Help Needed Interior Water Leak 325i Sport!

Post Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:45 pm

Hi, ive found a water leak in my 89 F Plate 325i Sport. The passenger footwell has been completely flooded. Drivers side also has the same problem but not as bad, to source the problem I have taken out the carpet today and using a hose pipe I have blasted water around the exterior of the car to try and find out were the leaking water is coming from. Ive now located this to the vents that are below the windscreen. When water is put down them it pours through into the interior of the car down the black speaker panels.
Has anyone experienced this problem before and knows how to fix it?
Any help is much appreciated.
Many Thanks Tyler

Post Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:53 pm

Passenger side,the bulkhead area behind the glovebox and just under the fusebox is the usual area.
To effect a proper repair,the fusebox needs to be removed,snag is that it is attached to the main car body wiring loom...

Driver's side,this is most likely to be a blocked 'elephants trunk' which has allowed the metal behind to rot away.

Full and proper repair involves stripping out of the bulkhead/dashboard area and letting in new metal.

Post Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:00 pm

thanks for the reply is this a big job stripping out the bulkhead / dashboard?

Post Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:10 pm

Tyler325iSport wrote:thanks for the reply is this a big job stripping out the bulkhead / dashboard?

Wiring loom/fusebox was about the first interior item to be installed on the line!

In principal,the dash is held by two bolts at each side,but you have a fair amount of work to get to them...to strip the interior to give a clear bulkhead is about half a day's work,engine bay side,depends on how far down the rot has spread to determine if it's easier to remove the engine/box to get decent access.

Another snag is the 'whilst I have it in bits' syndrome,as the carpet will be out,it's easy to see what the front footwells/inner wing join is like,the rear seat will also be in your spare bedroom,so you can peer into the gap by the rear arches....

Welcome to the world of E30,BTW!

Post Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:10 pm

Best thng to try first is the elephant's trunk - drivers side, near where the clutch and brake pipes run. from the pedal box. 2 minute job to remove and unblock.

Next job is to remove the vents under the wipers (easy with trim clip tool or flat blade screwdriver with a rag to protect the paint. Have a look with a torch and clear out the crud in there as well. The drivers side one (on RHD) drains through the wheel arch - no issues there. The passenger side one allows water to drain past the heater box which is just sealed in place with foam - if the water level rises, water can seep through that way into the cabin both sides. Once I cleaned mine out, I sealed off the passenger side vent with gaffer tape - the drivers side lets in enough air for the heater blower to vent the cabin.

Other areas to try:

Main grommet into the car (below the fuse box) - if you undo the screws holding the fuse box in place you can ease the fuse box up quite a way to have a look at the main grommet AND check for rust/holes on the panel underneath. Also check the bonnet cable - water can leak through there as well.

The windscreen itself can leak...

Another trick is put a bit of talc inside the car on the bulkhead and then do your water test - the water will leave a trail so you can see exactly where it's getting in.

Bottom line - lots to try before you need to strip the dash out - if you take the centre console out you can 'peel back' the carpet quite a bit to get at stuff - dash out is a last resort!

Good luck!

Post Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:12 pm

Oh yes - and welcome aboard!!

Post Sun Jul 15, 2012 9:11 pm

Thanks for all the replies i will try out these ideas tomorrow

Post Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:35 pm

Hi, I’ve removed the passenger side vent today and much to my horror there is a dirty big rotten hole underneath near the corner towards the passenger wing. Ive taped up the plastic vent as a temporary measure to stop anymore water getting in. Does anyone know how I can access inside the hole to weld? It looks like its completely sealed in and looks impossible to sort the problem out through the vent hole.

Many Thanks Tyler

Post Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:59 pm

Do you mean down here?

If so, unfortunately you have to remove the fusebox and cut out the metal underneath to get to it. For more info, work your way through the photos in this album:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1063 ... 3820608609

Post Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:05 pm

no although that might be gone aswell as i havent removed the fuse box yet. Im talking about the black air vent panel just above your picture

Thanks For The Reply

Post Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:15 pm

Not sure you've understood, so to make certain:

If you stick your finger into the hole circled, you'd be able to see it through the air vent panel. All I've done is slice out a section of the scuttle to access the hole underneath, but the metal under the air vent is effectively the bulkhead; any hole here will go straight into the passenger footwell.

Post Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:30 pm

i will check the fusebox tomoz thanks mate. How would i get to the hole through the vent to sort the problem. Ive googled it and the best ive got so far is silicone

Post Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:34 pm

The only way to get to it is to either remove the entire dash, or cut out a section of the scuttle like I have done.

Post Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:38 pm

so if i removed the dash i would be able to get to the hole underneath

Post Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:12 am

Possibly. This is the next picture:

That's the same hole, but seen from within the wheel arch. Basically, there's three layers of metal there and the rust forms at the joint of those three, like this:

so where the green, blue and pink lines meet. You'll see one side of it if you remove the dash, and you might see some of it in the wheel arch. But if you see it, it HAS to be cut and and replaced. The longer its left, the worse it gets, until the whole front left corner of the car separates away from the bulkhead, like mine did!