Touring water leak!!

Post Sat Jan 22, 2005 7:53 pm

Hi Guys,

Well the saga of my private ponds in the back of the 318i touring continues!

Predictably under my jack on the left was a 4 inch deep pond!! I've had a read about and have checked the seals on the light clusters. Ordered replacement rubber seals from BMW for about Ãƒ”šÃ‚£3.50 each! Not bad I thought and possibly better than using silicon sealant on the old ones, any thoughts guys? Replace or repair?
Need to look under the right hand one tomorrow, not looking forward to that!

Also thought it prudent to replace the rubber seal on the boot/tailgate, but low and behold they are out of stock and even Germany don't have stock apparently which means a very long wait

Does anyone know an alternative for the boot sealing rubber strip rather than the BMW offical one??

Also, does anyone happen to know the part numbers (If there are some?) for the rubber seals that are used to seal the 'boomerangs' into the main body? Probably worth me renewing these too?

Also, while I'm here, I believe I've got the BBS cross-spoke alloys that have a centre plastic ring that the centre plastic piece then pushes into? any idea where/ how you can get replacements for these from? Mine are knackered!

Sorry, one more question! The seal under my rear window on the tailgate has somehow managed to slide to the right???, exposing about an inch gap between the glass at the bottom and the tailgate. How does this happen and how do you reckon I can fix it? Anyone replaced this seal before?

Cheers

Post Sun Jan 23, 2005 1:27 am

Rear washer system is one possible cause of a pond under the jack. There is a small drain hole down there, but it's often blocked.
Try tightening the tailgate catch a bit, up to the point where the tailgate starts getting hard to catch.
Check sunroof drain tubes are plugged into the vent mouldings properly.
The rubber seal at the bottom of the taigate window shrinks with age. It just pulls out. Check for rust starting in this channel while its out. Very common on a Touring.

Post Sun Jan 23, 2005 1:29 am

Hi there,

I replaced my tailgate and all relavant seals on my touring.

The seal across the bottom of the window shrinks with age, it did it on mine and my mums touring as well. Its only a few pounds to replace, make sure you clean all the crap out from behind it.

I had a water leak before and after doing this.

Take the seal off that goes around the body, the seal is pressed onto a ridge.

This ridge is made up of two body panels pressed together, with age these separate and therefore let water in.

The water drips down the inside of the panel all the way down to the inside of the pockets.

I fixed the leak by painting the ridge with some rust stopper solution, then closing it with pliers, then painting it with some smoothrite/hammerrite. Over the top of this i put some thick gaffer tape over the ridge.

Then all you have to do is nip the seal up with some pliers (if you havent bought a new one) and refit it. Job done

Let me know if you have any further problems.

Post Sun Jan 23, 2005 9:37 pm

Theres also a breather pipe that goes from the top of the washer tank to the filler to help the air escape as your pouring the water in.

Mine had snaped off from the top of the tank,so if you fill it up with out opening the stowage door you could fill it to much.

Yours might not have snapped off but it could be cracked ?

Post Sun Jan 23, 2005 10:02 pm

Cheers for the advice guys, hopefully my ponds will dry up for good sometime soon!!

Thankfully the right side seems fine although the fact I spilled a litre of oil down there about a year ago has probably helped!!! This has held the evil rot at bay I suspect!

What do you reckon is causing the water to collect behind the pillar cover at the back left and spilling out over onto the small shelf with the speaker on?

If I'm doing the waterproofing thing then I might as well do the lot while I'm there!!

Post Sun Jan 23, 2005 10:43 pm

The water collecting behind the pillar cover and spilling on to the speaker shelf is caused by water getting into the ridge that I mentioned in my previous reply. Trust me, it took me and my dad a whole weekend to sort it out and I never had any leaks again.

Use the instructions I gave in my previous reply and you wont have any more ponds in the back of your touring!

Post Mon Jan 24, 2005 12:01 am

Completely stripped out the inrerior of my most recently aquired Touring today to check the bodyshell before I start the M50 conversion I have planned for it.

total number of water leaks into interior - three.
1) Small rust hole at the front inside edge of the rear right wheelarch, leaking water onto the rear seat pan, hidden behind the steel tube for the tank vent pipes.
2) Larger rust hole at back of rear right wheelarch, leaking water into the right hand boot well.
3) Unfastened clip on the rear screenwasher pump, leaking water into the left hand boot well.
Both these rust holes were impossible to see from under the wheelarch, and only showed inside (after the trim was removed) as bubbleing in the paintwork.

Post Sun Feb 13, 2005 9:15 pm

Just thought I'd close this off (Hopefully!).

My leaks look like they were down to a number of factors:

1. The boomerangs were blocked up with crud which I think might have caused water to leak in from the holes where the boomerange connects to the body. Cleared these out.

2. Left hand rear light cluster gasket was leaking, so I replaced both of those (Ãƒ”šÃ‚£3.50 each from the dealer, result!!)

3. I plugged up the joins in the panels that meet under the rear boot seal with araldite to avoid any water getting in there.

4. Last but not least i think the biggest factor was the rear washer pump that had lifted out of the washer bottle by about a centimetre and when it was full, the pressure was causign a leak from here, out of the washer bottle and into the storage well. I cleaned this up and pushed it back into the bottel fully, adding a little silicone sealent for good measure!!

Massive thanks to Brian, Johono and all others for the advice, very much appreciated guys!

Thought I'd do this, then maybe it mght help some other poor bugger looking for the touring leaks!!

Cheers!

Beanie2

Post Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:22 am

around Ãƒ”šÃ‚£35 exc. delivery

www.koed.dk

danish site though, english speaking, can arrange direct delivery
no affiliation with seller

Post Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:22 am

cool cheers guys as i have this problem on both sides on mine, but not had a chance to look at it yet. got some ideas now.

Post Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:35 pm

Oh how I spoke too soon.....yes indeedy there was a fresh puddle in there this morning, the level on the washer bottle had dropped somewhat so no prizes for guessing what caused it this time!!!!

So it must still be leaking, oh well, out comes the bottle again and this time I'll fill ti right up and leave it inside tonight to see where it starts dripping from.....Drivign me mad!

Post Wed Feb 16, 2005 12:04 pm

Now I'm confused. I took the bottle and pump out of the car. Filled it to the brim and it didn't leak?!

I'm now thinking that the pump is leaking, but mainly when it's in use? So only when it's running? Maybe an internal seal in the pump has broken down and when it pumps, water is coming out the sides too?

Has anyone else encountered this problem?

Any idea how much a new pump is?

Post Sat Feb 19, 2005 8:25 pm

Guys,

Anyone had any trouble with the washer pump leaking? I'm not sure whether to replace the pump and small rubber gasket, or just the gasket?

Advice?

Cheers!

Post Sun Feb 20, 2005 11:50 am

have you tried watching the pump and hoses while some one pushes the button from inside, then mabey you could put a finger on it?