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

 

[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/showparts?id=BT32-EUR-04-2003-E85-BMW-Z4_25i&diagId=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

 

[Sidewaze Samm]

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.

:withstupid: THIS!
(sorry Martin, only emoji with an arrow I could find )

Any road noise benefit from putting the bungs back in is purely placebo effect. It's a total waste of time and will only increase likelihood of clogging up the drains again. This type of bung is designed to reduce water ingress - sadly they do a rather good job of preventing water egress!

 

[SonnyA85]

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.

:withstupid: THIS!
(sorry Martin, only emoji with an arrow I could find )

Any road noise benefit from putting the bungs back in is purely placebo effect. It's a total waste of time and will only increase likelihood of clogging up the drains again. This type of bung is designed to reduce water ingress - sadly they do a rather good job of preventing water egress!

Point taken.

I'll be jacking the car up and having a go at it in the near future. I need to clean up the auto gear selector switch connected to the transmission under the car too. I'll remove the bungs at same time.

Then I'll pour some sterilising fluid down each side to break up and kill whatever it is stuck in there. Hopefully over time with regular cleaning I can get rid of whatever is in there clogging up the drain holes. My long handled bottle brush is yet to arrive but all my new quick lock pressure wash stuff is here now

 

[SonnyA85]

Okay I jacked the car up. Removed the wheel. Had car on an axle stand. Removed the cover. Removed the bung which was completely clear.

Put up a thick bottle cleaner which got stuck took me some force to get out and it was hardly in much .

Decided to use a thin bottle cleaner and I got the full thing inside and pulled it out and nothing.

The blockage is at the top end before the pipe.

Water still full in the side well under the rood passenger side.

Can I get into this section from the boot? Or is it a roof off job?

Can someone point me to some plastic netting for gutters that I could put above the hole. Or even a ball of chicken wire?

Need something that will keep the area free of debris yet let water through. I'm thinking a leave or a few leaves at the top are blocking it as the bottom is completely clear and the brush I used was a good 15 inches long and nothing. Blockage still in place.

 

[DMike]

If you have relocated the roof motor, no need to remove the roof for removing leaves and other debris. Just a silicone hose hose and a vacum cleaner, maybe also a led torch to inspect the wells. Roof down, peek through the roof hinge area and you can even see the upper drain hole — which is only about 3 to 4 mm wide. I’ll try to snap some photos…

If the well is filled with water, use same route and a fluid extractor or similar to remove the water first.

 

[SonnyA85]

If you have relocated the roof motor, no need to remove the roof for removing leaves and other debris. Just a silicone hose hose and a vacum cleaner, maybe also a led torch to inspect the wells. Roof down, peek through the roof hinge area and you can even see the upper drain hole — which is only about 3 to 4 mm wide. I’ll try to snap some photos…

If the well is filled with water, use same route and a fluid extractor or similar to remove the water first.

Yeh the roof motor is in the boot.

The bungs and bottom is completely clear the top is where the problem is. The pipe I used from the bottom was a good 15 inches long and it came out with a tiny bit of dirt on it.

I've got a wet vac. The issue is I could suck up the water but the debris will still be there blocking the hole. If it cannot move with all this water forcing it down the hole I doubt I can suck it up.

Could I get to the side passenger drain from the boot? If I take the roof off I imagine I could hoover the full thing.