E30 Zone

how can water get under the back seat ? - two door as well - this car is leakier than a sieve
plus i seem to be getting a very strong smell of petrol when i take corners fast, its a new tank, new hoses - just checked them all seem ok

Hi markwd. I had this on a couple of occasions. Mine was from the trim that was an extension of the roof gutter, thats fastened to the rear pillar. Its got 3 or 4 pegs on it that fit into some special plastic grommets. trouble is the grommets break and let the water in. With the seat base and back out and the side panels. get someone to hose the pillar and you should see the water coming in and working its way into the seat well and probably into the rear foot well. If this is the problem i can give you the part nos and tips to fit.

thanks,
wonder if this explains the boot filling with water too... as i couldnt find the source for that

Water in boot, apparently, often comes in round seals on rear light clusters. Water running off boot lid/roof down boot edge gutter can get by the rear light seals if they are not a good seal. Not done it, but presumably you could set a hosepipe up to run water down the back window, an d see if any comes in through the back of the light clusters? The foam-type light seals can go hard over time, bit of GP mastic around the rim before you put the unit back should cure it.

i tried pouring water all over the boot to try to figure out if any had got in, (ive stripped out all boot carpet) - but no sign of leakage, - it doesnt appear to leak when its stood - which makes me think its the arches or something - need to find a hosepipe, ive since stripped out all the back seat and rear quarter trims (yay stripped out race car look heh - altho the sound from the rear speakers is a lot better....) to check for any leakage, itll have to be a sponge for the time being.

how can you tell if the seals in the boot have gone?

i poured buckets and buckets of water all over the car, all boot carpets removed and dried out, no sign of any water getting in anywhere - no idea where its coming in,

Hhmm - your post made me think again - my boot is still damp - tried firing a hosepipe all around the rear light clusters - did get a bit of water in, but water doesn't get to that pressure when driving - no great revelation there then! - one thing I did do - under the plastic box thin in r/h side of boot, I had 3" of water - drilled 1/4" hole right at front of well , drained it, dried it and dabbed it with underseal - if you can't stop it getting in, at least let it get out!!?

Yea I found a puddle under that plastic box at the weekend, will have to check it out again this weekend seeing as we've had shit weather this week.