HELP! Water in boot - can't find leak. Any ideas?

[Thadeus1991]

Hi guys,

I've had problems with slight water ingress in my boot.

The water collects on the driver's side of the boot in the little compartment (Photo 1 & 2), clearly dripping from the top of the boot (Photo 3 & 4).

I know that this is a common problem but I have looked in several places and it does not seem to be one of the usual culprits.

I have already tried the following:

• Removed the tail light. There is water collecting on top of the tail light (in the little cavity on top) but that is the same on the left side where no water is in the boot. Moreover, all surroundings of the tail light inside the boot feel dry

• Looked at the air vent in the boot (behind the carpet) but this also feels dry. It would also not make sense why the water is then dripping from the top

• Cleaned the drain plugs for the roof (just in case). However, they were all clean and no problem there

• I even got someone to climb into the boot as well and poured water all over the boot without any luck

• I've had the car in two different garages now, neither of which found a leak when hosing the car or using a pressure washer

• Eventually I just covered most of the right side of the boot with silicone (Photo 5 & 6) in a desperate attempt to get rid of the water but, still no luck - maybe it even made it worse (could be imagination, though) (I know that it looks bad but, as mentioned, pretty desperate at that point)

The water only seeps into the boot when the car is parked and it rains for a while (I live in a flat area, so can't say if parking with different incline makes a difference). After car washes (hand wash, not automatic) no water is in the boot either.

I am really running out of ideas here and I need to get this sorted! :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: My car is always parked on the road and I'm going away for Christmas, so it might happen that water will collect in the boot while I am away and my car is parked at home, meaning it may get a mouldy boot or develop some technical issues.

Any help would be very much appreciated!! Thanks guys!

 

[maxman]

Could it be the rubber boot seal not giving enough pressure on the boot lid, try lifting it up a bit.

 

[Lance]

MR 1991, your description is exactly as my boot leak was a few years back! It drove me mad for a few weeks whilst I tried many solutions. I eventually solved it with silicone along the joints as in your pic 6, however I carried it further down than you have, along the blue on yours.

I also dried the boot thoroughly, as I suspected condensation from the original leak was adding to the problem.

One more thing, are you 100% sure that your boot isn't popping open very slightly? Mine for some unknown reason had a habit of doing this for a while.

 

[kis]

Check here for other ideas. Also look at the link in my post

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=101713

 

[Thadeus1991]

Thanks everyone for the feedback so far! I already had a brief glance at the other Topics relating to these issues but will certainly go through them again!

The car is currently with a garage in the hope that they can find the leak. They have some experience with this, however, already got a call today that they could not find the leak by locking someone in the boot and hosing the car down like crazy. However, they'll go at it again tomorrow... (one can hope).

If they are unsuccessful I will carry on looking myself.

MR 1991, your description is exactly as my boot leak was a few years back! It drove me mad for a few weeks whilst I tried many solutions. I eventually solved it with silicone along the joints as in your pic 6, however I carried it further down than you have, along the blue on yours.

Glad to hear that I am not the only one who is being driven mad by this! And great to hear that you resolved it - I will add some more silicone on the recommended areas once I get the car back.

One more thing, are you 100% sure that your boot isn't popping open very slightly? Mine for some unknown reason had a habit of doing this for a while.

Could you elaborate what you mean exactly? Did the boot not shut or did it randomly open? I haven't noticed any issues but would like to look into it (grasping every straw! :lol: :? )

I'll keep you all updated! Also, feel free to post more ideas where the water could be coming from

 

[markalp]

Thanks everyone for the feedback so far! I already had a brief glance at the other Topics relating to these issues but will certainly go through them again!

The car is currently with a garage in the hope that they can find the leak. They have some experience with this, however, already got a call today that they could not find the leak by locking someone in the boot and hosing the car down like crazy. However, they'll go at it again tomorrow... (one can hope).

If they are unsuccessful I will carry on looking myself.

