E30 boot seal

[gingebmx]

Is there anyone that sells these other than the 'stealers'?
Never fancied a swimming pool in my boot!

[ivqii]

They are only abt £20 from the dealers

[gingebmx]

cool thanks ill get onto the cotswold guys then
Cheers
Chris

[Jamese30]

Check your rear light lens seals too....they also cause puddles in the boot....

[StuB]

I still get a damp boot on mine after replacing the rear lights, their seals and replacing the boot seal too. Can't see anything obvious, is there anywhere else water can get in? I don't have a boot mounted aerial as I've seen suggested on other posts so can't be that in my case.

It's not as bad as it was (used to get the jack compartment full of water) after replacing those bits but still pretty soggy after heavy rain.

[Daz318is]

Hi

If you've got a spoiler seal the nuts that hold it to the boot, that cured mine even on the factory fitted one.

Daz

[gingebmx]

Thanks for the ideas, I am gonna do the light seals too.
Already done the spoiler nuts as these were leaking like sieves!
Need to mastic the rear screen rubber too

[StuB]

Hi

If you've got a spoiler seal the nuts that hold it to the boot, that cured mine even on the factory fitted one.

Daz

Ooh, I hadn't thought of that - will have a look on mine as it does have a spoiler. Thanks!

[Jamese30]

StuB,
Its worth taking the spoiler off as well. Sometimes if the spoiler was dealer fit you will find that someone will have drilled holes through the boot skin without repainting/rust curing afterwards....so they car rust. When I replaced my 327 spoiler the holes were a little rusty so I rubbed them down and treated them....

Regards other water leaks, just check your inner arches are ok aswell, before I replaced my one rusty one it used to seep water through....

In theory you could get water in the boot if your "cat flaps" are broken or not clipped in properly. These are the air vents that clip into the body behind the bumper on either side of the rear of the car. They are there to allow air to circulate through and then out of the car and are quite simply a one way opening rubber flap (opening outwards). To be honest I am yet to see a faulty one.

Cheers,

James

[StuB]

Hi James, thanks for the detailed reply - much appreciated. The spolier on my car is the standard later 'Sport' type as it's an '89 325i Sport model so I presume it was fitted at the factory with the rest of the body kit?

I had a quick look this morning and it appears to fasten on with plastic nuts inside the boot lid, between the two skins if you see what I mean. I did notice when opening the boot this morning that the underside of the lid itself seems to have a lot of dampness on it, like condensation perhaps? Could this be a clue to where the water is getting in or simply a symptom of a wet boot in general I wonder?

I'm pretty sure the inner arches are ok and those air flaps are in place but will investigate when I get chance and check the spoiler fixings out too.

Thanks again
Stu

[Jamese30]

Hi Stu,
No problem at all. The boot lid condensation could mean leaks around the nuts, when my boot leaked from the rust lower in the arches I never saw condensation around there (unless your car is stored somewhere very warm!?) - it is too high up, so I would start searching aroud that area, nuts would be a good start. Try running water into the channel of the boot with the lid open as well to see if anything is seeping in anywhere.

Regards the spoiler, yes I would imagine yours is factory fit so they should be ok.

Lastly, check your latch striker position, they sometimes break or are adjusted wrong and your boot might be closing and latching but not enough to close the seal correctly. PUsh on it when it is closed to see if there is any free play downwards...