Boot seal gone?

[RobbiZ4]

 

[clarker63]

mines the other side, not that side so its not the ventilation....

Hmm, I don't understand this. The ventilations are mounted on both sides of the car.

There are 3+1 known potential source of water:

• both rear ventilations, if not replaced by new ones in the past

• from the big seals for the trunc lid

• out of the backlights (as BMW has developed 12 different versions of it to get it waterproof)

• from replaced backlights (version -12), as it is mounted by only 2 bolts instead of 3. While replacing it, the 3rd hole has to be glued with a transparent seal!

Ok, yes you're right. Its just not coming in that side as far as I am aware and as its a 2014 car I'm hoping that the ventilation isnt causing the issue (it certainly doesn't appear that way).

I've done all the other things (boot seal, front and rear) and the lights aren't leaking I know that...

Hopefully this link works to show the source of the water, and that somehow its stored this water in the past...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12Zgkgy3K7uoaRzkYcmi_rk17TVRyIPb3/view?usp=sharing

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[clarker63]

Perfect, got the video - impressive.

Please explain the location of the video - driver's side (right)?:

my boot is almost completely stripped already... and of course drivers side depends what country you're in!

The video is looking at the yellow arrow, which is the passenger side in the UK!

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[clarker63]

Hope it's ok for you, that I continue to ask, as the source of water ingress is not yet completely identified for all of the E89. Only guesses and rumours.

In parallel we are discussing this topic in the German forum and thinking about a spy camera to inspect this area in detail.
Did you find any water at the outside (below your yellow arrow) as well or only water swapping out of this hole?

Does your car in general park in a closed garage or always on the road?

yes, happy to help. its a very annoying problem!

Took me a while to spot where it was coming in, as positioning the camera is hard... but I used a smartphone hands free holder to do it..

The water appears to just pop out of the hole and then pool in the surrounding area. I am pretty sure nothing is coming in from the outside when its stationary because its dry if I don't move the car even in the rain.

The car is kept outside and on a sloping drive (the bonnet is slightly higher than the boot).

The other side, (UK driver) was slightly wet but nowhere near as bad to start off with, but water could be seen on both sides around the seal in this picture. This is now dry...

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[flybobbie]

Easiest way to find leak i found is to lay tissue paper around any suspect areas.
I had a leak in a Chevette, drivers carpet soaking wet. So i dried and laid tissue around, to discover it was a bad weld above the pedal box with a small gap, water draining from bottom of the windshield. No way would i have found that without seeing the witness mark on the tissue.

Also when i had the dealer check the key when i bought my 2009 car they said the rear vents had been replaced.
It could be a call back item, i would check BMW.

 

[clarker63]

Just found these 2 videos, that explain how water can get into the boot:

Thats not the issue with mine though. these are both totally dry.

I'm hoping after spending about a hour driving round and round my roundabout (some might call it drifting!) the water is no longer being expelled from the chassis rail where I posted the previous video, so I am hoping the issue is now fixed. time will tell though!

 

[clarker63]

Easiest way to find leak i found is to lay tissue paper around any suspect areas.

I find that only works if its a problem when you're stationary - which mine isn't. in this case it only leaks when its moving and once you are moving the water goes everywhere and the paper would move too. Hence the video I took.

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[clarker63]

After a couple of weeks with no water ingress I've replaced all the trim. Fingers crossed this wont come back but it does appear to be an reoccurring issue.

 

[ric19]

I am still getting small amounts of water in the boot, despite sealing the lights with black gutter mastic and also resealing the L shaped seal at the top. I have ended up putting the roof motor foam in a cut of rubble sack to try and save it from the water a bit. I have decided to get a UV leak kit off Ebay that consists of a UV torch and 25Ml of dye that makes 10 lites of water to see if I can see where its getting in, has anyone had a go at this ?

