BMW Z3 windscreen rubber leak

robertjones

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Points
18
Probably been asked before but maybe someone can point me in right direction. Noticed that I have a very slight water ingress on both sides, water seems to be coming in between the rubber seal and the window on the doors, the seals are the rubber ones that go right around the doors , any ideas please
 

jonco

Zorg Guru (IV)
Supporter
British Zeds
The M44 Massive
Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Points
159
Location
Chester
Model of Z
'98 1.9 Auto
Probably been asked before ................
Yep - one of the joys of Zed ownership.
Firstly, you need to establish if it is from door window seal or windscreen top seal.
Start with the basics and check the rubbers to see if there are any cuts or tears. Rubber seals should be treated on a regular basis to keep them in a supple condition and give the best seal. I use Gummi Pflege but Halfords do an equivalent and there are others.
If the leak is from the screen the usual suspects are the A pillar `triangular' plugs which you can see when you open the hood. Give these a squeeze - if they ooze water that's the problem. These plugs can be dried out and re-sealed with silicone rubber, did mine 4 years ago and they have been tight since - job takes about 30mins (they'll probably leak againtomorrow now I've said that!).
If the leak is from the door windows then there are adjuster bolts under the lower door to alter alignment and pressure.
 

robertjones

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Points
18
Yep - one of the joys of Zed ownership.
Firstly, you need to establish if it is from door window seal or windscreen top seal.
Start with the basics and check the rubbers to see if there are any cuts or tears. Rubber seals should be treated on a regular basis to keep them in a supple condition and give the best seal. I use Gummi Pflege but Halfords do an equivalent and there are others.
If the leak is from the screen the usual suspects are the A pillar `triangular' plugs which you can see when you open the hood. Give these a squeeze - if they ooze water that's the problem. These plugs can be dried out and re-sealed with silicone rubber, did mine 4 years ago and they have been tight since - job takes about 30mins (they'll probably leak againtomorrow now I've said that!).
If the leak is from the door windows then there are adjuster bolts under the lower door to alter alignment and pressure.
dont know, the only way i have noticed it is, since it has started raining, have noticed a white smear on the inside of the windows, worse one side than the other, would assume this has been going on for quite awhile as there are two small rust patches on either side , so think this may be a long standing problem that any previous owners have neglected
 

jonco

Zorg Guru (IV)
Supporter
British Zeds
The M44 Massive
Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Points
159
Location
Chester
Model of Z
'98 1.9 Auto
Start with the checks I mentioned including treating rubber seals - then get the hosepipe out - spray and search!
 

GazHyde

Administrator
Administrator
Global Moderator
M Power
Joined
Dec 2, 2011
Points
226
Location
Berkshire
Model of Z
Z4 MR
I've fixed the attachment in the link @hard top linked to so it can now be downloaded. I suffer from the same issue in that area, which I haven't got around to fixing yet. Mine probably needs a bit more fixing than in the document as I have a 2 mm gap between the windscreen and the first rubber of the hood (you can see daylight through it!). I've been told these rubbers are adjustable, just not had chance to confirm this or not...
 

hard top

Zorg Expert (I)
Dutch Zeds
The M44 Massive
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Points
213
Location
Netherlands
Morning Gaz, I read some ware a while back that a bloke bulked up the front rubber strip using a bicycle tyre inner tube. I will see if I can find it again.
 
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