E30 Zone

any ideas as to where its coming from ?

oh and i dont have a sunroof.

hello mate. your water problem may be one of two things. 1, the heater matrix might be leaking located up under the centre consol. 2, your front jackng points may be rotted out and water from the road is getting in there. hope that helps.

underside is sound and sealed i did this few weeks ago.

heater matrix is a possibility....

passenger side under fuse box in the bulk head is prone to rust and corrosion

i had this problem on my is, after several water tests turns out it was leaking past the c pillar trim, when the the car was parked on a slight incline it was running forward into the passenger footwell,might be worth checking dude???

My "water if the front passenger footwell" was caused by a leaky gromet, the big one thats behind the glovebox/under the fusebox. I just took it out, cleaned the area and fitted it back, been fine since....

kam-325i wrote:My "water if the front passenger footwell" was caused by a leaky gromet, the big one thats behind the glovebox/under the fusebox. I just took it out, cleaned the area and fitted it back, been fine since....

This begs the question as to why/how there's water getting to that point in the engine bay, definately not a good sign.

E30Adam wrote:

kam-325i wrote:My "water if the front passenger footwell" was caused by a leaky gromet, the big one thats behind the glovebox/under the fusebox. I just took it out, cleaned the area and fitted it back, been fine since....

This begs the question as to why/how there's water getting to that point in the engine bay, definately not a good sign.

Scuttle panel was holed........(Wholed/hole'd/'oled....)...erm rusty as hell and blocked drain....

A classic E30 flaw unfortunately!!

ah great, got that to look forward too then!!!

its driver foot well and only been in the last few days... all that i have done differently is drive the car.

Sorry to state the obvious but haver you been keeping an eye on the coolant level?

If the matrix was leaking it would more than likely do it hot because of the thermal expansion of the matrix and the pressure of flow caused by waterside resistance accross the matrix.

Have had experience of this myself. I haven't looked at the matrix on mine but at may be as easy as to do a visual inspection. otherwise, pop up the carpet, dry the area with tissue and take the little fella through the local car wash with your partner upside down in the passenger seat with a torch that'll do it! 1/2 an hour and the jobs a goodun'

Check the drain off thingy on the bulkhead. It's beside the brake servo. It's a 2" long rubbery pipe and if it gets blocked the water will fill up behind the bulkhead and make it's way in. This happened to me on 2 E30's with wet passenger footwells.

As liam said check under the fusebox.. mine rotted out there and i had a 325 swimming pool

Def check under the fuse box AND under battery/tray. I had both, letting water in both footwells!!

Best thing to do is pull carpets back, dry the footwells off and spray talcum powder or flour all around the high points. then with a hose or kettle try different parts of the car at a time, i.e battery tray, under fuse box, vents where wiper motors are etc. This will show you exactly where it's coming from, how to fix it? mmm.... If you do let me know how!!

Geo1400

recently had a plate welded in passenger floor

ever since mine has a wet carpet
turns out to be the sunroof drain the tit has managed to bugger up the end
of drain so now wet carpets
classic swimming pool in footwell
god knows how im gonna solve it

headlining out and trim around A-pillar and stick some plastic tubing in to make your own drain channel?

E30BeemerLad wrote:headlining out and trim around A-pillar and stick some plastic tubing in to make your own drain channel?

oh nooooooo
not the rooflining please anything but that

or maybe some chewing gum in the drain hole in the sunroof enclosure.
haha

First things first... drill a hole in the lowest part of the footwell, but make sure you use sealer or waxoil around the edges so it doesn't rust!! drilled holes are NOT an MOT failiour. This will take care of any puddles!

Tell me this tho... I've just had a plate welded in both footwells, where does the problem arise with the drain?

Hope m-dtech has sorted his prob by the way!

Geo1400

i have this problem in my passenger footwell and im stumped aswell,check all the rubber grommets under the carpets,still aint figured it out though.

it pays to dry the carpets properly though or your car will smell damp

my dear old 323i used to be a mobile swimming pool, but then i found the leak! the water was running in through the multiway wiring connector on the A post, resealed rubber boot and the leak stopped!

just gotta hope your bulkhead ain't rusted through under the fusebox area like mine was.

It was a proper poseidon adventure theme going on. It also rusted through into the wheel arch area so when you drove in the wet the tyre chucked water straight up against the bulkhead area and into the cabin, look where the rust stains are coming from up behind the glovebox

Have you nicked my car and painted it silver?!

I think we have to come to terms with the fact our cars are old and slowly rotting so just have to grin and bare it. I've decided just to drill the holes to stop puddles and then try block water from getting into the 'problem' areas. Don't think there is a solution, or at least a cheap one anyway.