carpet munchers

[OLLIE 26]

can all E30 owners especially those with sunroofs please go and feel underneath the carpet in the rear foot wells and tell me if it is wet.

my car has moist carpet and its not because i keep slipping in and out of it to go to work everyday i think it has a weeping infection.

Can anybody with fist hand experince please share with me how you went about solving the nasty weepage of you old girl (E30).

much help appreciated, this is really affecting our relationship.

[nath 134]

the rear carpet in my old 316i was wet under the thick sh*t yes. not sure why, it had no sunroof

[E30_318i 0]

If they are the same as the E34, drain should run from the back of the sun roof down the C-pillars. You will probably need a torch to see them, with the roof open. I have only cleared my front drains, using a sort of harder fishing/weedeater wire, and an air hose. I know that in the E34, the drains end at the start of the front doors and at the end of the rear, at the jack points. I can't remember of the E30 though.

Its a real c**t, I had it in my E34 and the carpet foam is a few inches thick!

[DCEIVN 0]

Hey dude., I got the problem bhind my back seats on the panel between the boot and cabin. Found it when taking out the seats.

If you sort it out would appreciate telling me what it is because Im baffled. All my soundproofing was water damaged

[Madhatter 0]

check your door seals too. Common problem, water runs up and over the sill, end up with soaked carpet.

Easiest way to check everything is to sit in the car while a friend gets the hose out, just spray the car all over.

A piece of long plastic or some stiff wire is usefull to clear / check sunroof drains.

[bravo 35]

Firewall drain hole blockage will cause front footwells to get wet as water overflows into the ventilation system from near the windscreen wiper motors.

Don't know about rear footwells as havn't had this prob.

[Guest Andrew]

yeah mine was wet - but it was sweet as there was so much rust it just leaked on back through

[*sic 1]

yeah mine was wet - but it was sweet as there was so much rust it just leaked on back through

quality..

[m325i 709]

I dont even want to check.

[rollas22 0]

I had this problem too in my 320 E30, the bungs in the floor had cracked and im pritty sure thats where 90% of the water was coming from. check them too.

[ducatiss 1]

Yes to all of the previous but I have just had the same problem. Turns out it was the rear boot seal. What happened was when the car was parked facing down hill (only a slight incline) the rain would fill the channel around the boot and with nowhere to go would come in under the seal then run down via various spaces and fill up the footwell behind the drivers seat. Took me ages to dry out the under felt stuff, and Im not sure I have fixed the problem yet but hope that helps you. Just experiment with a hose for a while and you will soon see where its coming in - suggest you remove the rear seats and lift the carper and under felt so you can clearly see the water coming in.

[OLLIE 26]

yeah this is what i figured because the boot was full on either side also. i've had seats out for a couple of weeks now.

can i ask how you dried the felt out? i was thinking just a chamois or something

[ducatiss 1]

Haha - yeah its a time consuming job. It has to be removed from the car, or at least the wet section does. You can cut the wet section out as no-one will see the cut once its recovered by the carpet again anyway. Then squeeze the water out. I first waited until my wife was away, then put it in the washing machine and spun it through some spin cycles. You may have to throw in some wet towels to balance the load. Dont be tempted to put it in the dryer as you will totally wreck the underlay, and probably the dryer as well!! Then simply hang out to dry or leave in the sun somewhere. This will take a few days so bring it in at night. I got mine about 95% dry this way. Good luck.