Boot seal gone?

[gwatson]

Morning all,

So I've been aware I have a "leak" for some time now, but last night I checked the status after the car had been sitting for 10 days and literally have 2cm deep water where the battery and roof pump is. Sponged it all out last night. I have a new "roof motor foam support" to install as mine is in poor state, but no point until I sort the underlying issue.

My rear lights were full of water, but I replaced them with new items last month and they seem ok for now, perhaps because the car hasn't been driven much.

So I've read that it could be the boot seal if the water is down by the battery. Does that sound right? Anyone have the part number and is it a simple DIY job?

G

 

[Burgy100]

Have a read of this....

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=77478&hilit=Boot+seal

 

[clarker63]

I'd check the lights are properly sealed too..

 

[gwatson]

Have a read of this....

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=77478&hilit=Boot+seal

Thanks for that, although I had already read that thread. I don't see any part numbers referenced. I'd rather fit new ones as the car is a 2010 and I'm sure they'll be past their best and will add some sealant.

I'l take a look at the weekend and try some leak tests to see if I can even get a temporary fix.

 

[tintoverano]

since you're working in the boot anyhow

there's a related thread about protecting the hydraulic pump from water ingress https://e89.zpost.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24852695&postcount=40, perhaps it is worth considering

 

[gwatson]

Good idea that!

 

[gwatson]

Hmmm, on further inspection I'm actually a little more worried about this problem. When I jacked the car up I could see water pouring in to the battery section of the boot and really want to replace the deals.

There doesn't appear to be any water in the tail lights, that's not to say they couldn't be contributing?

More water appeared since last night. Can see it sitting around the battery, but also the plastic lip


Was at least 3" of water in the "plastic bin"


Carpet is wet...


Collecting around here to

 

[gwatson]

Found this article which could of interest...


https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/...-water-ingress/repair-instructions/1VnYIgTfdz

 

[flybobbie]

I would strip out the interior trim and whilst it's drying, dry out the interior of boot and lay out kitchen roll and see where it gets wet first.
It's not by any chance getting in through the high level stop lamp.
There must be a seal there for the wires to pass through and i always get some drips from there on to the rear window when opening the boot after rain or wash.

 

[gwatson]

So this issue is still ongoing, but perhaps made some progress after stripping out the boot. Suspect it's the top boot seal, do you think I'd get away with removing it, cleaning it up and using silicon sealant, or just get a new one? Looks like there is a lot of cripy\dried out selant in there... Part number is 51767191265

However, that wouldn't explain why I'm getting water down by the pump and battery. On the plus side I removed the rear lights and they had no water in them, unlike my previous set.

 

[clarker63]

I've found exactly the same problem in my boot where the battery and pump were surrounded by water. Not too much fortunately but enough to take action to ensure it doesn't affect any of those parts.

However, that wouldn't explain why I'm getting water down by the pump and battery. On the plus side I removed the rear lights and they had no water in them, unlike my previous set.

Your last post shows the same problem I found.... I think if enough water comes in here, it eventually ends up in the battery well although I had originally believed it was the new rear lights I fitted(see later).

I removed the two screws in the boot seal above that point and then resealed it. the original sealer literally just fell out and the water is obviously coming through. This appears to have solved the issue on the nearside, but I also notice the same issue on the offside, so will do that too.

I've also made sure nothing is coming in around the rear lights (the new light design with only 2 fixing bolts appears to allow water in the original 3rd hole so I sealed those up too) and the boot seal between the lights where I did see some small amounts of water coming in when I used a hose. The original sealant is now pretty brittle, and appears to be the culprit.

I've removed all my boot interior trim just to ensure I see any water issues for the next couple of weeks and then when I'm happy its watertight I'll put them back.. Fingers crossed its all solved.

 

[clarker63]

Just re-igniting this thread... so my lovely new 35is had the same issue. wet boot both sides, and water around the roof hydraulic pump. :x

So I redid the same fix, but whilst nothing was coming through the seals (its been very wet recently but these are bone dry), water was still getting into the nearside boot, below the storage space. I've had the trim out watching for water... and eventually put my phone in the boot on a mount to video the source of where water was coming in... and to my surprise it was popping out of the chassis rail in the corner just below the nearside rear light when going around right hand bends.. heres the "ejaculation" picture!



I can only guess its filled up from the previous leak I’ve fixed. You’d have hoped it would have emptied itself but so far its kept going with small amounts... and of course its now nice weather so the trim is out until I'm satisfied nothing is getting in!

Anyone any ideas how else it could get in there?

Thanks!

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[clarker63]

Your picture seems to be part of a video. Can you upload this video an put in here?

the video is rather large so I have not attached it - plus its not very exciting except 2 seconds in the middle! where it pops out the hole on the left and runs over to the right.. its mid flow in the picture

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[clarker63]

Yeah. Sorry, didn't read the whole story, just typed and red later on.

Well, you should be able to reduce/shrink the original video on your smartphone by the standard video tool. After storing it it should be very small in size.

As we have seen lots of German E89 with water in the batterie area, we are still investigating in this topic and your video might be the key for a solution.

well I clipped it. but the forum wont allow videos to be uploaded!

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Oilyfingers]

Following this thread with interest as I have the same problem with my car.
The seals on my 2010 Z4 appear to be in good condition. The glue of the front seal was brittle so I cleaned the seal and fitted it with new Butyl glue. That seemed to cure the leakage problem for a couple of months. With the recent rain the boot is filling up again. The water seems to come from different directions, not just from one location :-?

In my case the water in the boot is collected whilst standing still as the car is currently SORN-ed
For the moment I have removed the rubber plug underneath the battery so at least the water flows out of the boot. Just need to find the rootcause ........ :scratchhead:

Groeten
Jan

 

[clarker63]

In early 2010 BMW started to replace the original rear ventilations, already linked some posts above. As the old/original parts didn't close perfectly,

As said, currently it's only an assumption. Until now, I've never seen floating water in the trunc.

mines the other side, not that side so its not the ventilation.... I "hope" its the water thats just got in in the past which is slowly coming out

 

[gwatson]

I should have updated this thread a while back...

So the cause of mine was from replacing the rear light clusters. The old units had 3 bolts, the new ones just 2, so water was coming in through there. A very helpful chat on E89.Zpost based in Germany gave me some great guidance.

I also resealed the upper boot seal. All good now.