Rain getting in again! Has anyone else seen this?

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Bumpa
Joined: Fri 23 Jun, 2017 20:31
Posts: 70

  Z3 roadster 2.2i

Rain getting in again! Has anyone else seen this?

Post by Bumpa »

I have spent ages stopping the rain from getting in round and through the door, but now it is dripping from the inside edge of the screen pillar. In this photo I have actually captured a drop falling so you can see where it comes from.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65077213@ ... 635836464/

The question is, how does the water get there? Where is it getting in? All suggestions welcome. It will soak the floors again without an ice ceam tub to catch it, and I thought I had it dry inside at last! Bah!

Mike
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Robert T
Site Admin
Joined: Mon 12 Jun, 2006 10:35
Posts: 10170

  Z3 roadster 1.9
Location: Cheshire

Re: Rain getting in again! Has anyone else seen this?

Post by Robert T »

What is this "rain" of which you speak? We've had two showers of airborn precipitation in the last 6 weeks. The grass is dust and the trees are starting to lose their leaves!

Although the drip is manifesting itself lower down, I would suspect the plug in the end of the rubber where the side window meets the top of the windscreen frame. When this fails, water that would normally be diverted down the inside of the door rubber comes into the car. You just need to reaseal it. There is a thread on here with more detail, but I can't search for it from my phone, sorry.

Cheers R.



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Arctic Silver '99 Z3 1.9 & Black '59 Frogeye 1275cc
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Bumpa
Joined: Fri 23 Jun, 2017 20:31
Posts: 70

  Z3 roadster 2.2i

Re: Rain getting in again! Has anyone else seen this?

Post by Bumpa »

Thanks Robert. Actually I have already sealed the top of the A-pillar rubber. I have had a lot of bother with wet floors on the passenger side of the car, leading to failure of the lateral acceleration sensor under the carpet. I don't want a repeat of that! The rain was pouring in through the door and running over the sill. A new waterproof membrane in the door fixed that.

Then the rain was getting past the quarter glass and tracking down the rubber to run over the sill. That was hard to sort, and in the end I actually undid the door bolts a little and moved the door forward by about 2mm and that stopped that leak.

My clever son who is visiting this weekend suggested it was getting past the rubber seal on the top of the screen glass. Looking at it, the seal doesn't lie flat on the passenger side so I have stuck some plastic tape over the frame to rubber joint and am waiting to see if that has done the trick. I suspect the car has had a new windscreen at some point and it doesn't look as though it was fitted terribly well.

As for the rain, like you, we in the west of Scotland haven't had any for many weeks, and my grass is also brown in patches despite watering. However, today it has rained steadily all day. Better tomorrow they say.
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: Rain getting in again! Has anyone else seen this?

Post by Southernboy »

If the main window glass isn't sealing against the rubbers at the top you can try adjusting the window mechanism so the top of the glass in the closed position is closer to those rubber seals.
This has been covered before, but briefly it requires removing the door card, then slight loosening the 2 under door M10 bolts and the 2 M10 bolts holding the top of the 1/4 light window. Then push the 2 under door bolts towards the outside of the door and tighten, then re-tighten the 2 top bolts. This results in the window angle being inclined inwards at the top and therefor closer to the top rubbers.
Next - If you pull off the top rubbers you will find their mounting plates behind those rubber. They are held in position by torx drive screws.
If you remove any one of those plates, you will note there are some "shims" fitted on the back face. (Don't lose or move them out of position).
Now consider the fact that due to the door rubber having "shrunk" over time and no longer provides a decent seal. If by increasing the number of shims equally behind the mounting plate, you manage to gain 2 or 3 mm. it will provide a better seal between window and rubber again.
Unfortunately these shims aren't available in the shape / format you will see on your car. You might however try using some appropriate size / thickness flat washers to do the job.
Re-fitting the rubbers is easy enough. You will see they have a "locating" stud which fits into a hole in the carrier plate, and then they simply clip into the plate top and bottom edges. Do the top edge first and then use your thumb to push / lift the lower clip in edge into position.
Hope this will help sort the wet..
"Normal is overrated"
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