Sunroof question

[Jeff Dennis]

I recently bought a 1980 Euro E12 and have a couple of inches of water in the back floor. Its currently parked on a slight hill in my driveway nose up maybe 7 degrees from level.

I've read about cleaning the drains with plastic weed wacker cord and tried this yesterday though i'm not sure of my success. Are there any problems with using compressed air to clear the front drains?

And do the back drains exit out the C pillar vent?


Thanks for any info that may help the factory manaual does not seem to cover this.

[Blaise]

I recently bought a 1980 Euro E12 and have a couple of inches of water in the back floor. Its currently parked on a slight hill in my driveway nose up maybe 7 degrees from level.

The same thing happened to me, but I don't have a sunroof. Don't assume that it is the sunroof. It could be coming from many other places.

Mine does not leak anymore (fingers crossed), but I went sealing crazy. My worse leak was at the windshield lower corners.

[Mike W.]

I recently bought a 1980 Euro E12 and have a couple of inches of water in the back floor. Its currently parked on a slight hill in my driveway nose up maybe 7 degrees from level.

I've read about cleaning the drains with plastic weed wacker cord and tried this yesterday though i'm not sure of my success. Are there any problems with using compressed air to clear the front drains?

And do the back drains exit out the C pillar vent?

It's almost impossible to access the drains from inside the roof area, but yes, they do exit at the C pillar vents. I wouldn't want to put high pressure on them, but medium shouldn't be a problem. Don't underestimate the importance of having a decent seal on the sunroof and especially the alignment. While the drains drain, they aren't up to a full rainstorm without the seal shedding most of it.

[Jeff Dennis]

Thanks Guys,

I may have a couple of places where the leaking is coming from. I have the windshield rubber cut away on the outer edges in the corners to repair the rust it's almost completed now and I should finish the repair and POR 15 it on the weekend. Then I can have a new windshield installed and will keep my fingers crossed that this helps.
Mike... the rear drains seem ok light oil when lubing the rails flows through nicely. The front drains may be blocked I just don't want to blow off any tubes hiding below the headliner! I may try a little compressed air Saturday. Thanks,

[Lenny D.]

You will most definitely collect water in all rear areas of the car (trunk, rear footwells) if the rear windshield is leaking. You must seal the new gasket TO the windshield as well as TO the body upon reinstalling the windscreen with an appropriate sealer (see previous discussions) to prevent water from entering.

[Blaise]

I would also highly suggest that you do some water testing before you assume that it is leak free. I had the carpets pulled up and had a friend outside with the garden hose, while I was inside.

Check the seal around the tail lights too. Water runs down the sides of the trunk seal and over the tail light, right at a body seam. The tail light seal does not always seal well there. If your tail lights look suspect, you can get them new, with seals for a reasonable amount. I don't think the seals are available individually anymore.

[Jeff Dennis]

Lenny,

The factory manual shows that when reinstalling the windshield to seal the gasket to the body with sealant but not the glass to the gasket you recommend both it makes sense with the rust issues our cars have here. When cutting the rubber seal apart it was not sealed to the body or the glass concluding the glass must have been replaced in the past.

I'm out to the garage today to pull the seats and carpets to get everything dried out well these will be dyed in the next few weeks. We had bad storms yesterday and I’m sure I have a swimming pool in the back.

Blaise - Thanks for your suggestion about the tail lights

[Mike W.]

... The front drains may be blocked I just don't want to blow off any tubes hiding below the headliner! I may try a little compressed air Saturday. Thanks,

The fronts are easy to check, just run water down them for a while. They should pass quite a bit of water, I've seen them where they were restricted and would drain some, but not enough for a heavy rain. The drain tube is medium heavy plastic, not pressure rated, but pretty rugged. One piece from the fitting right off the sunroof tray down to the outlet by the bottom of the fender.

[Lenny D.]

Jeff,

I just went through this, new gasket, rear windshield rot repaired. I have the factory manual, and against my better senses, I let the windshield guy install per the manual. Leaked bad. Had to get him back out to seal the glass to the gasket. Mike has recommended this in previous posts. Although my Beetle windows install the same way, they don't leak, with no sealer anywhere. I suspect it's because of the square corners BMW designed back then, that is the point of water entry coupled with not-quite-exact aftermarket gaskets. Front aftermarket windshields are worse still, they are just not made to fit the body profile, and will leak badly if not excessively-sealed.