Water ingress into cabin - R50 no sunroof

1875 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by travis.cookyoung, 11 mo ago

Angst

Discussion Starter · Dec 17, 2020

Still got an issue with water leaking into the cabin of my R50 - it doesn't have a sunroof.

Earlier this year I had the entire interior out as the carpet was wet through.

I replaced the heater matrix as it leaked a little but the main culprit was the driver's window which was pushing too hard up into the door seal at the top of its travel and flexing outwards and allowing water in - adjusted this and it was fine.

The A pillar trim had also popped out a little and this was addressed and I also used silicon sealant under and around it.

Before the interior was put back in I sat inside and had somebody go round with a pressure washer and no water entered. In fact it was sat on the drive for a week before I could refit the interior as it rained incessantly and inside was bone-dry still.

But the driver's footwell is damp again, a pain in the a*** as the weather cools as you have to scrape frost off the inside as well as out.

About 3 months ago I pressure-washed the back of the engine bay after I fitted a steering rack and driveshafts to get rid of oily gunk. Is it possible I have dislodged a bung or some-such ?

I know that just like when your house roof leaks, where the water appears is not necessarily where it is coming in, but any other ideas where it may be originating would be gratefully received !

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NigelStap

· #2 · Dec 17, 2020

Check the seal around the bottom of the steering column from the inside. May not be the problem but it is easy to see.

The very fact that BMW designed a water cover for the BCM inside the car tells you something about how water tight these cars aren't.

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Angst

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 18, 2020

Thanks, I'll check that out! My BCM is fine at the moment, funny enough I thought I had BCM issues after first finding damp due to random electrical gremlins. Brake lights working/not working, rear wiper not working/working, central locking issues but each issue was down to failing components or dodgy connections.

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Angst

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 29, 2021

After further investigation, it is the driver's door seal.
Water is draining from the 'gutter' at the front of the roof running inside the seal and instead of draining out, is going into the cabin. There are numerous threads on this site and elsewhere about the same issue.

I've a feeling in my case it's because the seal doesn't seem to be locating tight enough in the front corner right under where the water drains through from the roof and is going into the inside groove instead of the outside.

There's obviously been some issue in the past as when I removed the door seal to inspect it there was tape and various kinds of sealant all round the aperture. I couldn't believe the amount of crap trapped in the seal which can't have helped so have cleaned it all out.

I checked the passenger side seal to see how that fitted and that appears to have been glued back in as well

I'll just have to persevere and see what exactly is happening. At least I have located the problem. I am hoping I don't have to take all the interior out again to dry it out. That accelerator pedal was a pain in the arse to remove!

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travis.cookyoung

· #5 · 11 mo ago

Angst said:
After further investigation, it is the driver's door seal. Water is draining from the 'gutter' at the front of the roof running inside the seal and instead of draining out, is going into the cabin. There are numerous threads on this site and elsewhere about the same issue. I've a feeling in my case it's because the seal doesn't seem to be locating tight enough in the front corner right under where the water drains through from the roof and is going into the inside groove instead of the outside. There's obviously been some issue in the past as when I removed the door seal to inspect it there was tape and various kinds of sealant all round the aperture. I couldn't believe the amount of crap trapped in the seal which can't have helped so have cleaned it all out. I checked the passenger side seal to see how that fitted and that appears to have been glued back in as well I'll just have to persevere and see what exactly is happening. At least I have located the problem. I am hoping I don't have to take all the interior out again to dry it out. That accelerator pedal was a pain in the arse to remove!

Any update?

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