00-04 obw water leak into Rear gate center light housing

[montana tom]

  Has anybody found the true fix for this ? $380 for a new center light isn't happening....  $100 for a used one at the wrecking yard that might not leak...  It destroys the 1157 bulb socket with rust...  then, $56.00 for an 8" harness !!! per side !!!    Sealing the body to the light housing with silicon  ,might work for a time but it looks bad from day one. Removing the light bar shows no obvious leaks .  I'm starting to suspect the sponge rubber gasket on each side could be the issue.  Of course at the dealers that gasket has been discontinued...  I did locate some nos online  16 $ each and ten bucks to ship.  Are these rubber gaskets the fix ?? Anybody worked this out ?

[GeneralDisorder]

Yeah it's usually the gaskets. But you may also need to apply sealant to the housing. Probably have to make your own gaskets. They are rapidly discontinuing parts for the 00 to 04 Legacy. Subaru has a new paradigm on parts it seems and they are going to obsolete most parts after 10-15 years. Forces the old stuff off the roads and consumers into the showrooms. 

 

GD

[Gloyale]

Had this problem on my wife's 03 LLbean.  Problem was the outer layer (red) was separating at it's seem along the upper edge with the inner body of the piece (black)

 

The fix was multi-pronged approach.

 

1) Remove the whole assembly, wash it with warm soapy water, rinse thoroughly, and dry well.

 

2) I ran a bead of right stuff RTV between the outer panel upper lip and the inner, black body of the assembly.  Used my finger to wipe the RTV deep into the seam, smoothing it out with the finger.  Across the entire length of the upper seam.

 

3) Let that dry fully.

 

4) Install onto the tailgate using beads of RTV around the sealing lips and around bolt holes.

 

This worked well and I've had no repeat leaks.

[montana tom]

I have tried  option  #1-3 in the past. It did not work well at all for me. I recently removed one from the wife's car that I had tried that very repair on several years ago .  After cleaning and wire brushing it appeared that my original repair was still intact... it leaked like a waterfall !  Repair #4 ; The "sealing lips" ? do you mean the rubber /foam gasket ?  This is the spot I suspected and GD confirmed. It looks to me, that water can run over the back of the plastic housing and then drip directly into the the heat vent holes molded into the top side of the lower light housing.  If this is the sealing lips you mentioned then rtv or a home made gasket may be the way to go.

[Gloyale]

I have tried  option  #1-3 in the past. It did not work well at all for me. I recently removed one from the wife's car that I had tried that very repair on several years ago .  After cleaning and wire brushing it appeared that my original repair was still intact... it leaked like a waterfall !  Repair #4 ; The "sealing lips" ? do you mean the rubber /foam gasket ?  This is the spot I suspected and GD confirmed. It looks to me, that water can run over the back of the plastic housing and then drip directly into the the heat vent holes molded into the top side of the lower light housing.  If this is the sealing lips you mentioned then rtv or a home made gasket may be the way to go.

I don't exactly remember.

 

I just know I applied sealant along the entire top of the assembly, making sure to get it into the seam without any gaps or bubbles.

 

In my case, I could tell from testing it was leaking between teh inner and outer layers of the fixture, not running in through the back somehow.  The foam gaskets only keep water from entering the tailgate.  If there is water in the fixture, the problem is with the layers of plastic and you must seal that seem to solve it.

[GeneralDisorder]

Instead of RTV for replacing the gaskets - get a roll of Butyl rubber from the auto body supply. It can be formed into beads and stays rubbery for many years. It's what Subaru used to use for tail light housings, etc before they went to the crappy foam that is discontinued. 

 

And yes the plastic housing warp and come unglued - we use Three Bond 1217H for all these types of needs. But there are various RTV's that will work. Some are just firmer than others. The 1217H is a nice middle of the road firmness. Not too soft, but not hard as concrete like the 1217B was (discontinued). 

 

GD

Edited November 26, 2017 by GeneralDisorder

[montana tom]

Perfect ! Butyl rubber , I like it, ordering now ... should be delivered by mid week !   Thank You