Leaky trunk.. yuck

[warrior]

I opened my trunk and I felt the dampness on the carpet.. I figured it was the snow from my snowboard but when I lifted the carpet.. everything beneath was soaked! My Chiltons manual that I keep under there was like a sponge, water all over my spare tire and and and.. it was just a mess!

I checked all the rubber around the trunk and it's all flexible and no cracks or gaps anywhere. I'm thinking it's from below the trunk and all this rain/snow isn't helping much.

Has anyone else had this problem with a leaking trunk.. it's too cold outside to take everything out and find the culprit but if someone has had a similar problem; any advice would be great! :cool:

[Huffer]

I took out one of the rubber bungs underneath the spare. Since then, no problems.

[warrior]

You took it out?.. :-?

[Huffer]

yeah, so moisture can drain out.

[Cajual]

It's probably a leaky seal in your taillight. Did you swap in JDM taillights? When you put those in, you may not have sealed it up completely.

I took out one of my taillights to remove the panel below it and when I put it back in, I didn't really check the seal and after one day of rain, my trunk was exactly like how you described... a big mess. Leaving the plug out is not going to solve your problem :roll:

[Huffer]

It fixed my problem. I don't have JDM tailights though.

Trunk is bone dry, has been all through the summer rains, and 2 winters.

:roll: back at ya. :lol:

[Cajual]

...except his problem is more than just a little "moisture". Removing the rubber plug isn't going to dry out his carpet and remove all the water in the spare wheel well.

[Huffer]

Then remove all THREE plugs.

:lol:

[warrior]

It's probably a leaky seal in your taillight. Did you swap in JDM taillights? When you put those in, you may not have sealed it up completely.

I took out one of my taillights to remove the panel below it and when I put it back in, I didn't really check the seal and after one day of rain, my trunk was exactly like how you described... a big mess. Leaving the plug out is not going to solve your problem :roll:

Yes, I do have JDM tail lights but I had a moisture problem with the tail lights themselves getting water inside. I took them all off, pealed off all the old glue and put a lot of roof polyurethane around them. I don't think it's the tail lights themselves anymore.. but I guess I can't do much right now.

I'll wait until the weather warms up a bit and have my friend wait in the trunk as I hose the back end down to see if we can find where the water leaks in from.

Thanks guys

[pdawg]

I'll wait until the weather warms up a bit and have my friend wait in the trunk as I hose the back end down to see if we can find where the water leaks in from.

Thanks guys

That is one good friend. :lol:

[JjSwee]

Any problem with removing those plugs?

[AussieDan]

While removing the plugs might 'solve' the problem, it's really just a band-aid solution. If water is getting into the trunk you really should find out where it's coming from and fix the leak.

[Huffer]

Maybe it's coinkydink then, but I've not had any more leaks into the trunk since then.

Perhaps my car is a freak of nature.

[tekkitan]

water gets into my trunk easily. i was spraying it down last summer and water went right in through the bottom of the trunk lid. probably a seal problem in my case =\

[Reason]

Mine would get wet every time I hit the car with a power washer. It would leak between the lid and the rubber seal in front of the rear glass. It seemed like it wasn't meeting all the way. The rubber was in good condition. Maybe a bad design flaw?

[legacyrookie87]

Mines is leaking but I don't know how is called I. Can described. It I have 1997 lgt is right under the trunk latch is like two piece of metal meet water drips tru their

[airlia101]

I try not to resurrect old threads, but as 1: this was just done last year, and 2: it is highly relevant, and I think helpful. Mods - if you dislike this I'll just make it a new thread, instead.

I found a pool of water in my spare tire well and scissor jack slot last week. Think it started after I removed and resealed my tail corner lights. I pulled the drain plugs as said above, and had to crawl under the car and pop out the one for the jack spot with a screwdriver (keep your face out of the way!). Stripped out the liner, dried the carpet by wringing it out, using a gas station vacuum on it, then leaving it in bright sunshine on the pavement for 3-4 days.
I also put one of these in the trunk, mechanic recommended it actually, to absorb any water that evaporates out in the sun.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2012/09/th_51YR8Lt0cCL_SL500_SL160_-1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v713/lehvak12/Subaru/?action=view&current=51YR8Lt0cCL_SL500_SL160_.jpg)
Works great!
I think I escaped any bad mold/mildew problems by having replaced my cardboard tire cover with the plastic lid to one of these - also highly recommended!
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2012/09/th_BDtrunk-1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v713/lehvak12/Subaru/?action=view&current=BDtrunk.jpg)

After it all, I closed my trunk and poured water across the seams to see where it gets in. One leak right on top of the bulb socket - took lamp out, resealed, good. Another through the peg at the curved end of the light - I had reused the old gasket which is useless. Put some silicone sealant on it, and now that's good too. But I see some water pooling in on top of the vent down by the passenger rear fender... not sure how to get to that without taking the bumper off...

[Odycee]

"It would leak between the lid and the rubber seal in front of the rear glass." I had the same problem, leaked from rubber seal rear glass.