Roof motor relocated.... but...

[RyanB88]

I could hear a sloshing sound this morning when driving around from behind me. I've Just had a look in the boot and it's damp on both sides, but especially the passengers side of the boot carpet

Where the roof motor is relocated to, it's now wet so kind of defeats the whole point of relocating the motor as it's sat in a pool of water again!

Has anyone else suffered this?

I am assuming that the drain holes are blocked and the water is sloshing over the overflow into the boot?

Easiest way to fix this - I have the day off work today and tomorrow so hoping to get this done before it gets any worse...

[Marlon]

That's a hell of a build up of water!
Take the drain plugs out, accessed from underneath see below (flush with outer panel), and once you've drained and cleaned it leave them out.

Zed - drain plugs.jpg (183.07 KiB) Viewed 1035 times

[RyanB88]

Thanks Marlon

On my dads car, he has no drain plug, just the drain hole (Porsche) so I assume once I clean the drain holes there will be no ill effects from leaving the drain plugs off completely?

[Ducklakeview]

Thanks Marlon

On my dads car, he has no drain plug, just the drain hole (Porsche) so I assume once I clean the drain holes there will be no ill effects from leaving the drain plugs off completely?

No, matbe a little more road noise, but with your exhaust...

As Marlon said, must have been a hell of a build up of water!

Mike

[MACK]

Those rubber bits at the bottom are designed to keep insects from crawling in but still allow water to run through and out of the drainage channels. They can get crudded up but it's normally the drain holes at the roof itself. If taking the plugs out doesn't solve your issues it will be the two holes for the drain channels at the top. One under where the roof motor used to be and the other on the same spot on the other side. I've used hot water to soften the crud and an airline to blow clean on a number of convertibles over the years and always managed to get them unblocked. If you don't have access to an airline then sometimes hot water alone has been enough.
Mikes right about noise and leaving the bungs out. I left mine out for 12 months but recently thought I would put them back in after reading on here about extra noise. It did make a noticeable difference

For me keeping on top of the drains is one of those things that seem to be an issue on lots of verts. Even where roof motors aren't involved they tend to block, back up and start tipping into the interior in various places. Once had an e46 with a full spare wheel of water and the battery compartment was also nearly full. That was a very near miss that day!

[Marlon]

. . .
Mikes right about noise and leaving the bungs out. I left mine out for 12 months but recently thought I would put them back in after reading on here about extra noise. It did make a noticeable difference

Interesting, I have spare bungs that I will pop back in when the hardtop goes on over winter

[MACK]

. . .
Mikes right about noise and leaving the bungs out. I left mine out for 12 months but recently thought I would put them back in after reading on here about extra noise. It did make a noticeable difference

Interesting, I have spare bungs that I will pop back in when the hardtop goes on over winter

Yes i was suprised to be honest. Don't get me wrong it's not night and day but it's noticeable.

[RyanB88]

Those rubber bits at the bottom are designed to keep insects from crawling in but still allow water to run through and out of the drainage channels. They can get crudded up but it's normally the drain holes at the roof itself. If taking the plugs out doesn't solve your issues it will be the two holes for the drain channels at the top. One under where the roof motor used to be and the other on the same spot on the other side. I've used hot water to soften the crud and an airline to blow clean on a number of convertibles over the years and always managed to get them unblocked. If you don't have access to an airline then sometimes hot water alone has been enough.
Mikes right about noise and leaving the bungs out. I left mine out for 12 months but recently thought I would put them back in after reading on here about extra noise. It did make a noticeable difference

For me keeping on top of the drains is one of those things that seem to be an issue on lots of verts. Even where roof motors aren't involved they tend to block, back up and start tipping into the interior in various places. Once had an e46 with a full spare wheel of water and the battery compartment was also nearly full. That was a very near miss that day!

Haha! Thanks for that

I'll try poking it with wire, hot water a Hoover and a hair dryer to push stuff through. I'll report back tomorrow on my sloshing issues!

[RyanB88]

Ok so all done, quite an easy job but a shocking design I have to say

Ridiculous amounts of green and black algae, dirt and water came out from the passenger side, driver side wasn't too bad, but still enough to warrant doing!

I've left both plugs off now and given them both a good clean, so I'm confident it should have fixed the issue. If the sloshing still happens I'll let you all know

Thanks for the help!

[ph001]

Well done. What technique did you settle on? The lower rubber bungs are simple enough but as mentioned above it's the ones that sit in the bottom of the plastic bins that are a little more tricky to clear properly.

[Ducklakeview]

Ok so all done, quite an easy job but a shocking design I have to say

Ridiculous amounts of green and black algae, dirt and water came out from the passenger side, driver side wasn't too bad, but still enough to warrant doing!

I've left both plugs off now and given them both a good clean, so I'm confident it should have fixed the issue. If the sloshing still happens I'll let you all know

Thanks for the help!

It's VITAL to keep the driver's side clear. Reason being, is that as the cavity is MUCH smaller than the passenger side, it only takes small amount of water to reach the bottom of the hydraulic ram and pipe fitting, which leads to this;

lower hose.jpg (169.01 KiB) Viewed 884 times

The lower hose on the drivers side rusts through at it's fitting...

Mike

[RyanB88]

Used a combo of an old metal coat hanger, copper wire, hot water and a tiny bit of bug and far remover did the job!

I'm genuinely shocked at how much water came out once the sludge cleared!

[MACK]

Good job, at least it's sorted but as Mike says its vital to keep them clear so it needs checking regularly unfortunately as the last thing you want is the cabin getting wet. You can usually check if they're clear by dropping the roof and looking down in to the folded roof on both sides in the area near the hinges etc. Down to were the roof motor is from the factory etc. If you look carefully you will see it pooling/backing up. Even if you don't see any water in there, get some water and pour in to that space with the roof down and make sure you immediately see it running out of the bottom of the car

[RyanB88]

Good job, at least it's sorted but as Mike says its vital to keep them clear so it needs checking regularly unfortunately as the last thing you want is the cabin getting wet. You can usually check if they're clear by dropping the roof and looking down in to the folded roof on both sides in the area near the hinges etc. Down to were the roof motor is from the factory etc. If you look carefully you will see it pooling/backing up. Even if you don't see any water in there, get some water and pour in to that space with the roof down and make sure you immediately see it running out of the bottom of the car

Yep when I peaked through it, there was a puddle large enough it had ducks floating in it!!

Thanks for your help. Love this forum!

[Rusky]

I had the sloshing noise from behind the passengers seat, think i caught mine in time though, whippy aerial cam in handy for that.. Sooooo putting my hard top on this weekend.