Water again

G

GregZ4

Active member
 Stone, Staffs
Hi All.
New screen is in and drivers side still getting wet under seat. Can't see any dribbles from door and seals clear.
Any way water can get in behind bulkhead from drivers side?
Pollen filter passenger side but anything else to look at?
Should the plastic over the screen sit flush to screen?
I'm thinking of just installing a bath plug!


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Bump.

Anyway had the front under the screen apart today and definitely no leaks there.

I opened the driver's door and noticed some water had run down between the door and seal and was trapped between the rubber seal and the plastic strip that clips over the carpet. It was at the front edge of the door under the wing mirror and was on the inside part of the seal where the 2 drain holes are.

It looks like the water has tracked down the seal and is getting under the plastic strip at the front joint and soaking the carpet from there.



Now the question is would there be enough coming through to soak, and I mean soak, the carpet?
It's always worse after I've driven in rain so I'm assuming the water wiped away from the screen will be heading that way too.

It's going to the garage on tuesday and I've asked them to investigate this area and the door membrane but it really looks like it's this seal as the passenger side is bone dry everywhere.....

Does anyone have experience of this and am I getting warm?

I love this car so much but leaks do my head in. Now where's the guy withe VX220?
 
99% the door membrane, that's exactly where the water gets in (on both sides) if it is not sealed properly. Easy to check yourself, just whip the door card off, don't waste money on a garage checking it. Read my saga here:

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=56079
 
Woooaahhh!!!

I've just discovered that there's another drain under the wiper motor. Except there isn't! :thumbsdown:

This gonna be a new "dumb-ass" thread in a minute. :rofl:

Water is pouring down the bulkhead in the engine bay and I assume the missing drain should take it out at the bottom. :?
I didn't know there was a drain and I assume engine warmth is drying out the bay......

I've poured water down the missing hole but I can't see how it gets in, unless air movement when driving in the rain is pushing it in somewhere. :headbang:

I need some diagnostic dye or something.......
 
GregZ4 said:
Bump.

Anyway had the front under the screen apart today and definitely no leaks there.

I opened the driver's door and noticed some water had run down between the door and seal and was trapped between the rubber seal and the plastic strip that clips over the carpet. It was at the front edge of the door under the wing mirror and was on the inside part of the seal where the 2 drain holes are.

It looks like the water has tracked down the seal and is getting under the plastic strip at the front joint and soaking the carpet from there.



Now the question is would there be enough coming through to soak, and I mean soak, the carpet?
It's always worse after I've driven in rain so I'm assuming the water wiped away from the screen will be heading that way too.

It's going to the garage on tuesday and I've asked them to investigate this area and the door membrane but it really looks like it's this seal as the passenger side is bone dry everywhere.....

Does anyone have experience of this and am I getting warm?

I love this car so much but leaks do my head in. Now where's the guy withe VX220?
Click to expand...


This is exactly where it was getting in on my E-85. Water was running between the door and doorcard, pooling at the front of the rubber channel and overflowing into the drivers side footwell. When the doorcard was taken off the rubber membrane had been torn to shreds by previous "specialist" BMW garage whilst trying to sort an airbag light fault. New membrane cured the problem. Now I notice the same fault developing on the passengers side. At present I can control it by parking "nose up" a slope but it is booked in to have membrane changed next week. :driving:
 
I also get pooling of water in the same place, especially on a heavy downpour, and as you say it then dribbles down off the plastic strip wetting the carpet :(

My door membrane was checked by the dealer for that very reason but was found to be ok. The dealer did a few adjustments to the door and re adjusted the window glass against the rubber seal which unfortunately didn't fix the problem.

A simple fix which the dealer did and which I find works for me and should only take a minute to do is to gently pull off the plastic strip and then lift and raise the rubber seal at the area the water was pooling, refit the plastic strip and job done. As to how high to raise the rubber seal, it's a case of trial and error.

Worth a visual check because when I removed my plastic strip and turned it over, the under side was actually wet which was another indicator I was in the right area.

Sometimes the simple things work, so its worth a try :)
 
Swiftly said:
I also get pooling of water in the same place, especially on a heavy downpour, and as you say it then dribbles down off the plastic strip wetting the carpet :(

My door membrane was checked by the dealer for that very reason but was found to be ok. The dealer did a few adjustments to the door and re adjusted the window glass against the rubber seal which unfortunately didn't fix the problem.

A simple fix which the dealer did and which I find works for me and should only take a minute to do is to gently pull off the plastic strip and then lift and raise the rubber seal at the area the water was pooling, refit the plastic strip and job done. As to how high to raise the rubber seal, it's a case of trial and error.

Worth a visual check because when I removed my plastic strip and turned it over, the under side was actually wet which was another indicator I was in the right area.

