Need technical Q/A then you're in the right place
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twoscoops
- E30 Zone Newbie

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Sat Apr 14, 2012 11:13 am
Right guys
Went to explore what was in the boot of my wife's new cabbie and when exploring the left side well where the jack is, I found about 3inches of water. I removed that and then there appears to be a hole through the carpet where more water was. I used a spray head to extract this.
So I am trying to work out how it got there. The car is parked facing downhill so I am wondering when the car is washed whether water is sitting outside the boot seal and then going through if it is dosed.
Any thoughts???
Cheers
Tim
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SGP
- E30 Zone Regular

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Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:13 pm
Common areas for letting in water are the rear light seals and the boot-lid seal.
(in the non-convertible)
If it ain't broke..
Fix it till it is

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twoscoops
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Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:29 pm
What's the hole in the carpet for? It's pretty deep!
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xavier
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Sun Apr 15, 2012 6:36 am
Mine did the same. New tail light seals sorted it. I also increased the size of the drainage holes incase of further leaks.
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twoscoops
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Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:00 am
Where are the drainage holes to be found? Does anyone happen to know the part number for the light seals and boot seals?
Cheers
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Grrrmachine
- E30 Zone Wiki / Team Member

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Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:02 am
All the part numbers are available on RealOEM or bmwfans - they have their own sticky in this forum
As for drains; the sunroof (if fitted) has rubber pipes that lead down to those boot pockets, where they clip into plastic ovals that drain the water out behind the bumper. Sometimes the rubber hose pops off and drains the water into the boot pocket, where it's trapped; there are no holes in the metal down there, so it just collects, festers and rots the boot floor out.
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jmc330i
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Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:06 am
I can't see the pics on my phone, so can't help with the hole in the carpet, but there is a drain hole plugged with a rubber bung at the front of the well, closest to the wheel. The bung has a small hole through the middle that usually gets blocked, dso if won't let any collected water out. Just poke through it to open it up, but don't remove the bung. Theres one on the driverside as well, so that's probably worth checking and opening up as well.
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Gavla
- E30 Zone Squatter

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Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:15 am
I cannot see any bungs in my wells? Has anyone got pictures of these? Thanks
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Grrrmachine
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Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:42 am
If you look in that photo, you should see a circular indentation in the floor. That's the bung, and on mine it was covered in seam sealant in both boot pockets, so I've no idea if it's meant to serve as a drain hole or not. I also like xavier's idea of drilling through them to make a proper drain though.
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jmc330i
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Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:20 pm
I've got a pic somewhere, but can't find it right now.
As for if its meant to be a drain hole, mine had a purpose cut slit through it (on both bungs, driver and passenger side) which I just opened up. I think I made the slit slightly longer, but not so it was open all the time - I didn't want an open hole there all the time.
James
'91 325i Sport
'93 318i touring 16v
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BenHar
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Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:54 pm
twoscoops wrote:Where are the drainage holes to be found?
On prefacelift cabriolets they are here:
Ben
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jmc330i
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Mon Apr 16, 2012 6:55 pm
^^^^ good pics from the outside, and the same on my 91 2dr. Here's a clearer pic from inside, easier to see the rubber thing to poke through - the golf tee is what I used to clear the hole

James
'91 325i Sport
'93 318i touring 16v
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BenHar
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Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:58 pm
Mine has no rubber. They are a 3/4inch slot in the metal floor with the rearward part peined up slightly so the hole is like skinny capital D.
Ben
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Gavla
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Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:19 pm
Thanks everyone, pics have been a big help!
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PeteE30Tourer
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Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:49 pm
I've got the exact same problem with my cab - water in the nearside boot compartment where the jack goes. Trouble is, it condenses on the inside of the boot lid and then drips on everything in there. Must get this sorted.

Back behind an M20, but now I can hear it better.