Blocked passenger side drain

[SonnyA85]

I've just ordered a jack and axle stands as well as wheel chocks so I can get the car up. Wheel off. Open up the panel and remove the bung and shove a bottle brush up there with a long handle.

I was just wondering surely there is something we can pour down the sides with the roof open that will unclog the drains or at least minimise the amount of crap in there or help break it up?

My roof motor is in the boot. But I've had water ingress in behind the passenger seat. Small puddle of water I vacuumed up the other day.

Would vinegar and baking soda be okay to pour down the side? Or will vinegar harm the plastics and rubber?

I'm looking to prevent build ups rather than have to remove them on a constant basis.

[sw4nny]

Just use a long sink drain cleaning brush to clear drain tube you can access from underside without removing anything other than the bung

Screenshot_20220508-213530_Chrome.jpg (74.68 KiB) Viewed 852 times

[colb]

A good rodding with a drain brush or something flexible like a net curtain wire poked up the drain after you remove the bung from undernreath the sill should free up any blockage followed by a gentle flush with water from the top should clean the cavity out ok, the addittion of a mixture of water and vineger would do no harm if you use that you could try a dose of drain cleaner in there as the motor is no longer in there so nothing in there to get damaged. Once its freely draining leave those bungs off so the drain tube dosn't get blocked again. The amount of silt like debris that finds its way into the cavity comes from the gradukle build up of dust that you see build up at the base of the hood where it meets the body. Take a look at this area when you open the hood its surprising how much of this dust gets built up around the base of the hood and gets washed down into the cavities.

[SonnyA85]

I am going to leave the bungs in as they reduce road noise which I know is already pretty loud on a roadster. I know how to clean as like I said in the first post I was going to get a long handled bottle cleaner and poke it up the drain pipe. Exactly the same as the pic in post 2.

I was just thinking surely there is some sort of safe solution we can pour down the side say once a month that will help dissolve or move this stuff without it clumping up and causing as much problems then we only need to check the drains less often.

Is there something that isn't a harsh chemical but also good at breaking up algae, mould, dirt, dust and debris? Vinegar and baking soda was my guess but unsure how safe that would be. Vinegar is meant to break down plastic and rubber from a google I had but I'm no scientist lol.

Just wondering if anyone had any success with regular flushing with non hazardous chemicals. I wouldn't dream of using drain cleaner unless i took the roof off the car and had free access to the drain hole and i could see no wires or pipes were anywhere near it.

[Special Kay]

Have to agree with Colb, I used net curtain wire, and it worked a treat on my old Z3. Its perfect for issues like this as its small in diameter, very flexible and plastic coated so will cause minimal damage to your rubber.

[enuff_zed]

I am going to leave the bungs in as they reduce road noise which I know is already pretty loud on a roadster.

Leave them out.
Having driven a few now, with bungs in and then after I removed them I can tell you the difference in road noise is basically the square root of bu**er all.
Better to let the water run out easily.

[SonnyA85]

I'll take the bungs out and give them a good clean at the weekend. I'll put them back in and re-check in 3 months time. if theres a lot of build up i'll take the bungs out and bin them. Otherwise stick to regular cleaning for now.

[colb]

Pour some neat or diluted Milton sterilising fluid down into the cavity, that should disolve any fungus growth you think you have and ditch those rubber plugs. For best results I would temporaily bung the drain tubes up and let the milton do its job, drain and flush after a day.

[SonnyA85]

Pour some neat or diluted Milton sterilising fluid down into the cavity, that should disolve any fungus growth you think you have and ditch those rubber plugs. For best results I would temporaily bung the drain tubes up and let the milton do its job, drain and flush after a day.

That's a good idea. I already have some from cleaning the roof. I was hoping that would have worked it's way down but I'll try a more thorough wash of the cavity by pouring down the sides when open. Last time the roof was up and focus was cleaning the roof.

[Umfaan]

If you look carefully from the top with a decent torch you can see the drain hole.if you have a nice straight thin rod ( something like fishing rod end or thin electric push rod ) you can clean it that way as well and loose any dirt .

[Zulu4]

I only had two rear shelf clips (now have four thanks to Bigwinn). I suspect the missing two are down in the drain cavities, which is probably not good for the build up of muck.

[SonnyA85]

I only had two rear shelf clips (now have four thanks to Bigwinn). I suspect the missing two are down in the drain cavities, which is probably not good for the build up of muck.

ha ha what are these clips you speak of? i have issues with the roof locking down after opening i have to get out and push down on it. i could also be possibly missing some clips.

[colb]

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpa ... Id=54_0315
The clips are item No4 described as a 'Fuse', 2 either side of the shelf and they have to be inserted one way only to clip into the locating holes. They do spring off and make a break for freedom when you push them out.

[Zulu4]

I don't think the shelf clips could affect the locking of the roof.
I just wish I could retrieve the missing ones without removing the roof.

[Billbob10]

The aerial fits perfectly if you give it a push