Water Leak Legacy GT - Help!

[Carlos Gibson]

Hi Everyone, I'm a newbie on this site but a longtime Subaru owner. My 2000 Legacy GT wagon has developed a pesky water leak and I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem, or even if a service bulletin might exist.

 

Water is somehow getting into the right rear side of the cargo area and collecting on the floor behind the wheel hump, right where the little storage compartment is. Water is not coming in from hatch or tail light assembly. It leaks while parked in the rain, so I'm thinking it probably isn't being forced into the area from somewhere else. I took it to a body shop today but they're saying they will have to pretty much take the car apart piece by piece to find the leak. Going to the dealership is pretty much a last resort - they are ridiculously expensive and typically not good for much beyond performing scheduled tuneups.

 

Has anyone else sprung this leak? I'd sure appreciate any suggestions before I pay to have this Subie disasembled. Thanks for your help!

[brus brother]

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/results.cfm?start=16&SearchType=DrillDown&type=VEHICLE&year=2000&make=SUBARU&model=LEGACY&vehtype=UNK&typenum=1&component_id=0&summary=true

This page has a TSB that concerns water coming in at the front headliner by the map light but I think it's highly unlikely it would travel that far back without breaking out earlier.

My 2 cents says it's the light so duct tape it off and check after next rain. Does the water get in whether you drive or not i.e. is it being spun up by the tires through a body seam?

[Carlos Gibson]

Thanks for the input, Bro. Water collects inside right rear cargo area, below the little stow compartment, even when the car is parked - which makes me think it isn't being pushed into the area by air pressure or splashed up by tires. (Unless it's being splashed in and then draining slowly, hmmmm.)

 

The inside of the stow compartment is wet. I've noticed drops of water under the window seal above the stow compartment. I'll get it figured out soon or buy a new one - I've kind of been looking for a reason to get another Legacy GT wagon.

 

BTW - I'd read the TSB on the map light drip. I don't think it applies here but it's good to be reminded that my situation could be a lot worse!

[sea#3]

There is a drain in the rear quarters that can plug up , It some time can get partialy get covered by undercoat then eventually plug up . If you take the trim panel off were the compartment is you can access it easier . You can also see it from below , between the carbon canister and the bottom of the inner wheel well

It"s going take some searching because it probably hidden under dirt or undercoat

Hope this helps

SEA#3

[cannonball]

I feel your pain. Water somehow accumulates in my hatch when it rains or if I wash my car. When I open up the hatch water will pour out into the rear bay area from the hatch. I thought I had found where water was probably not being drained properly and cleaned out some debris on the upper side of the rear light fixture but that did not help. I downloaded a bunch of the repair manual thinking that the pictures would be good help but alas they didn't help. It would be nice to know where all the appropriate drain holes are located. If anyone has this info it sure would be nice. Hope you get your problem fixed. I know how much a PITA it is.

[mwatt]

I feel your pain. Water somehow accumulates in my hatch when it rains or if I wash my car. When I open up the hatch water will pour out into the rear bay area from the hatch. I thought I had found where water was probably not being drained properly and cleaned out some debris on the upper side of the rear light fixture but that did not help. I downloaded a bunch of the repair manual thinking that the pictures would be good help but alas they didn't help. It would be nice to know where all the appropriate drain holes are located. If anyone has this info it sure would be nice. Hope you get your problem fixed. I know how much a PITA it is.

Use a garden hose to run a continuous GENTLE stream of water across the sunroof while you sit inside the vehicle and watch. (not just for a few seconds--let it run for awhile to simulate a steady rain) If water begins to drip from the interior roof garnish moldings (the trim panels in the passenger and cargo area that fit against the edges of the headliner to give it a finished appearance), the sunroof drain hoses may be plugged with sediment (or cracking, or pulled loose). This would require removing the headliner for furthur diagnosis and correction.

[cannonball]

Use a garden hose to run a continuous GENTLE stream of water across the sunroof while you sit inside the vehicle and watch. (not just for a few seconds--let it run for awhile to simulate a steady rain) If water begins to drip from the interior roof garnish moldings (the trim panels in the passenger and cargo area that fit against the edges of the headliner to give it a finished appearance), the sunroof drain hoses may be plugged with sediment (or cracking, or pulled loose). This would require removing the headliner for furthur diagnosis and correction.