Sometimes the simple things work, so its worth a try :)
Click to expand...

I've just been pouring water on the window for about half an hour and can't see anything inside.
The carpet is damp to the right of the footwell immediately under the speaker, is that where yours was damp?
 
GregZ4 said:
Swiftly said:
I also get pooling of water in the same place, especially on a heavy downpour, and as you say it then dribbles down off the plastic strip wetting the carpet :(

My door membrane was checked by the dealer for that very reason but was found to be ok. The dealer did a few adjustments to the door and re adjusted the window glass against the rubber seal which unfortunately didn't fix the problem.

A simple fix which the dealer did and which I find works for me and should only take a minute to do is to gently pull off the plastic strip and then lift and raise the rubber seal at the area the water was pooling, refit the plastic strip and job done. As to how high to raise the rubber seal, it's a case of trial and error.

Worth a visual check because when I removed my plastic strip and turned it over, the under side was actually wet which was another indicator I was in the right area.

Sometimes the simple things work, so its worth a try :)
Click to expand...

I've just been pouring water on the window for about half an hour and can't see anything inside.
The carpet is damp to the right of the footwell immediately under the speaker, is that where yours was damp?
Click to expand...

On mine the water builds up gradually on the seal, I can never really reproduce it on command shall we say. If I open the door after an hour of steady rain I would normally be greeted with a pool of water sitting on the top of the door seal as indicated in the picture you posted. When I had my rubber floor mats down last winter you could see where some of the water had trickled over the seal and onto the mat, although the majority had trickled between the rubber mat and sill soaking the carpet below. My carpet was wet from the where it pooled on the seal towards the front foot well speaker, although I guess it would depend if your zed is parked on the flat or on an incline as to how far the water would track.

If you have seen water pooling on the door seal as indicated, then if door membrane is ok, I would try lifting the rubber seal up and check it after its rained for a few hours. You could also put laying down a cloth to see which part of it gets damp or wet
 
Swiftly said:
I also get pooling of water in the same place, especially on a heavy downpour, and as you say it then dribbles down off the plastic strip wetting the carpet :(

My door membrane was checked by the dealer for that very reason but was found to be ok. The dealer did a few adjustments to the door and re adjusted the window glass against the rubber seal which unfortunately didn't fix the problem.

A simple fix which the dealer did and which I find works for me and should only take a minute to do is to gently pull off the plastic strip and then lift and raise the rubber seal at the area the water was pooling, refit the plastic strip and job done. As to how high to raise the rubber seal, it's a case of trial and error.

Worth a visual check because when I removed my plastic strip and turned it over, the under side was actually wet which was another indicator I was in the right area.

Sometimes the simple things work, so its worth a try :)
Click to expand...

When it is raining, if I open the passengers side door and wipe the water from below the doorcard I can see a trickle of water dribbling from the base of the doorcard about 100/150 mm from the front. If I run a finger between the base of doorcard and door I can feel wetness. Of course the water could be running along the inside bottom of the doorcard and just appearing at this point. I am certain that water is somehow coming the through the door from outside and the membrane is the prime candidate. I agree that packing the rubber could well throw the water outside but I am sure that the water will damage the doortrim over time.
 
The hairy angler said:
Swiftly said:
I also get pooling of water in the same place, especially on a heavy downpour, and as you say it then dribbles down off the plastic strip wetting the carpet :(

My door membrane was checked by the dealer for that very reason but was found to be ok. The dealer did a few adjustments to the door and re adjusted the window glass against the rubber seal which unfortunately didn't fix the problem.

A simple fix which the dealer did and which I find works for me and should only take a minute to do is to gently pull off the plastic strip and then lift and raise the rubber seal at the area the water was pooling, refit the plastic strip and job done. As to how high to raise the rubber seal, it's a case of trial and error.

Worth a visual check because when I removed my plastic strip and turned it over, the under side was actually wet which was another indicator I was in the right area.

Sometimes the simple things work, so its worth a try :)
Click to expand...

When it is raining, if I open the passengers side door and wipe the water from below the doorcard I can see a trickle of water dribbling from the base of the doorcard about 100/150 mm from the front. If I run a finger between the base of doorcard and door I can feel wetness. Of course the water could be running along the inside bottom of the doorcard and just appearing at this point. I am certain that water is somehow coming the through the door from outside and the membrane is the prime candidate. I agree that packing the rubber could well throw the water outside but I am sure that the water will damage the doortrim over time.
Click to expand...

Sounds like yours could be down to a damaged membrane, have you checked it so see if it is okay or requires replacing?

Mine was okay, so had to look at other areas as to where the water was entering
 
Well I've had a play with the seal and "lifted" it a bit.

