...Im proberbly not on mine own, but I have spend many an hour layed in the boot, with the boot lid shut and the other half spraying water on it with the hose pipe...
You nut. The scene! I'd love to have witnessed that - very amusing, lol
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 07:52 PM
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i had this problem so i put 2 8mm holes in the wheel well and also where the jack is kept there is like a drain plug (black plastic) thingy i removed this also. So at the moment my car dosnt hold any water in the boot

matt
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Old Oct 6, 2008 | 10:55 PM
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Any of you getting leaks around the petrol cap/filler into the boot though??
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Old Oct 7, 2008 | 12:38 AM
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It either gets under or over the boot seal, i don't know how but it does. I have an empty ice cream tub placed next to the opening for the jack and it collects the water. Unless proof of light cluster...try the rubber seal.
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Old Oct 7, 2008 | 11:09 AM
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As per my previous post I also have a boot full of water. Extremely disappointed with Bulldog subaru in Twyford, bought my 04 sti in July as a 'proven' used subaru with 12 month warranty. Noticed leak in boot after a few weeks, they continuously fail to sort it out or even return my calls.

....so I'm going to have a go with the sealant this weekend.....

.....fantanstic idea to get into the boot and get mrs to spray with hose!!
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Old Oct 7, 2008 | 07:28 PM
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Water leaks really annoy me big time....why do they just appear (as in a boot full of water out of nowere) and then you lie in the boot like a t1t while someone hoses the car and u cant see where the water comes in at or worse u see it comming in somewere else than u first thought
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Old Oct 9, 2008 | 06:49 PM
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Bump
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Old Aug 27, 2011 | 11:23 PM
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I have a 1997 Hatch and I have been trying to trace a leak from above the rear light (offside) for about 4 years with no luck.

I've tried everything.

It drips from above the rear lamp at about the point where the hatch seal curves from vertical to horizontal to go across the top of the lamp cluster.

I know the saloons suffer with lamp seal failures but this is dripping from above the light. I have removed the plastic trim cover and place a towel on top of the lamp wiring and after rain it is wet.

I tried jet washing the car while I was in the boot but there was no leak. I tried pouring coloured water over different parts of the car to see if it would come in.

I thought it might be the roof rails but was told by someone with the same leak problem that he had removed his and refitted and it made no difference.

It's driving me nuts. Help needed.
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Old Aug 27, 2011 | 11:48 PM
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You could also try looking at the rear arches if there is a little bit of rust as the inner skin from the boot is very close to the arch the water can ingress through there you would see it puddling more where the jack stowage point is this can be resolved with a lil bit of rubbing down and fibre glass filler

I had this on my MY93 import

Hope it helps someone

Gaz
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Old Aug 28, 2011 | 09:41 AM
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By "hatch" I assume you mean wagon?

It was always the wiring on mine that showed wet after rain and it was rain coming in over the top of the lamp unit. Have you actually removed the lamp unit and taken off all the old sealant and replaced it with new? You'll be surprised at the state of the top edge of the seralant if not.

If re-sealing, use this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fr...All-Categories

DO NOT use slicone or TigerSeal/SikaFlex.

If it's defo not the lights, is it the rear screen? Mine went and it wet the rear seat and filled the boot.
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Old Aug 28, 2011 | 10:12 AM
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My old ladys 99 sport used to leak bad (l/h side) after it had been in for a repair from a rear end shunt aprox 6 years ago.
Tried several times to re-seal the lights with no joy, sorted by putting a silcone bead on the plastic outer top lip above the light.
It's now been dry for the last few years.
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Old Aug 28, 2011 | 01:46 PM
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I think my bugeye might of started to leak, when i opened the boot the other day I got that typical smell of damp carpet. However the carpet felt dry but i think there might of been a light misting of water in the spare wheel like so many others mentioned. Think I shall have to take a look at the mentioned points of water leakage try to spot anything irregular
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Old Aug 28, 2011 | 08:55 PM
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I have a small leak in mine mainly when parked downhill, I removed all trim out the boot and kept looking everytime it rains, finally I have found it, for some reason the water runs inside the boot seal when the channel is full and drips in the boot I mow need to remove the seal and put some non setting mastic inside it before refitting, it will be nice to get the trim back in now
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Old Oct 6, 2015 | 08:46 PM
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Default Rubber seal

I know it's an old thread but use this on the top of the back lights where the water comes in looks miles better and cleaner than adhesives etc

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...obalID=EBAY-GB

This is large gauge, medium would be better from this company
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Old Oct 7, 2015 | 09:40 AM
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I'd stick with sealant, easier, works well and is invisible in use anyway.
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Old Oct 7, 2015 | 10:03 AM
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This is miles better you don't wanna put sealant on a nice clean car looks like a bodge job
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Old Oct 8, 2015 | 09:40 AM
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Nonsense.
a) you CANNOT see it once the lights are fitted, it's BEHIND them, and b) Subaru build it like that.
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