I've inspected the roof/ hatch joint for just that and it appears there is no passage from that to the hatch. My thinking is in the hatch itself. The one thing that concerns me there doesn't appear to be any molding from the rear light fixture. I don't have any leakage from the actual roof itself. In the attached pictures you will notice that the only place from the roof to the hatch is the wire harnesses. The 1st picture shows the places where the light fixture doesn't have a seal. I have looked at another wagon and it look sthe same to me. The 2nd picture shows where I found so some debris and my thinking was that the water coming down the side channels was backing up and breaching the hatch seal. It's got me baffled. I really don't want to tear the hatch down. Sorry for kinda high jacking the thread. Also you can barely see red lines I have drawn on 1 and 3.

[mwatt]

I've inspected the roof/ hatch joint for just that and it appears there is no passage from that to the hatch. My thinking is in the hatch itself. The one thing that concerns me there doesn't appear to be any molding from the rear light fixture. I don't have any leakage from the actual roof itself. In the attached pictures you will notice that the only place from the roof to the hatch is the wire harnesses. The 1st picture shows the places where the light fixture doesn't have a seal. I have looked at another wagon and it look sthe same to me. The 2nd picture shows where I found so some debris and my thinking was that the water coming down the side channels was backing up and breaching the hatch seal. It's got me baffled. I really don't want to tear the hatch down. Sorry for kinda high jacking the thread. Also you can barely see red lines I have drawn on 1 and 3.

Has anybody water-tested the vehicle using the method I mentioned above?

[cannonball]

Has anybody water-tested the vehicle using the method I mentioned above?

Could you by chance post a picture where the drain holes should be or rather where on the rear the water would come out. I read that the earlier OB had this design. I can't test your theory today because it of course is raining. Just went back out to inspect a little more. I personally will test this out. I'm taking my car to the dealer to get the timing belt changed next week and plan on having them look at it.

[mwatt]

Hi Everyone, I'm a newbie on this site but a longtime Subaru owner. My 2000 Legacy GT wagon has developed a pesky water leak and I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem, or even if a service bulletin might exist.

 

Water is somehow getting into the right rear side of the cargo area and collecting on the floor behind the wheel hump, right where the little storage compartment is. Water is not coming in from hatch or tail light assembly. It leaks while parked in the rain, so I'm thinking it probably isn't being forced into the area from somewhere else. I took it to a body shop today but they're saying they will have to pretty much take the car apart piece by piece to find the leak. Going to the dealership is pretty much a last resort - they are ridiculously expensive and typically not good for much beyond performing scheduled tuneups.

 

Has anyone else sprung this leak? I'd sure appreciate any suggestions before I pay to have this Subie disasembled. Thanks for your help!

Use a garden hose to run a continuous GENTLE stream of water across the sunroof while you sit inside the vehicle and watch. (not just for a few seconds--let it run for awhile to simulate a steady rain) If water begins to drip from the interior roof garnish moldings (the trim panels in the passenger and cargo area that fit against the edges of the headliner to give it a finished appearance), the sunroof drain hoses may be plugged with sediment (or cracking, or pulled loose). This would require removing the headliner for furthur diagnosis and correction.

[brus brother]

I too have a 2000 GT Wagon and asked for the service bulletin regarding rear moonroof sunshade work. I picked the info up on the same site as the other TSB I gave you. Anyway, I had a problem in the past where the rear shade jumped the track but I was able to get it back in. I wanted to see what SOA had on it but it was just their tech advisory with instructions on the least complicated way of removing headliner etc and maintaining tracks and guides. I think I still have a hard copy and will fax or scan and post if you need to do anything invasive. PM if you want.

[gbrand]

This may or not be of any help, but on the 80 wagon I had I too had a mysterious leak that would get a small amount of water into the area behind the second seat. Finally traced it to the seal along the bottom of the side glass, ran a little black RTV along the outside to reseal the glass to the rubber seal and no more leak.