no-coast-punk

Surace tension The sunroof leaks are tough little bastards to find at times. Typically they can manifest in a very persistent but small leak over a long period of time. Wet foam but no carpets are often found (not enough water is leaked to saturate through the foam and reach the carpet). Small leaks will allow small water droplets to conform to the metal of the roof then the b-pillars then the floor without ever touching the other squishy stuff inside the car. Without touching the squishy stuff, the leak will never be seen except for at the lowest point. The only reliable way I have found to find water leaks is to remove carpets from the car and drive it through a high pressure (the higher pressure the better) car wash and see where the stream of water is coming from. If it's at the front of the car (a-pillar or firewall) that often indicates a windshield or cowling problem. If it's coming down down the b or c pillars it's about 100% a sunroof problem. Remove the plastic windshield cowling (either a 13mm or a 15mm nut on the wipers depending if it's a webasto or Johnson Controls car) and inspect all the silicon/rubber seals you can find. If you see ANY cracks you've found your culprit. However, based on the water being at the rear of the car I'd suspect a sunroof problem first.

That mini Crossman looks SICK! They need to campaign that car in the WRC and put the hurt on the Japanese.

Does the car have a sunroof? I've seen leaky sunroof trays cause water to get into some strange places.

~157,000 K's. It's still the original nikasil shortblock too. I did a leakdown test when I bought the thing. Highest leaking cylinder was 3% Not bad for a $2,000 USD car. Did you guys have the nikasil/sulphur problem over there?

If the air pump isn't functioning correctly the cat's WILL get clogged up and fail prematurely. Especially if the car doesn't see extended high speed driving sessions. It's best just to live with the noise and put the belt back on.

That helps a bunch. Thanks!

Your car has the same suspension as the VW golf of the same era. I would be willing to bet that OEM golf GTI stuff would work for you. Those cars have a lowered suspension from the factory and slightly different sway bar geometry as a result. If you don't mind aftermarket, start looking for golf parts. Much easier to find and cheaper. I could rattle off tons of places here in the states to look, but that doesn't help you much.

I saw that car in person at SEMA last year. It's WAY more hideous in person. They totally butchered the interior too. If I remember correctly it was a booth car for these chodes: http://www.icedoutemz.com Their tagline was so ridiculous I waited in line to get a poster so that people would believe me. "Redefining ballerism"

*laughs* Sorry man, I'm a product of the American public school system. As a result I'm semi-retarded sometimes. We are trained to assume that everybody knows through psychic powers exactly the point we are trying to articulate. Teaching us this assumption is far easier than instilling us with real language skills. In all seriousness. I am looking pretty hard at both Wellington and Auckland. I figure the two big cities have the best chance at exposing me to as much cool/new stuff as possible. I am, however, open to more remote parts of the country if the right opportunity comes along.

Hey guys, I'm new here (but really active on Bimmerforums here in the US) I'm going to be moving to NZ at some point in the next 6 months or so. I'm spending this time fishing potential employment leads. I'm a master certified mechanic with German car experience and knowledge out the yin-yang. I've also got gobs of racing and sales experience. If anybody works with/could recommend outfits to start sending resume's to it would be awesome. Sorry if this is the wrong forum for a post like this. Look forward to meeting you all sometime next year.