MR 1991, your description is exactly as my boot leak was a few years back! It drove me mad for a few weeks whilst I tried many solutions. I eventually solved it with silicone along the joints as in your pic 6, however I carried it further down than you have, along the blue on yours.

Glad to hear that I am not the only one who is being driven mad by this! And great to hear that you resolved it - I will add some more silicone on the recommended areas once I get the car back.

One more thing, are you 100% sure that your boot isn't popping open very slightly? Mine for some unknown reason had a habit of doing this for a while.

Could you elaborate what you mean exactly? Did the boot not shut or did it randomly open? I haven't noticed any issues but would like to look into it (grasping every straw! :lol: :? )

I'll keep you all updated! Also, feel free to post more ideas where the water could be coming from

This is quite drastic but should help you track down the leak, you need to strip the boot, right back to metal, then dust the metal surfaces with chalk powder, any leaks will cause streaks in the chalk and make finding the leak much easier. Saw this done by an 82yo mechanic on an old Rover P4 after a major restoration by the owner who couldnt find where a water leak was coming from.

 

[ph001]

I wonder if something like this would be more effective at penetrating into any gaps. Certainly would like a lot less unsightly than silicone... http://www.marinesuperstore.com/sealants-resins/sealants-caulking/captain-trolley-s-creeping-crack-cure?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=pcn&utm_term=99481360&utm_campaign=MSS&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_ZTW5aTo1wIVqrDtCh0KVwOVEAQYAiABEgIGTPD_BwE

 

[Lance]

I have no idea why, but for a few weeks my boot would pop open without any input from me. I'd get up in the morning and it would be open, stop after a drive and it would be open, just random. By open I mean just that few mill it opens when you press the key or inside cabin button. It then stopped doing it as suddenly as it started and hasn't happened for a few years.

At the time I was questioning, had I left it open, was the key clicking in my pocket, was I hitting the button when getting/out the car??? But it was happening too often to be these.

I really have no idea what caused it.

 

[kis]

This is quite drastic but should help you track down the leak, you need to strip the boot, right back to metal, then dust the metal surfaces with chalk powder, any leaks will cause streaks in the chalk and make finding the leak much easier. Saw this done by an 82yo mechanic on an old Rover P4 after a major restoration by the owner who couldnt find where a water leak was coming from.

Not necessarily. When I had my leak the water would often condense on the top of the boot lid (they have little recesses). So I thought that was the problem. In actual fact it was due to me messing around with the right light cluster perhaps a few weeks previously. So water on the "roof" could just be condensation?

I'll keep you all updated! Also, feel free to post more ideas where the water could be coming from

Like the comment above, have you done anything in there recently? A garage perhaps changing bulbs? Something must have changed in order to generate the leak? That's my take on it anyway. Whether it was done knowingly (e.g. changing a bulb) or unknowingly (pushing or disrupting something from its usual place) or even something perishing? Like rubber does over time?

Is it isolated to the right hand side as the pictures show? Or is the left hand side effected too?

Finally I'd recommend repeating the test without the blue light surround (see here if unclear). Mine was loose from my tinkering and I never realised how important it was in preventing water ingress (can ingress via screw points or even from poor light unit to car body contact).

 

[HarryD]

I had a similar problem. Never did find out where it was coming from but noticed it only happened when I parked my car in my steeply inclined driveway (or street) with the nose up. when it was flat or nose down, no problem.

I suspect the water draining off of the top is not channeling into the top drains on the side but missing that area and dribbling into my trunk (boot).

 

[Thadeus1991]

Hi everybody,

Sorry to resurrect this old post but I realized I never posted the solution to this that worked for me.

In the hope that it may help someone else - here is what I did:

Essentially, I covered much of the drains on the right side of the boot with silicone, so the water does not go through the channels exiting in the wheel arch but instead the water runs along the rubber seals and exits at the back of the car (basically dripping down the bumper). It is not that pretty (although not too noticeable either) but at least the boot is dry now!