Boot Water Ingress - The journey of roof motors, hydro pump and seals

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New vent in place - rinse and repeat on the nearside...

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Bagged up the electrical boxes in the hope if this happens again then this just might save'em

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Here is a list of all the seals I replaced. The outer weather strips I replaced because they had tarnished a bit but were still sound..I had previously replaced both door weatherstrips for the same reason. So everything is new apart from the roof seals and larger boot seal which is still like new, all the glue is intact and water tests suggest no problem....

Light Gasket, rear light, left
63217231239 @ £25.70

Light Gasket, rear light, right
63217231240 @ £25.70

Rear ventilation * 2
64226909340 @ £22.24 each

Sealing right
51377211240 @ £11.72

Sealing left
51377211239 @ £11.72

Outer weatherstrip, left
1377046125 @ £106.60

Outer weatherstrip, right
51377046126 @ $106.60

Joint seal, left
51767233747 @ £24.23

Joint seal, right
51767233748 @24.23

Also replaced the corroded distribution box, only a 10 min job..

Power distribution box w fuse
61149192124 @ £56.22

Here you can see the before/after and how the weather strip had blemishes...

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Gently pull the gasket covers through, spend the extra time to make sure everywhere is sealed ok... then bolt the light unit back and and done

This is all really good, helpful advice with plenty of pictures to explain it all.
Thank you for taking the time to do this.

One little request.................. would it be possible for you to edit the thread title a little so in future others can more easily find help on the rear light seals?

Welcome, everyone has been so helpful. I was just trying to change the thread title but I cannot seem to find a way to do it....

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Thinking about what other things could have caused this I see in this thread the comment below, anyone know what sealer around the chassis leg is??

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=96299

Hi Montymillar, I had my 2011 Z4 in the dealership 3 times to try and solve the water in the boot problem. I had my rear lamps and seals replaced, then they removed the rear bumper and replaced some vents and the 3rd time they said that sealer was missing around a chassis leg and this was allowing water into the boot. The problem now seems to have stopped water did not enter when the car was parked in the rain, it entered when I drove in the rain or on wet roads, this is why the dealership struggled to find the leak when doing a wet test.

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Hmm, someone must have done something like this....

https://wireless-sensors.co.uk/alta-wir ... detect-end

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I was just trying to change the thread title but I cannot seem to find a way to do it....

I think, as the OP, if you select the 'edit' function in any one of your posts, it allows you to modify the title too?
(The pen icon in the top right corner)

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I was just trying to change the thread title but I cannot seem to find a way to do it....

I think, as the OP, if you select the 'edit' function in any one of your posts, it allows you to modify the title too?
(The pen icon in the top right corner)

Ah yes, simple

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With regards to RoofMotors, I contacted them twice re inviting an offer on the refurb motor I bought from them and the old pump but no reply. So I guess they don't want to entertain refurbishing a full unit

So now I have a refurb motor and the old pump sitting in the garage

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The only real issue was the middle screw fixing, it forced the gasket to have a gap so two choices, either file down of cut off. I dont own a file so off it comes...See here the gap...

According to newtis it looks like you did the right thing cutting off the middle screw tab.

In the instructions it talks about cars before and after 12/09/2013, but I guess it is more applicable to the rear light units that changed design at that time. New rear light units come with the seals ready fitted but the instructions here are specifically for the seal replacement.

rear light seal replacement.gif (105.37 KiB) Viewed 875 times

Great write-up - well worth grabbing a copy and keeping for future reference

Cheers!
Andy

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Thanks Andy, inspired by the folks on this forum - ok I could have just paid for the pump and motor to be swapped out but I (maybe we) have learnt a lot along the way. I cant really complain as this is the first issue I have had since owning it, I have put 90% of the 54k miles on it

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Good work, this is required reading for any new E89 owner

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Thank you. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, today this happened....

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Checked the battery and yep its low again. This is a decent Bosch AGM battery about 18months old if I recall. I fully charged this a couple of weeks back so I think its safe to say the swimming in water has messed it up. I started the car and tried the roof again as was all fine. So a new battery is the order of the day

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Whilst I was on the forum a couple of weeks back I stumbled across this thread for extending the boot lighting...

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=119849&hilit=boot+light

So, I ordered these...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184754723571

And today, as I wanted to check the amp etc for any signs of water damage I took the opportunity to fit one. Took about 20mins and happy with it. I chose to stick mine on the black plastic, which does mean its in line with the boot shelf but will see if that proves to be a problem. I can either lower (like the thread above) or place another one underneath the original boot light. Cheap as chips for two of them

Not the neatest job in the world but good enough...