E30 Zone

Just got a rang BMW for price- £90 !!! For a poxy little bit of seal

Should I just re use the old one ?? Anything that can be done to it to freshen/tighten it up a bit or to check if its decent still ?

£27.75 3 years ago.

Re-used one of the old seals.
Gently cleaned with a nail brush and stuck on with sika flex.

polsta wrote: or to check if its decent still ?

If it looks OK, then it is OK. I have changed the odd one for a better second hand one, but usually they're in serviceable condition.

What's the best way to service it so to speak Brian ? Obviously clean it but anything else to make best of it ?

It was ok when in the car not leaking etc, just looks a bit weathered and a new one would be ideal but for 90 it can wait a while

All the seal does is reduce wind noise.It is NOT a water seal,water is allowed past it and drains out via the four drain points,one in each corner.
So as long as the seal is intact,it can be cleaned up and re-fitted.

Excellent that's made it good news , I thought it was a water seal and drainage was back up, whilst I have the sunroof out to fit it, is there anything else I can/should do in the area to make/ensure everything is ok and functional or inspect/change ?

Waxoil the underside of the sunroof tray! Cake it up.

The seal, as above, just clean it up, leave it in soak for 10 minutes then nail/tooth brush clean it. Then once its dry, if it looks a bit dull, cake that up in trim/bumper gel and it will look brand new

Jim320i wrote:Waxoil the underside of the sunroof tray! Cake it up.

Don't just 'cake up' the panel. Prop it upside down, fill it with hot waxoil, then heat the panel and frame with a heat gun, tilt the panel, shake it around, and make sure every small recess is well coated, before draining off the excess.
Check that the gutter piece that attaches to the back of the fabric panel is fully intact and free from rust, especially at its attachment points.

Thats what I said... Cake it

got a new seal with my replacement sunroof panel come in one peice

On real oem, it lists a "circular" seal, had a chat with fella at snows earlier he looked them up said that looked like a bit underneath ? That was 70 odd, and 90 for the seal is shocking, even a door seal would be steep at that

I ordered some seals for our e30 cab roof a couple of years ago and paid the same apparently crazy prices for a few bits of rubber. I was told:quote;im lucky they still do them, if they were knocking them out left right and center they would be cheaper, and that BMW are in business to make a profit. It would make no sense for them to stock parts that hardly anyone buys and bare little profit, if you compare the price to the life of the part you would not complain: That shut me up!

ajay wrote:I ordered some seals for our e30 cab roof a couple of years ago and paid the same apparently crazy prices for a few bits of rubber. I was told:quote;im lucky they still do them, if they were knocking them out left right and center they would be cheaper, and that BMW are in business to make a profit. It would make no sense for them to stock parts that hardly anyone buys and bare little profit, if you compare the price to the life of the part you would not complain: That shut me up!

It seems that BMW placed orders with their suppliers to meet projected production runs and a set % over for replacements that would last for 20 years or so.We are now coming to the point where BMW,unlike,say,Ford or Vauxhall,are re-ordering parts for their 'back catalogue',the only issue is that now,BMW are ordering in 100's as apposed to millions,but at least OEM spec parts are available.
If we wish to run E30's into the future,we need a source of parts,BMW seem happy enough to supply,we just have to take a deep breath,lube up,and hide the invoices from 'er indoors!

We all know and appreciate that they still do parts is great, Im not shy going there spending money I've bought around £600 worth of small and various bits from them and some bits are surprisingly cheap/reasonable and some you expect to be expensive or pay a good price for a quality made part that's maybe not too easy or cheap to produce, but £90 for a little strip of rubber seal is crazy even if it lasts years , bits like that you live with and swallow when it's occasionally and as a treat, but when you have a lot of bits to buy and have to think of prioreties and what's vital or not , prices like that seem a joke and way over priced for what it is, probably costs them pittance to make and the mark up so to speak in that must be massive

I rang them for a price for these simple bits -

1 sunroof seal
2 fog lamp front glass holding bits(just the thin black plastic surround bit on front of lamp)
4x screws for them

Price - £139 !!!!

Unreal

You're restoring a BMW. They were always a prestige brand. Prestige brands come with prestige prices. no matter what age they are.

You either restore a car using brand new parts and pay the money and have the best. Or you compromise. which always leads to a compromised car.

That sunroof i sold to Dave? i left the seal on there as i knew no one would pay it's true worth and after all, it was Dave.

On the flip side, fraggers can charge more ££ for certain used parts, iv'e now accepted it and just decide if i think the car is worth it or not!

thanks trev love you too

B7 wrote:You're restoring a BMW. They were always a prestige brand. Prestige brands come with prestige prices. no matter what age they are.

You either restore a car using brand new parts and pay the money and have the best. Or you compromise. which always leads to a compromised car.

This!

polsta wrote:On real oem, it lists a "circular" seal, had a chat with fella at snows earlier he looked them up said that looked like a bit underneath ? That was 70 odd, and 90 for the seal is shocking, even a door seal would be steep at that

There are two options of sunroof "draught excluder" one is a one piece which is actually supplied slightly to long for the panel, you need to trim it to fit, this will be your £70 option, the other is a two piece item and combined is about £90, there are no other seals on an E30 sunroof, I have a brand new one piece in my garage waiting to go on the C2, I also had one on my old Quattroporte. Your parts man needs to look at the image a bit more closely on ETK.

That's what I thought it looked like , he then said it can't be , are there any differences in them bar the cuts or benefit for one over the other ?