Hood leaking

[Malcolm]

Hi Everyone,

Bought my Z3 a while ago for upcoming retirement ,last April due to rear window split,bit the bullet and had new hood professionally fitted by hood company near our relatives on outskirts of Birmingham,whilst we were visiting.Since then car was never exposed to rain until recently and to my horror discovered leaking in forward of boot floor under where rear of hood meets body,also damp on vertical trim panel directly behind seats.
Noticed slight cut in seal that runs from rear of doors,between hood and body.
Haven't contacted company yet,until advice from you guys.
Do you think they could reseal hood to body,also is that seal available from a supplier.
Having to consider the 400 mile round journey as well.
Wondering what there after sales response will be with me, £700 out of pocket?
Any advice greatly appreciated
Regards Malcolm .

 

[hard top]

If I were you, I would contact them and explain the problem and if possible also send them some photos.
Sorry, that's the best I can come up with other than messing around with a sealant product.

 

[Jjim]

Sounds like the new roof was not sealed properly between the roof and body weather strip.
Also if there is a cut or damage to the seal this needs to be sorted out. As otherwise you will not fix the ingress of water.
As @hard top said, take photos of the cut and of where the water is coming in and go to the company who did the roof.

 

[Redline]

Painful though it is, it sounds like the work done is not fit for purpose. It shouldn’t matter how long it has taken to identify the problem. There has been no wear and tear that could cause the leak. Besides, less than a year is way less than what you should expect before any problems occur.

I’m sure the company who did the work will respond positively. By the nature of the work I guess they will expect the odd issue.
Contact them to see what the options are.

 

[mrscalex]

I've done quite a bit of work around hoods. And I'm +1 on what the others are saying. Take the problem back to the supplier.

The rear bulkhead arrangement is a sandwich featuring a plastic sealing strip. Hood>Plastic sealing strip>Bodywork. The hood frame does not go directly to the bodywork.

What I've noticed is that aftermarket hood suppliers gun a load of butyl sealant between the hood and sealing strip. I'm not convinced by this as it can be applied too lightly in places and it is quite squishy and can flatten too much when compressed. The arrangement is particularly vulnerable on the corners and at the ends near the hinges. The correct material is butyl tape on a roll - applied very methodically. There is a foam strip too that is normally degraded and in need of replacing. Again I don't think these suppliers necessarily replace this although I know other forum members have skipped this step too when they've done the work themselves. But if the factory put it there it was done for a reason. And as it's waterproof neoprene it must be performing some role.

Also these suppliers don't necessarily pull the sealing strip out and remake that side of the seal to the bodywork. This is also capable of leaking. And sometimes these sealing strips crack and this gets missed too.

I advised another member recently with the same issues as you. New roof and leaking. It was only ever likely to be something as per above. And indeed it was.

The cut on the seal could be something they did fitting the roof. But you will struggle to prove that. I don't know if that is contributing to the leak, it could be, although I doubt it is the source of all your issues. But I would be replacing it with a decent secondhand one if it was me. Its easy to fit.

 

[mrscalex]

Btw a new seal is around £50. Which isn't too bad. But they usually turn up in good condition secondhand so are worth considering if you can make a large enough saving.

And I would try and chin them for a new one anyway. If you look carefully you may be able to distinguish between a knife/tool cut and a split from degrading.

 

[Malcolm]

Thanks for the warm welcomes,

The £50 seal,is that the rear visible one I mention which has a slight nick in it,that runs between the doors and between hood and rear body,

Do bmw stock or a specialist supplier, apart from service items,I've not purchased any trim,etc.

Best regards

Malcolm.

 

[mrscalex]

Thanks for the warm welcomes,

The £50 seal,is that the rear visible one I mention which has a slight nick in it,that runs between the doors and between hood and rear body,

Do bmw stock or a specialist supplier, apart from service items,I've not purchased any trim,etc.

Best regards

Malcolm.

Yes, I think you can only be referring to the one seal - about 5-6ft in length. A BMW dealer for new is your only real bet. Secondhand just advertise for one on here.

 

[Malcolm]

Thanks, I'll check it out
Are the drain holes clearly visible when hood down.

 

[t-tony]

Thanks, I'll check it out
Are the drain holes clearly visible when hood down.

No , they're not. I'll post a YouTube video link in a short while showing where they are

Tony.

 

[t-tony]

@Malcolm, here you go. This was posted by @FRANKIE

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8cBd7UP0dk&t=3s


Tony.

 

[Malcolm]

As the hood is fitted,and I don't want to disturb it ,would it be possible to access the drain holes.

If I've got to go back to suppliers, don't want to look as though I've been meddling with their work,

Regards Malcolm

 

[t-tony]

Not sure about the Z3 to be honest Malcolm but you can check the drains on a Z4 from the bottom easily enough. Might be worth a look?

Z3 owners/breakers? @spurs fan in a coupe @mrscalex @Synclare

Tony.

 

[mrscalex]

Have you got definite reason to check the drain holes? Or are you just trying to tick off possibilities for the leak?

In all honesty I can't remember what the access is like without checking. I'll try to remember to have a look over the next couple of days but hopefully someone else can do it quicker for you.

Btw without wishing to add insult to injury if you paid £700 for the new top that's quite a lot of money compared to what you can pay. So I'd use that as extra motivation to take these people to task.

 

[Malcolm]

Thanks, I've been on to fitting company.

They think drain holes will be responsible for leak,so I really need to research how to access them.

The video shows them but the hood looks to be in disassembley,

To be fair,fitters have stated if I get stuck they will have a look for me,but it will be 400 mile exercise.

Any further suggestions, advice.

Regards Malcolm

 

[mrscalex]

I'm sceptical it's the drain holes. But would be happy to be proved wrong for simplicity sake for yourself.

Sorry, with the weather not been able to get out onto the Z3s to check access for you.

 

[Malcolm]

Would be extremely grateful if you can
further report once weather and time are on your side.

Regards Malcolm.

 

[Gremlin]

Those drain holes are right where the hood hinges. They are like a small box the water runs around where the hood bow is sealed onto the car and into these. In the bottom of these little boxes there is a hole with a pipe attached to underside to take the water down the inside of rear wing out of car. I found that if you put the roof down you can’t get into them so it’s a bit of a fiddle to do. But the way I did mine was to get a short screw diver and have a scrape around the box and hover it out. Then get a thinn stiff wire and wriggle it down the tube. If you have a compressor you can adapt a tube and blow them through. The way I tested it was to poor a jug of water around the outside of the hood at centre of boot lid and listen for it to run out by rear wheel on both sides.