 

[clarker63]

I am still getting small amounts of water in the boot, despite sealing the lights with black gutter mastic and also resealing the L shaped seal at the top. I have ended up putting the roof motor foam in a cut of rubble sack to try and save it from the water a bit. I have decided to get a UV leak kit off Ebay that consists of a UV torch and 25Ml of dye that makes 10 lites of water to see if I can see where its getting in, has anyone had a go at this ?

i found tracking the water leak to be rather challenging as mine appeared to come in when it was moving rather than when it was stationary. have you got the trim out of the boot? without doing that I suspect you'll have difficulty spotting where it comes in, even with the dye. pouring water over mine didn't really make it come in. The thread shows the main culprits and keeping an eye on those will probably yield results. the hardest part i found was the right hand side with the electronics tray - i couldn't get this out easily so I could just see the water around the edges and kept using a cloth to remove the water I could see around it. the nearside was easier and fortunately that is where the water seemed to come in.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[flybobbie]

These picture show the bumper removed. Note the sealing grommets, any of which could allow water in the boot. Also where the bumper crash bar bolts to the body, there seems to be sealant where it touches the body work, i wonder if there is a hole behind it.

 

[flybobbie]

Have a look here; https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partgrp?id=LM32-EUR-05-2009-E89-BMW-Z4_23i&mg=41

Take a look at the rear bodywork panels and you can see all sorts of holes in the boot area that all need to be sealed.
And yes it looks like there are holes under the that rear crash bar mount.

 

[tintoverano]

These picture show the bumper removed. Note the sealing grommets, any of which could allow water in the boot. Also where the bumper crash bar bolts to the body, there seems to be sealant where it touches the body work, i wonder if there is a hole behind it.

thanks

 

[ric19]

I am still getting small amounts of water in the boot, despite sealing the lights with black gutter mastic and also resealing the L shaped seal at the top. I have ended up putting the roof motor foam in a cut of rubble sack to try and save it from the water a bit. I have decided to get a UV leak kit off Ebay that consists of a UV torch and 25Ml of dye that makes 10 lites of water to see if I can see where its getting in, has anyone had a go at this ?

i found tracking the water leak to be rather challenging as mine appeared to come in when it was moving rather than when it was stationary. have you got the trim out of the boot? without doing that I suspect you'll have difficulty spotting where it comes in, even with the dye. pouring water over mine didn't really make it come in. The thread shows the main culprits and keeping an eye on those will probably yield results. the hardest part i found was the right hand side with the electronics tray - i couldn't get this out easily so I could just see the water around the edges and kept using a cloth to remove the water I could see around it. the nearside was easier and fortunately that is where the water seemed to come in.

Let us know how you get on.

Yes I have had the drivers side trim out and have took the electronics modules out and could see the bottom of the foam box was wet so have wrapped the bottom of the white roof module in self amalgamating tape with another layer of electrical tape on top, and the other black module I put in a sandwich bag secured with a tie wrap. I can also see water down the back side but like you say the foam container is a sod to get out so ended up sucking the water out with a wet/dry hoover and a thin piece of tubing.At the mo I have put bits of kitchen roll around to see if I can assess the direction the water is coming from until the UV stuff turns up. I suspect it may be the air vents do you know if they are fitted from the inside or does the bumper have to come off ?

Perhaps the easiest option is just to install a Bilge Pump from a boat

 

[ric19]

These picture show the bumper removed. Note the sealing grommets, any of which could allow water in the boot. Also where the bumper crash bar bolts to the body, there seems to be sealant where it touches the body work, i wonder if there is a hole behind it.

I dont suppose you fancy putting a quick how to on taking the bumper of do you FB ? I would be most appreciative

 

[clarker63]

Yes I have had the drivers side trim out and have took the electronics modules out and could see the bottom of the foam box was wet so have wrapped the bottom of the white roof module in self amalgamating tape with another layer of electrical tape on top, and the other black module I put in a sandwich bag secured with a tie wrap. I can also see water down the back side but like you say the foam container is a sod to get out so ended up sucking the water out with a wet/dry hoover and a thin piece of tubing.At the mo I have put bits of kitchen roll around to see if I can assess the direction the water is coming from until the UV stuff turns up. I suspect it may be the air vents do you know if they are fitted from the inside or does the bumper have to come off ?

Perhaps the easiest option is just to install a Bilge Pump from a boat

Like it

I hope its not quite that bad... but I feel your pain. That side is definitely the worst to get to. If you've definitely managed to seal the leak from the top "L" as you call it (i.e. the seal nearest the roof hinge - make sure its completely dry here first!),


then I think realistically its likely to be the air vents

as a cautionary tale the OP spent vast fortunes fixing those electronics, so keep them dry at all costs!