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Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons Maintenance & Repair

8644 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2013 at 4:04 PM

You are in the Subaru Legacy & Outback Forum.

What is this discussion about? Subaru Legacy, Subaru Outback, Wagon

Messages Page 361 of 865

#3594 of 8644 Water Pooling on Drivers Side Floor (Especially on rear driver's side) by tph

Sep 30, 2004 (8:23 am)

Hi,
 
I hope I'm addressing the right group here. I just purchased a used 1996 Subaru Legacy L wagon from a small used car lot w/no warranty (sold as-is). We just had a lot of heavy rain here in Southeastern PA and I noticed that a pool of water had accumulated in the rear left (driver's side) passenger floor and the front driver's side carpet was all wet as well. Where is the water coming leaking from? I don't have a sunroof and there is no water pooled in the spare tire compartment as others have seen. The car was recently painted however, so maybe a seal was not properly replaced or something. The car is starting to smell really foul and I'm not too happy about that at all. What is the most cost effective way to have this leak diagnosed and fixed? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

#3595 of 8644 by ateixeira

Sep 30, 2004 (8:33 am)

This might be tough - a repaint is definitely a red flag for previous damage.
 
Check the floor boards themselves, for holes. The water could be splashing up. Look for cracks or poked holes.
 
True story - my brother put a jack under my dad's Cougar, when he was younger and not as bright, and poked a hole right through the floor board.
 
He vindicated himself by becoming the valedictorian of his law school.
 
-juice

#3596 of 8644 Re: Water Pooling on Drivers Side Floor (Especially on rear driver's side) [tph] by dcm61

Sep 30, 2004 (9:09 am)

Replying to: tph (Sep 30, 2004 8:23 am)
Check the rocker panel and door drains. They are probably plugged up from the repaint.
 
Get a wet vac and clean up the water ASAP.
 
DaveM

#3597 of 8644 Re: Water Pooling on Drivers Side Floor (Especially on rear driver's side) by tph

Sep 30, 2004 (10:20 am)

Replying to: dcm61 (Sep 30, 2004 9:09 am)
Where are the "rocker panels" and door drains located? Sorry for my ignorance on this issue... Thanks for the quick responses. I appreciate it. I did clean up most of the water with a wet vac... still the carpets are really damp and the smell is hanging around. Any good solutions for fighting the mildew on the rugs/mats... I guess lysol might work, but that smell is not too pleasant either in my opinion. I guess I need a few dry sunny days to open up the windows and let the car dry out, unfortunately it is still raining lightly here in Philadelphia, PA. Thanks again.

#3598 of 8644 by ateixeira

Sep 30, 2004 (10:20 am)

I heard some sloshing in my Miata - time for me to do the same thing.
 
-juice

#3599 of 8644 Help - Overheating Again! by lorical

Sep 30, 2004 (11:52 am)

I own a 2001 Outback which at 31,000 miles overheated. Took them a while to figure things out but after 2 months they replaced head gasket, radiator, thermostat, spark plugs, etc. Everything was fine until one year later, last week when on a freeway out of town the gauge went straight to red. A service station helped me and replaced the radiator and thermostat. I drove 140 miles home (with no problems), left the car for 4 hours, and when I drove it one mile it overheated again! Straight to red. It is now at the dealers, but they say they don't know what it is yet. I have 49,000 miles, no extended warranty, and have found out on the web that there have been problems with the head gaskets and coolant stuff (which I knew nothing about). Am very upset and not looking forward to fighting the dealer and paying for something which may be systemic in my car. Help! Any suggestions?

#3600 of 8644 by ateixeira

Sep 30, 2004 (12:02 pm)

You're in luck because Subaru extended the warranty coverage on the head gaskets to 8 years/100k miles.
 
Let them look at it. I hope you didn't go very far after it overheated, it was wise to stop right away. Continuing is what does long-term harm.
 
Did you ever get a service bulletin (guess not)? They were supposed to put a coolant additive in your radiator. Of course they worked on that at 31k miles, so it should have gone in at that time.
 
Call 800-SUBARU3. Be polite, give them the same information you gave us. Let them liase with your dealer to make sure the fix is done thoroughly this time, so it doesn't reoccur.
 
Hang in there, hopefully they can help you out. Stick around and keep us posted?
 
-juice

#3601 of 8644 Re: [ateixeira] by lorical

Sep 30, 2004 (12:23 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Sep 30, 2004 12:02 pm)
Thanks. I wasn't sure if the extended warranty would apply since I didn't get the additive in (that I know of). Also, since I moved, it is another dealer I'm working with. They told me it may be a head and that would be very expensive (for me). Would that be covered under the extended warranty? Ouch.

#3602 of 8644 by ateixeira

Sep 30, 2004 (12:31 pm)

That falls under a gray area.
 
The warranty was for people that agreed to use the additive, but they never contacted you.
 
Did they have your new address?
 
Call 800-SUBARU3 and be real, real nice. Befriend them because they might take your side and help you if the dealer does not want to cover it.
 
If they put in the additive at the 31k point, you should definitely be covered. Even if they didn't, your car showed symptoms while still under warranty, and you're having the same problem now.
 
Keep us posted? I think the 800 folks will help but just in case stick with the Subaru Crew here on Edmunds.
 
-juice

#3603 of 8644 Re: Water Pooling on Drivers Side Floor (Especially on rear driver's side) [tph] by dcm61

Sep 30, 2004 (12:45 pm)

Replying to: tph (Sep 30, 2004 10:20 am)
I believe the rocker panel drains are on the outer side of the underbody (underside of door sills) behind the front tire and in front of the rear tire. The door panel drains should be on the bottom of the door.
 
Try sprinkling some baking soda on the carpet.
 
You can try putting a dehumidifier in the cargo area to draw out the moisture from the carpet. Or maybe use a blow dryer.
 
DaveM

Messages Page 361 of 865

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