My E30 is leaking!!!

[ryan0143]

my car has been sitting for a couple of weeks, noticed water sitting were the rear seats would be as my car is stripped out temporarily it sits were the seat would be!!! also my sunroof appears to be leaking, how do people resolve these issues new seals?? or silicone??

[leeparkes]

Is the roof lining wet near the rear grab handles?

[Brianmoooore]

E30 sunroofs are not intended to be water tight. The main purpose of the seal is to stop wind noise.
There is a system of drainage gutters and drain pipes around the sunroof, and your problem is with this. If you're lucky, the gutter that collects water from the back edge of the roof has become detached from the roof panel (it slides over and back with the panel), and water is missing it. If you're unlucky, the gutters at the rear, or the metal stub pipes that connect the plastic drain tubes to the gutters, have rusted through.

[leeparkes]

Dont want to frighten you but i had an E30 with a rotten sunroof tray








It was previously bodged....Badly, with garden hose

[ryan0143]

i dont think rust is the problem, yes the gutter at the back window on drivers side has become detached slightly and yes it is wet near the grab handles, do these just clip back on???

[Brianmoooore]

If the "shark fin" trim pieces are loose, that could well be the problem. They just push unto place through grommets that are single use only.

[markmadman2]

Lots and lot of threads on this already, im too lazy so this is one i wrote before on Bimmerforums

so many possibilities
.for the boot/trunk check the boot seal around the edge as these have been known to corrode over time.
.Check the seal around the rear windscreen ,as sometimes they move outa line and leave a gap for the water to stream into
.Check rear quarter windows seal
.check door seals
.Most probably check the rear light seals as these go on all e30's and often cause puddles in the trunk and pockets and water then runs under rear seat. (also check the ariel seal as these might just be lose and letting in water)

The water in the footwells
.Check seal around front windscreen
.Check sunroof drains as these are really problamatic when blocked and everywhere gets wet
.Check the part where the glove box door bolts to the footwell, it goes on all Chromies anyway for some reason
.The elephant trunkis a black plastic flat pipe 6-7 inches long coming out of the bulkhead,it drains the section with the wiper vents and removes with a 90 clockwise twist
.Obviously holes in the footwells will cause water damage as well
.check front windscreen seal
.check for holes in rear inner wheel arches as they spray in water if holy
.there's a part of the heater that can block causing all your probs i think it's the matrix but don't quote me on that
.remove the front wings and check their not full of dirt/crap as they all fill over time and destroy the wings and footwells from inside where you can't see (happened to me recently)

remove your carpets if you haven't already and cover everything in talkum powder, it'll show up leaks straight away and where their coming from( if it's raining).Besides when the carpets removed you can check all the rubber seals on the floor and footwells.
hoped this helped , theres a few threads on it already http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...elephant+trunk

Hope that helps

[ryan0143]

right, the gutters ate the back of the car have come away from the sill, how do i clip these back on?? i have tried pushing them back but they just prong back out again??

[Brianmoooore]

They just push unto place through grommets that are single use only.

[ryan0143]

and these are readily available from BMW?

[Brianmoooore]

I doubt that you'll find them anywhere else! Probably 24 hours delivery.

[Barton]

at least i know its not meant to be completely water-tight

after jet-washing the car the other day to remove some of the moss from before i bought it i got back into the car to find a wet seat and centre console