I’ve bought a swimming pool (car)

C

craigbeal

Member
Just bought the car and a week later thought I would feel the carpet under the seats… wet

So felt under the carpet and the foam was soaking through… both sides :(

I’ve got to the point I’ve got the seats out and basically the entire floor is soaked through both sides front to back even up in the foot well !!

It’s currently now sat with a large dehumidifier in the car running 24/7 for lord knows how many weeks to try and help dry.

My previous Z had the plastic removed from the inner doors and had water coming in, so had a look.. this is the same… zero membranes… could enough water get in over time to soak the car both sides this much?

So I’ve replaced on each door the membrane so happy I won’t get any more in through the door.

Anywhere else I could be getting water in? It’s hard to know how much water is coming in and from where at this point as the car might have built this volume of water up over a number of years.

Checked both rear drains and they are letting water through so don’t think it’s through there.

Where else can be a culprit I can check whilst the car is now sitting…. ?? Might a UV detection kit be if use?

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You need to check out the various modules that live under the centre console for water damage as well. The airbag one is under there, i think there might be others.
 
Private or trade purchase?

If it was trade there is always the possibility it was caught in a heavy shower while the roof was down on the forecourt. It takes forever for an inside to dry so it could always be the remnants of that.
 
A couple of nights ago, I was sitting in my roadster sheltering from a very heavy downpour, and there was a steady drip coming from the top of the drivers door glass, dripping right on to the window switches - not good.
Still to investigate, but worth sitting inside while someone hoses the door down...!
 
So that’s where Smartbears car went :o

Hope you find the cause
 
I had the exact same experience as you. Replaced the door membranes and checked all vents. A couple of years later, the floor was flooded again. Turns out there was one place I had not checked - the water deflector housing underneath the scuttle. See my thread here.
 
You are certainly not alone with the water ingress, took a look at a local members 2.0l Z4 today that is suffering with electrical problems. No Dipped beams no telltale light for indicators in the instrument pod. Scanned the car with a Launch Tablet Scanner and found out that the Light Switching module, Airbag modules and Radio are not communicating. Car runs ok engine wise, only codes that came up were K Bus error which leads me to suspect water ingress somewhere, car did get caught in the rain before these problems arose and I did find the underbvonnet centtre scuttle drain was vblocked with debris so may have filled with water and got inside the carn behind the fusees and relays. He is now on a mission to check the scuttle is cleaned out and investigate around the fuse board behind the glovebox and the centre airbag module. No doubt there will be a thread on this one from Goshawk01.
 
My car still seems to get damp on the passenger side despite trying all of these known ingress points:
Plastic door liners
Blocked scuttle
windscreen surround (at bottom of windscreen where it meets scuttle)
overflowing roof motor housing
Blocked rear drain points on both sides.
And the crazy thing is my car never goes out in the wet and doesnt get a wet wash!

Good luck.
 
colb said:
You are certainly not alone with the water ingress, took a look at a local members 2.0l Z4 today that is suffering with electrical problems. No Dipped beams no telltale light for indicators in the instrument pod. Scanned the car with a Launch Tablet Scanner and found out that the Light Switching module, Airbag modules and Radio are not communicating. Car runs ok engine wise, only codes that came up were K Bus error which leads me to suspect water ingress somewhere, car did get caught in the rain before these problems arose and I did find the underbvonnet centtre scuttle drain was vblocked with debris so may have filled with water and got inside the carn behind the fusees and relays. He is now on a mission to check the scuttle is cleaned out and investigate around the fuse board behind the glovebox and the centre airbag module. No doubt there will be a thread on this one from Goshawk01.
Click to expand...
He's found his. What seems to be this summer's k-bus group buy. Centre airbag module plug full of crap.
 
So I thought I had this solved with the doors... but didn't.

It seems that water is pouring in behind the drivers seat. The water catch tray is working and draining but firing the hose pipe at the back window in this area it seems to be coming in through behind the catch tray and behind, thus running down behind the drivers seat and some into the boot

I've pulled the seal back a little and tried to apply all weather sealant but having watched some more YouTube videos it seems I can remove this all the way around which I may have to do and check the condition of the roof as I just can't understand how its bypassing the seal in this area, and then managing to bypass the water catch tray and running to the drain hole. Passenger side seems fine.

I suspect he may have had the roof off when the prev owner did the pump replacement but the seal seems to be in place.

The roof hasn't been cleaned or treated in years and so its acting like a sponge so could water be getting in past that when though water is fired at it?

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Roof water sealing kits are fairly cheap so I would start by trying that. It's often the simplist thing that works.
You could also have a look at another z4 to see if there are any differences in that area .
 
think I sorted today.

I basically think I had water coming in through the top of the roof seal I think and so water running in behind the inner skin of the car and into the boot & behind the seats.

Pulled the seal fully away today and applied CT1 in the main part of the seal that attaches to the inner shell of the car and then a bead on the top of the seal that comes into contact with the outer shell of the car.

Hitting the roof with a hose today and no sign of water so fingers crossed. We are due rain for a week now so will leave the carpets up to triple check it stays dry!

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Rough picture of what I’ve done in case it helps another soul at some point.

Rained all last night with no ingress from the rear or doors so think it’s safe to put the cabin back together now :)
 
Well done buddy. It must have been really frustrating for you..
Like the diagram :thumbsup:
 
Nice! Thanks for sharing your solution. If I ever spot water in the footwell again, I'll be sure to check this area.
 
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