E30 Zone

so noticed the other day the passenger footwell was damp. had a little look down there, and yes the heater matrix has been leaking into the footwell.

on further inspection it wasn't the solenoid that i often hear causes people problems, it was the join that goes through the bulkhead, the little rubber bit.

i took everything apart on the inside (glovebox and all the braking mechanism) and moved it about a bit to see if i could get it to stop.

obviously it hasnt worked, so whats the best plan of action? replace the rubber gromit? is this a common problem?

so while i was down there had the carpet up, found yet another wet patch where the rear passenger would put their feet. this time not coolant but rain water! there are no holes in the roof so im guessing a door seal?

are both of these available from the dealers? is that my best course of action?

cheers,
Matt

Your first problem (if it is coolant in the footwell) is probably just a heater hose not tightened properly under the bonnet. The hose should be pushed on fairly close to the bulkhead, and if it leaks, it's quite likely to force the coolant past the grommet.
For the second problem, check out the condition of the circular twist in blanking plates, about 4 1/2" in diameter in the floorpan directly under where you say the damp patch is. There has been a recent thread on identifying the part number of these plates.

Brianmoooore wrote:Your first problem (if it is coolant in the footwell) is probably just a heater hose not tightened properly under the bonnet. The hose should be pushed on fairly close to the bulkhead, and if it leaks, it's quite likely to force the coolant past the grommet.
For the second problem, check out the condition of the circular twist in blanking plates, about 4 1/2" in diameter in the floorpan directly under where you say the damp patch is. There has been a recent thread on identifying the part number of these plates.

its definatly coolant. its an m52 so ill have to have the inlet off to tighten it up

okay ill have a look and report back, thanks Brian

whats that about?! what is supposed to be there?!

i guess im leaking through a door seal then...best place to get one of these?

Relax, that's just one of the many bungs fitted into the floorpan:



The shell was dipped in the factory, and without holes in the floor there would be nowhere for all the fluids to come out, so your car has two big bungs fitted in place behind the front seats. Yours are in surprisingly good nick; most have rotted away by now.

The blanking plate is beneath all that sealant, so it could still be the problem - you need to check it from underneath as well. There seems to be rather too much sealant there - you can usually see the metal in the centre of the plate, suggesting it's not original, although it appears properly painted.
Never known an E30 door seal to let in water yet, even when blasted with my industrial pressure washer. Is the plastic film under the doorcard fitted properly? It's an important seal to stop water getting in

few okay i thought i had a mammoth bodge on my hands!

Brianmoooore wrote:The blanking plate is beneath all that sealant, so it could still be the problem - you need to check it from underneath as well. There seems to be rather too much sealant there - you can usually see the metal in the centre of the plate, suggesting it's not original, although it appears properly painted.
Never known an E30 door seal to let in water yet, even when blasted with my industrial pressure washer. Is the plastic film under the doorcard fitted properly? It's an important seal to stop water getting in

okay ill check for holes from benith tonight, ill have the doorcard off aswell and see if thats the issue.

how should i go about drying the carpet? isit carpet out time or will a heater do the trick?

just bought 2 bungs myself

ive primered them in zing primer, and will rattle can them also, but how should one go about fitting them in ? what sort of sealant to use ? , should somethign be put on the "lip" before attaching the plate ? then whats the best sealant over the top ? from factory was the sealant body color painted ?

these bungs always go and are £3 each, if i were you id remove both of them and check and the lips under there, and fit new ones for gooid measure, as you wont know if they are rusting under that sealant