Water ingress e89

clarker63 said:
warmasice said:
Similar issue here. 6 weeks ago my roof stopped operating - I'd noticed water below the battery with the foam cradle completely soaked. Lots of condensation in the boot too. I dried it all out as best as I could.

I've now had the roof repaired and the technician said it's as dry as a bone in there. I'm not sure if it's due to a lack of rain, not washing the car or not driving in the rain (haven't driven it at all in the last 6 weeks).

Anyhow, I've ordered a set of boot vents and tail lamp seals. Hoping this will resolve my issue? Is there anything else I should be looking for?

Appreciate any input, no matter how big or small.👍
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look in here... top seal is the main issue I had..
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=115469&start=15
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Here's an update. I replaced the both rear light seals and both vents today. No issue with the top seal but will keep an eye on it. The offside vent was a bit of a nightmare with that foam box, got there in the end.

Here's the nearside vent. Gasket was unseated and not in the best shape (I dried up any moisture you can see):
20210411_131608.jpg

And here's the new one. Feels much tighter when installed. The old one felt loose (could easily be moved up and down):
20210411_135933.jpg

Oddly, the nearside rear light seal wasn't seated correctly (replaced both sides anyway). You can see here, how the rubber didn't lip over the inside of the sheet metal:
20210411_131727.jpg

Here's one of the new rear lamp seals. Made sure to lip into the inside for a double seal:
20210411_142454.jpg

I spent a long time testing for leaks with a watering can; with the roof up and down, around all the seals, light clusters, pretty much everywhere. No leaks... Yet.

I've not put all the boot trim back yet. I'd like to do some longer term testing. Jet wash, driving in the rain etc. Hopefully that'll be the end of it, but who knows.
 
Tested the new vents and rear light seals today with a watering can, hose pipe and jet washed the whole car. No signs of any water entering the boot. I'm hoping I've resolved the issue but I'm going to wait until it rains and drive in the wet - just to be sure! :driving:

20210412_180851.jpg
 
Just an update. After having replaced the boot vents and both tail light seals - and tested for leaks daily, I've had no further water ingress. The boot is completely dry!

I've replaced both the salmon relays as a preventative measure too. :driving:

20210414_172800.jpg
 
Anybody know exactly what sealant BMW uses for the trunk weather-stripping? I'd rather not use silicone sealant, since it can be hard to remove in the future.
 
javis20 said:
Anybody know exactly what sealant BMW uses for the trunk weather-stripping? I'd rather not use silicone sealant, since it can be hard to remove in the future.
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BMW's sealant turns into what looks like baby talc powder, so you'd want something better! People here have used black silicone (you can always apply sealant remover if you want to take it off) or butyl based gutter sealant.
 
Thanks, my leaks are coming from the long lower trunk seal. It's busted open in several places. Price for a new one is $220. I ordered one from a salvage yard for $37. Hopefully it's in great condition.
 
Part of the problem is the badly designed way water is allowed to channel over the rear of the lamps. Would be better if the gap around the rear lamps was sealed and water allowed to just run over the lamp rather than drain behind it.
Anyone that has removed a lamp sees the build up of dirt and muck.

On my old RX7 they had pipes to drain water from around rear glass panel to the bottom of the car body.
They did the same for the sun roof, but that drained into body work resulting in the floor rotting away.
For the sake of an extra foot of plastic tube could have been drained water out of the body.
 
Received my used trunk seal from an ebay salvage yard. It looks almost new. The BMW sealant residue is still fresh and very sticky. Going to be miserable to remove to remove from the weatherstrip grooves. So, I just ordered some BMW 83 19 2 232 322 sealant. It will be easier to just add more of the same sealant.
 
Hiya, can anyone help please? Our 2011 E89 Z4 was suffering water ingress which was gathering in the boot and under the roof pump and by the parking brake module. We have replaced the vents, the lights, the rubber seal and also put new sealant on. This has completely stopped the water ingress. HOWEVER, we check the car before we drive out in it and then go for a few miles and come back and there is water in the boot!!! Only splashes but also little puddles. We have done this a few times now and we dry it all out, come back a few days later and its all dry. Then we take the car out again, and when we come back there is again water in the boot. Its apparent that the water is or probably is residual and the motion of the car driving is causing it to move somehow to the back of the car. We are wondering if there is a drain blocked, enquiries of our local bmw specialist suggest that there may be a blocked drain and/or grommet but no one seems to know where they are on the vehicle so we can check. We have spoken to BMW themselves and they refuse to advise us of the location of any drain holes.
We don't know whether it is coming from the quarter windows but water is presenting in both sides of the boot after driving motion . Has anyone on here had this experience or have any advice to offer us? We are really stuck trying to sort this, thank you all very much!
 
If you really have fixed the leaks i had a problem where the water is stuck in the chassis under the storage pod on the left and it pops out at regular intervals. I videoed it on on of the boot leak thread. Eventually it empties itself.
Removing all the trim was the only way i managed to be sure where it was coming from. It is a struggle when its hidden away under all the trim. Good luck!
 
Hiya thanks so much. All the boot trim is out at the moment whilst we try to establish the source of the ingress. Do you mean the water empties out altogether eventually into the actual boot? It appears on both sides. Only after the car has been in motion. With all the trim out all we can see is the metal wheel arches and the metal of the boot and the vents which have also been renewed. Do you have any idea how we can sort this? Very grateful indeed for your advice and very quick response 😊
 
I'll find the post. For me the water came out of the chassis rail under the trim. There's one of the left and one on the right in the boot. It appears to fill up when water comes in and then pops out when cornering. I have a video on here but not so easy to find on a phone.... yes eventually it all comes out and is dry.

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=115469&start=15

Scroll down to one of my posts. The video shows the water spurting out.
 
Thank you so much that is really helpful and seems as if this may be our issue. Do you think this water is residual from when we had the leak in the boot (which is now sorted) and it's made its way into the rails or has it come in another way? So grateful for your help!!
 
In my case it was residual... and dried up after going around a roundabout for about 20 mins and mopping up the water that came out.
 
The sealant under the top boot seal was brittle and water was coming in directly above the cubby hole. I put a picture in the other thread i linked for you. You can see the water dripping around the seal. Ive had a couple of e89s and both had that issue. However there are other leak points as you have found out too! Fingers crossed you've solved them all. The last thing you want to do is drown the electrics on the right hand side or submerge the roof pump.. :thumbsup:
 
Thank you so much! You have been really helpful.... Our boot seal had gone as well. Seems we are getting sorted thanks to you... Take good care xxx
 
DEBS-8363 said:
Do you think this water is residual from when we had the leak in the boot (which is now sorted) and it's made its way into the rails or has it come in another way?
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Correct. This process will take some time as the remaining water in the rails is swapping forth and back. If you keep the trims away, it will dry out over the next months, especially in the summer.

Keep care about the pumps foam and put it immediately into a plastic bag to avoid further contact with the remaining water.
 
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