Water leak in tail gate - Outback '02

PopPicker

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I'm getting a lot of water in the tailgate light garnish somehow, enough to half fill the spare wheel well.

I cannot see where it gets in...

Any ideas?

thanks

PP
 
Hose it down thoroughly around the back of the car, let it drip dry for a few minutes before opening the tailgate and gradually pulling all the interior linings off. Look for a trace of water to follow all the way out to the faulty seal. Otherwise, the other source of water (if it's just accumulating in the spare wheel well and not dripping down from the tailgate) could be the common case of ingress through where the trailer wiring harness comes in through the floor near the spare wheel well. I've seen a few cars that have had water splash up there.
 
I owned an 01 Outback and had water and dust filling the rear finisher light above the boot latch. I removed this and then washed as much dust out, let it dry and then put silicon along where the plastic is joined together. When I put it back on the car I also ran a bead of silicon between the rear finisher and the bottom of the rear window. This solved my problems of water and dust getting in.
 
My 00 model done the same. Took the whole plastic bit off the tail gate. The water was getting in between the transparent red plastic and black plastic on the top join.
A thin bead of neutral cure silicon pushed into the joint and no more leaks.
 
Thanks Mr Turbo.
Finding the problem took many hrs cause the broken seam is not easily visible.
I fixed it 18 months ago and it has sealed since.
 
Water somehow gets in the back of mine also. There is often water in the spare wheel well and also in the bottom of the jack/tools compartment. It sometimes splashes up onto the carpet from somewhere. My wife says she can hear water sloshing around sometimes.I've had a good look around the left rear tail light, but don't think it's from there. Maybe it's getting in around the sunroof? The car has never been garaged.
 
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