Leak

Post Thu May 14, 2015 10:21 pm

Hi guys,

I'm trying to get to the bottom of the a water leak I have in my E30 convertible.

I have taken the carpet out to dry it out and to try and find the source of the leak. The carpet was wet on the drivers side front and mostly rear.

For the last couple of months the car has been sitting in the garden and apart from a few drops from the canvas roof there has been no evidence of any water getting into the car. I have put down flour in the car to find the leak but couldn't find where it was coming from because not much water was coming in.

On Monday I took the car for MOT (which it passed with no advisorys). As I drove the car down hill I could hear a sloshing noise. I passed it off as the washer bottle as I had no carpet and no stereo in the car, but then as I drove uphill about 1/2-1" of water entered the car from the pedal box area (I couldn't see exactly as I was driving) filling up the front and rear drivers foot wells.

I have sprayed a hose into the vents under the wipers and water drains out of both wings. I have cleaned out the elephant trunk today as it was blocked.

Could the elephant trunk be the problem, or is there anything else that could cause this problem?

Thanks

Post Fri May 15, 2015 12:43 am

Elephant trunk is more than likely to have been your problem as its not letting the build up of water out

Post Fri May 15, 2015 1:09 pm

A good way to find leak is to cover area with talc powder

Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 6:51 pm

The water is coming in from the right side of the gas pedal through the little slits where the floor connects to the sill

Yesterday I removed the inner plastic wheel arch cover (cabin side) to find that inside it was full of stuff simular to soil. After scraping it all out I found a couple of possible drain holes along the sill. I'm not sure if this could cause some of the water leak I have got beacause there don't seem to be a route into the car this way from what I can see. Also the passenger side is just as full but no water is coming in that side.

On the floor is all the soil I pulled out

This car was full of dirt when I got it, and I am still finding loads like in the pictures everytime I take off a part off the car either inside or outside. Could there be any more drains that could be blocked?

The car is a convertible and I have cleaned out the elephant trunk which has helped but water is still finding it's way in

Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:43 pm

Looks like inner sill is holed and letting in water......

Orange stained areas needs a torch shone trough it to see the holes... Pinpricks?

Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 9:58 pm

The roof compartment drains into the sills and the sills have drain slots. I suspect that the slots may be blocked on your car.

Ben

Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:37 pm

BenHar wrote:The roof compartment drains into the sills and the sills have drain slots. I suspect that the slots may be blocked on your car.

Ben

I have ran some water in to the roof compartment and it seems to drain out of the car behind the B post.

Surely the roof drain doesn't go all the way to the front?

Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:44 pm

slideout318i20 wrote:Looks like inner sill is holed and letting in water......

Orange stained areas needs a torch shone trough it to see the holes... Pinpricks?

There are some 1/2" slots in the inner sill. Is that where you are saying the holes are?

It looks worse in the pictures than when in the car. I'll try and clean the area up and get some better pictures.

Post Sat Jun 13, 2015 11:50 pm

chu346 wrote:
slideout318i20 wrote:Looks like inner sill is holed and letting in water......

Orange stained areas needs a torch shone trough it to see the holes... Pinpricks?
There are some 1/2" slots in the inner sill. Is that where you are saying the holes are?

It looks worse in the pictures than when in the car. I'll try and clean the area up and get some better pictures.

I ment where the rust was...

Post Sun Jun 14, 2015 12:05 am

Ok. I'll have another look, over the next couple of days.

The question is, where is it coming from? It was an instant 1-2litres of water when it came in. It must of built up somewhere, then only came in when the front of the car was raised.

Post Sun Jun 14, 2015 9:36 am

The sills on E30s are supposed to have water draining through them. Your problem seems to be that the water isn't draining out of them as it should, possibly coupled with some dubious looking metalwork at the bottom of the inner sill where it joins the floorpan.
I'm not 100% certain that the drains are the same on cabs. as they are on saloons, but if they are, there should be two slots at the bottom near the front of the car, and one near the back.
Does your central locking work?

Post Sun Jun 14, 2015 9:59 am

Central locking is fine.

I found some kind of wadding/insulation behind the speaker a while ago before I stripped the interior and it was damp.

Are the front slots you are talking about in the front lower wing area?

What do you mean by dubious looking, rusty?

Post Sun Jun 14, 2015 2:39 pm

chu346 wrote:
What do you mean by dubious looking, rusty?

Rusty areas in your first two pics. need a small screwdriver applied to them.
Front slots should be directly below the front speakers (if the same as a saloon).
Central locking ECU also lives just below the speaker on the driver's side, and doesn't usually take kindly to getting wet. It's usual reaction is to burn out all the locking motors.

Post Thu Jun 25, 2015 7:52 pm

Fixed

Drain plug was blocked under sill:

Was a bugger to find

Post Thu Jun 25, 2015 9:20 pm

sounds like you have found one of the culprits, but i suspect you may also have a hole or two on your inner wings/bulk head.

I removed the wings on my cabby and found a number of small roles (about the size of a 5pence) on the drivers side.. i could only really see them when the wings were off.

My cabby also let in water and had load of mud behind the wings...!

hope this helps