It's chucking it down again so I'll have a look tomorrow.

Am still wondering about the missing drain though.....
 
Swiftly said:
The hairy angler said:
Swiftly said:
I also get pooling of water in the same place, especially on a heavy downpour, and as you say it then dribbles down off the plastic strip wetting the carpet :(

My door membrane was checked by the dealer for that very reason but was found to be ok. The dealer did a few adjustments to the door and re adjusted the window glass against the rubber seal which unfortunately didn't fix the problem.

A simple fix which the dealer did and which I find works for me and should only take a minute to do is to gently pull off the plastic strip and then lift and raise the rubber seal at the area the water was pooling, refit the plastic strip and job done. As to how high to raise the rubber seal, it's a case of trial and error.

Worth a visual check because when I removed my plastic strip and turned it over, the under side was actually wet which was another indicator I was in the right area.

Sometimes the simple things work, so its worth a try :)
Click to expand...

When it is raining, if I open the passengers side door and wipe the water from below the doorcard I can see a trickle of water dribbling from the base of the doorcard about 100/150 mm from the front. If I run a finger between the base of doorcard and door I can feel wetness. Of course the water could be running along the inside bottom of the doorcard and just appearing at this point. I am certain that water is somehow coming the through the door from outside and the membrane is the prime candidate. I agree that packing the rubber could well throw the water outside but I am sure that the water will damage the doortrim over time.
Click to expand...

Sounds like yours could be down to a damaged membrane, have you checked it so see if it is okay or requires replacing?

Mine was okay, so had to look at other areas as to where the water was entering
Click to expand...

Booked into garage that replaced drivers side membrane 3wks ago. they did a good job then and have told me that they will check and replace membrane if necessary. my gut feeling is that this is the problem. :roll:
 
So.

I've been out in the downpours this morning and the door seal is totally dry and nothing coming through the membrane like in the other posts above.
However water is absolutely pouring through the hole under the wiper motor where the drain is missing and all down the bulkhead.
I assume BMW put a drain pipe their for the reason of channelling the water to the bottom of the engine bay.
The "fabric" at the back of the bay is soaked and I can see damp all along the bottom.
It absolutely has to be getting in there as the drip was previously located as coming in via the footwell although over to the right.
I'll get the drain put in and we'll see.......
 
Sorry that your still having problems, however you have at least eliminated the door membrane and seals.

I checked RealOEM http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DU52&mospid=49421&btnr=51_4961&hg=51&fg=80 and part 8 shows the water drains, but I can't see what it actually connects to though
 
Swiftly said:
Sorry that your still having problems, however you have at least eliminated the door membrane and seals.

I checked RealOEM http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DU52&mospid=49421&btnr=51_4961&hg=51&fg=80 and part 8 shows the water drains, but I can't see what it actually connects to though
Click to expand...

It's not that one. Both the left and the right one are in place but there's 2 more.
One drains on the passenger side from near the fuse box and down the front of the bulkhead (present) and one from under the wiper motor which drains underneath and what looks slightly forward of the bulkhead. In mine it's that one missing and water is just pouring down the bulkhead. It has to be getting in from there.

Can't find them on here but showing on this thread http://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=15283&start=45 It's the little one at the top that's shown as horrible blocked. Mine is just a hole allowing water to run down the bulkhead rather than diverted anywhere. Got to be that surely?
 
I think your on the right lines and it looks like the culprit. Never knew there was a drain hole there, not a very accessible place obviously BMW didn't expect any issues, famous last words.
 
Right, so if it's not the door membrane then IMO it is getting in where you think it is, at the bulkhead. Have a read of my other thread here:

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=56672

As you can see not everybody agrees with me, but IMO from looking at the design, no water should get under the tray to the bulkhead. There are drains there IN CASE water does get there, but it is NOT supposed to. All you need to do is look at the design - water is channeled down from the window over the tray and down the 2 drains at either side (part 8 in the diagram above) which takes it out to the wheel arches rather than down behind the bulkhead.

Again nobody seemed to agree, but all I know for a fact is that before I sorted out my wiper motor tray water was getting in at the bulkhead, and since fixing it, it is not. You be the judge...
 
Got the Zed back today.
Doors, seal and drains all OK. Replaced the missing one but it's so short it just dumps any overflow into almost the same place on the bulkhead.
They took most of the dashboard out and used high and low pressure water at various points.
Big leak in the bulkhead around the wiring loom which was shipping in water to the OS footwell and tracking from there.
Dried it out and sealed it.
Retested and leak stopped.
Rebuilt the dash and tested again.
All seems OK. Now borrowing a dehumidifier to dry and dry the foam etc.
hopefully sorted but watch this space and look at your bulkheads. They are not as watertight as you might think. ;(


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