A tip for Forrester owners

[4orrester]

I recently had a problem with water in spare tire well of my '04 Forrester
that I had difficulty finding the source of. It didn't look like the hatch
gasket because it wasn't coming in anywhere near it - BUT...

The water was running down the outer edge of the gasket, then "wicking"
under it at or the point closest to the tail light. It then filled the
inner cavity of the gasket and ran down to the bottom where it seaped
between openings between the spot welds in the body panels of the
bottom-most edge. No water ever flowed between gasket and hatch or between
the gasket and inside edge - only under the gasket and into an opening where
it eventually found another seam abouth 1/2 way up the back side of the
spare well. Remove the inner plastic trim on the bottom of the opening for
an even better look. The problem was the poor sealant that was used, not
the gasket. Subaru used a white, non-hardening type of caulking to fill the
gasket before it was actually put on the car, but this material turns a bit
chaulky, shrinks and never actually bonds to either surface.

I pulled of the entire gasket, removed as much of the old caulking (not much
was used anyway) as I could from the gasket and car, cleaned all surfaces
with a little alcohol, then applied a generous amount of marine-grade
silicone. No more leak!

I never would have looked in the spare well to know there even WAS a leak
except that I was getting the car sprayed with "Rust Check". The guy asked
me if I wanted the spare well done...........you betcha............

One more thing - make sure you don't put the gasket back on with the soft
edge to the outside or you will have to take it of and do it again.
....ahem....

 

[Catherine Jefferson]

I recently had a problem with water in spare tire well of my '04 Forrester
that I had difficulty finding the source of. It didn't look like the hatch
gasket because it wasn't coming in anywhere near it - BUT...

<snip>

Noted, and thanks. Does this apply to 1999 Forresters?

 

[4orrester]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this probably applies to all Subaru
hatchbacks. I don't know if Subaru has changed the caulking compound or the
quantity used, but it is inadequate in my '04. The water hides under the
spare, so you'll have to take that out too to check for sure. Rust has
started at the spot welds because of it and is working its way outward. I
plan to get a can of good quality, creeping-type rust-proofing and coat the
area to keep the moisture and oxygen out - not to mention the winter salt

 

[Catherine Jefferson]

I didn't see this behavior with my old 1998 Outback Sport, which "lived"
in a relatively wet area (San Francisco Bay area) for most of its
existence. The Forester, although just a year newer in model year, has
about 120K fewer miles on it, so I will keep a close eye on it for any
signs of this.

Thanks!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this probably applies to all Subaru
hatchbacks. I don't know if Subaru has changed the caulking compound or the
quantity used, but it is inadequate in my '04. The water hides under the
spare, so you'll have to take that out too to check for sure. Rust has
started at the spot welds because of it and is working its way outward. I
plan to get a can of good quality, creeping-type rust-proofing and coat the
area to keep the moisture and oxygen out - not to mention the winter salt