Fixed my water leak in my E39 tonight

[jochen 4]

My drivers side passenger door was leaking heavily into the car during heavy rain, or when washing the car.

So I knew the issue was the sound proof foam liner was no longer sealed to the metal door frame

So I got some original BMW butyl-rubber sticky goo, and took my door panel off tonight

The foam was only just hanging on in 2 places! No water-proof seal whatsoever!

I fitted new butyl rubber seal all the way around, and re-stuck the foam liner on.

Now my door is surely to be sealed properly, but I bet I need to check every other door now too....

Oh well, only takes around 1 hr per door.

But I'm happy, no mor water in my car :-)

[Yuen 16]

Good stuff Jochen, I didn't think the foam liner would make that big a difference in terms of water getting into the car, perhaps the design of the E39 is different to the E36? On my E36, since it was an early build it didn't even come with a proper foam liner, just a flat piece of foam cut to the shape of the door and stuck on. Since it disintegrated and tore, I bought some plastic sheets, and used double sided tape to seal the hole. The later E36s got the proper molded foam liner piece which is way more durable by the looks of it.

Where did you get the original BMW butyl-rubber sticky goo by the way? Is that the black stuff that goes soft when heated?

[jochen 4]

Good stuff Jochen, I didn't think the foam liner would make that big a difference in terms of water getting into the car, perhaps the design of the E39 is different to the E36?

Makes a massive difference. BMW released a service bulletin outlining the problem and the fix in 1999.

When the car is on an angle - ie parked on a slope with eg left hand side of car lower than right hand side, then the water drips through the gaps around the bottom of the window, and hits the foam liner, and runs rown the side of the liner. If the liner is not sealed to the door, the water then sits on the inner door liner, and drips through into the inside of the car, and onto the carpet.

I had cupfuls of water inside after washing the car - I had to lay a towel inside when washing to catch the drips.

Where did you get the original BMW butyl-rubber sticky goo by the way? Is that the black stuff that goes soft when heated?

Dunno what it does when heated - I didn't heat it :-). It is a super sticky gluey butyl rubber strip of 6mm diameter. I got it from BM Workshop, they have the original BMW-specified stuff.

It works really well.

If you have a pre-2000 E39, you know if you have leaky door seals if

a) your footwells get wet when it rains

you open the door after rain and observe the sills - any water on them, you have a leak

When fitting new seals, do ALL DOORS at the same time!

[Yuen 16]

Ah I see... I should check if there's a service bulletin for the early E36s then! Wonder if I have the same sticky goo, mine comes in a whole roll and is rather hard when it's not heated up. 3M makes good ones apparently!

[Guest Rick James]

HGot any spare rubber stuff Jochen?

[jochen 4]

HGot any spare rubber stuff Jochen?

Yeah, I had the snip last year, so I have lots of spare rubber...

Seriously, no! I need more for my other doors - visit BMW and buy some, it ain't expensive!