Help .... Leaks!!

[russg84]

This horrid rain is starting to take its toll on my poor zed.
Unfortunately I'm not lucky enough to own a hardtop or a garage to keep her dry in the rain.

A puddle has appeared in the passenger footwell (behind the passenger seat). Trouble is... I cannot find the source of the leak
I've temporarily tried to contain the water with pig matting until I can find where its coming from.

1. I've felt around the roof and rear window, no damp patches or obvious points of leaking. Also there are no drips on the seat or the carpet behind the seat.
2. I've checked the rubber seals at the passenger window, which aren't perfect but don't appear to be leaking at all
3. I've checked around the door seals and no signs of leaks from there....

Its almost as if water is coming in from underneath the car but its very unlikely...
Obviously there are ways around this by covering the car or driving with a snorkle and armbands, but I'd rather fix the problem that hide it. Don't want this causing me nightmares in the future.

Anyone had the same issue or have any suggestions?

[Davejue1]

Check the pillar tops where the windscreen meets the doors. There's a small triangular shaped grommet inserted in the top that fails and let's water run down the inside of the doors collecting in the foot wells. If this is the route of your problem,all I did was push the grommets into the pillar about 1/4 of an inch then filled the void with clear silicone bringing it level to the top of the pillar. Make sure the doors are Open when doing it and leave them open until the silicone has firmed off fully. I did both at the same time and neither side has leaked since. Make sure its neatly finished as you can see it when the roofs down.
Not saying this will work as you've said the waters towards the rear of the cabin but it's a free fix and it would eliminate one common course. Good luck!


Cheers
Dave

[Southernboy]

Dave, would you post a photo of the specific area and your repair to clearly describe the action to be taken... I reckon there's a few here who will be interested.

[Davejue1]

Hi Barry, I'll pop a pic on in a bit mate.

[stupot50]

Take a look at the link below, it explains it perfectly

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showth ... p?t=254611

[Davejue1]

Pics added to original post. Not great quality I'm afraid as it's persisting it down and the cars under the carport. It does however indicate what I'm trying to explain.

[russg84]

Once again the help and advice from the people of this forum have proved to be a life saver!!!
Thanks to Davejue1 and stupot50 for their advice on this.

In my naivety, I didnt think that such an insignificant little grommet could be causing such a bad leak but after some serious poking around all of the door and roof seals (which resulted in me snapping one of the door trims) it appears to be the likely source of water ingress. The best method I found to check this is to use a syringe to inject water into the seal located about the grommet. In doing so, it appeared that water was leaking from the grommet (particularly during heavy rain). This water then runs along the window seal subsequently dripping onto the carpet / footwell below.



I'm planning to post a video of how to check the grommet using a syringe and application of the silicone to prevent it. May prove useful to someone in the future.

Being my first convertible, let alone zed, I had no idea of the nightmarish world of rubber and maze of seals and channels

P.S. If anyone has a spare door trim surplus to requirements, I'm interested

[t-tony]

These can be bad enough but my wife is on her 2nd VW Eos with folding tin top, imagine how many rubber seals there are between all the moving roof and boot lid panels.I bought a small aerosol spray of seal treatment from VW and it cost £45. But it beats a leak .

[Vic-Z3]

I'm planning to post a video of how to check the grommet using a syringe and application of the silicone to prevent it. May prove useful to someone in the future.

Yes please ...............

[henrycrun]

Don't forget to check if the drain cup behind each seat is blocked up.

Can be difficult to locate and can only be seen with the roof up.
One way if you have long arms, is to sit in the car sideways with the door open and feel behind the backrest. The cup should be dry,.

[russg84]

Henry
Where abouts is the drain cup located? Is actually underneath the seat itself? Ideally if someone has a picture, that'd be really helpful

[deni2s]

In my naivety, I didnt think that such an insignificant little grommet could be causing such a bad leak but after some serious poking around all of the door and roof seals (which resulted in me snapping one of the door trims) it appears to be the likely source of water ingress. The best method I found to check this is to use a syringe to inject water into the seal located about the grommet. In doing so, it appeared that water was leaking from the grommet (particularly during heavy rain). This water then runs along the window seal subsequently dripping onto the carpet / footwell below.



I'm planning to post a video of how to check the grommet using a syringe and application of the silicone to prevent it. May prove useful to someone in the future.

This is typical cause of leaks on z3 as this little grommet shrinks from age. What I did, I even glued around the grommet a slice of rubber from bikes tire, to prevent the leakage as silicone was solution not for a long time. I believe this "fix" is documented many times on the forums http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showth ... p?t=254611 .

[wonderloaf]

Henry
Where abouts is the drain cup located? Is actually underneath the seat itself? Ideally if someone has a picture, that'd be really helpful

http://forum.roadfly.com/threads/131068 ... -locations it's called the Gutter box in the picture.