Water in footwells z4

[Grimstead]

Right I couldn't find many answers which made sense so this is what I think it is (we'll see over next few days) and how to fix it, firstly I found that the carpet under the passenger seat was wet, I mean proper wet not just damp. I unbolted the passenger seat and removed it, the underneath of the carpet is a thick foam which had soaked up the water like a sponge and I could literally ring it out

 

[Grimstead]

So, I removed the panel underneath the windscreen, you have to unbolted the wipers and quite a few annoying plastic tabs, snap! To reveal

 

[Grimstead]

I found the drain channel was blocked which I guess would cause it to run to other places which I'm guessing is part of the

.

 

[Grimstead]

You'll need toclear this out, all the crap in mine was dry so I hoovered it out, there is also meant to be another drain point which diverts from the grills and down into the inner wing

Please notice sliced thumb :ymblushing:

I believe this would have helped block the channel faster as it wasn't getting carried away fast enough, my car had full BMW service history so I take it some div at beemer forgot to put it back whilst changing a cabin filter

 

[Grimstead]

On the other side there is a small rubber valve that drains water away from around the wiper motor and down into the engine bay, mine was full of crap but right at the bottom of it was a snapped clip which probably started to back everything up, again thanks to a t**t at BMW, thank god they charge so much for their expert mechanics, this is what it looks like

I'd already cleaned it out at this point, I know it still looks grubby but the valve is clear now, I was calling the c*** everything under the f****** sun by this point so wasn't in the mood to make it look pretty aswell

 

[Grimstead]

So that's it for now, I'll be picking up a wet vac tomorrow to get rid of as much water as possible and see if it comes back, I'll do some more pics aswell and hopefully it'll all come in handy, it's not the hardest job in the world so if you got damp carpets or a mouldy smell get the tools out and give it a go.

 

[GazHyde]

Nice little write up. :-bd

If this has fixed it, I'll add it to the knowledge base and create a wiki article for it.

Never had any water come in my Z4, other than through the window seals. Not at the top but in the corner by the wing mirror. Couldn't figure out how the hell it was coming through.

 

[Grimstead]

Cheers mate, mine was never looked after by the previous owner in respects of cleaning and looking out for things so I'm guessing that's alot to do with it also, just hope it works and helps,

So was urs just under the wing mirror?

 

[Grimstead]

Ok, busy weekend, there was sooo much water I decided to take most of the interior apart. It goes as follows:

Seats were first, put seat back to reveal

Two black plugs cover them up so I used long nose pliers to get them off first, then it's a 16mm nut from memory

Then put seat forward to reveal

 

[Grimstead]

Remove headrest to reveal the screw to release the belt guide

The next bit doesn't have any pics but here goes

Take off the bottom trim at the bottom of the door, I did it by getting my fingers underneath it and moving it around whilst gentle pulling, it'll have 4 tabs which will either stay in the chassis or come away with the trim.

Next is the plastic trim on the ceiling of the passenger footwell, it has 2 screws at the front of it a and a tab in the middle it also has a lead going to the interior light which is attached so be careful

Once that's out then the trim to the left of the footwell that covers a speaker one screw, Jon done

Then the trim still the back end of the door, again shuffle it around and give it a pull

Once that's done there are 2 round 50p sited covers that hold the sides of the centre trim down, popped them off with a small hook, then pop off the small leather trim further down the footwell.

Now the carpet will have some movement for you to feel around i-) (

 

[Grimstead]

I made a trip to a local dry cleaners, they rent rug doctors, 24quid for the weekend.

Lifted up the carpets and pushed the nozzle hard into the foam to suck all the water out

It took ages, about 2 hrs per side but it product about 3 ltrs of this

 

[Grimstead]

Once that's was all done I propped the carpet up with a block of wood and put a blow heater facing it to dry the rest out

 

[Grimstead]

It pretty much only dried what it was pointing at so leave it for an hour then move it to a different position, then prop the back carpet up and do the same again.

 

[Grimstead]

Whilst that side was drying with the heater I pulled the drivers side apart and repeated the process (not as much water in that side) then whilst that was drying with the heater I replaced the passenger carpet, trims and seat

 

[Grimstead]

Overall it.wasn't a bad job to do, you just have to be patient, I did find £4.30 in change as well so.It's.not.all bad

 

[GazHyde]

3 litres of water!

Seriously hope that's resolved it for you.

 

[Grimstead]

TELL ME ABOUT IT 8-}

I hope so aswell, i'll report back once its rained or once i've washed it

 

[Grimstead]

Yay! I've washed it a few times its rained and snowed and the water hasn't come back, I take it this means problem solved

 

[GazHyde]

Sounds like a fix to me.

I've made a copy of this thread in to the Kowledgebase forum which is read/only. I've also trimmed it down to just the procedure.

Cheers, Gary

 

[Grimstead]

Good stuff, hope it helps. Cheers gazhyde