New Seats, Leaking Roof, Strange Wire

[waynerp]

Hi All.

So I have purchased some Nissan 370Z seats to replace my standard Z3 seats. As much as i wanted some Z3M seats, I have figured that comfort is more important than gorgeous looks !! plus the 370 seats were much cheaper!!!
So today was meant to be about taking the old seats out, making a template for the new seats to sit on, take the template to my local steel works and get them fitted.
But ooooohhhhhhhhhh no, i just had to start tinkering.
So I'm now left with a very empty interior.
To be honest i am glas i have done it because i expect like many Z's the soundproofing foam under the carpets was in all honesty holding about 3 - 5 litres of water. I cant believe how much of the stuff was in there!

First question..
There is a wire wrapped around some other wiring just behind the accelerator pedal. Anyone got any idea what it is for?


Next question. I have just followed the guide to re seal the litlle plug holes on the a pillar, as i am hoping this is where the water is coming from, but i have noticed that the seal does not meet up correctly when the roof is closed.
Any ideas how i tighten / close this gap up?





Few images of the mess!!!!!!

 

[Dino D]

For the gap on the seals two things you can do:

1. Adjust the hooks to pull the hood in closer when you close. This can only be done so much as there isn't a lot of extra thread on the clamps and you don't want it too tight. This is why there is probably not too much extra thread.
2. Cut out some rubber tube and stick with black silicone adhesive (a neater way is to cut out the tube to shop and stick it to the seal that's on the roof, not on the seal hats fixed to the Windscreen.
Edit: This thread shows what I mean: http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22754

I've done both of these things to fix the same issue. You may need to make 2 layers of tube as that gap is quite big.

If you want to tinker further you can pull the seals off the frame and use washers to space out metal rails they mount on to make a tighter seal with the window. Just one or two washers has made a big difference for me.

I'll dig up the BMW service manual for this to help you see more clearly.

You'll need to put that carpet in the boiler cupboard to fully dry out!
Check the drain plugs in the floor under the carpet, one if mine was dislodged and let water in from underneath.


Keen to see how the Nissan seats work out.

 

[GazHyde]

As per Dino's post to add a bit more info on both suggestions

Latch adjustment - https://zroadster.org/articles/bmw-z3-roof-latch-adjustment.19/

A Pillar fix - https://zroadster.org/threads/bmw-z3-a-pillar-leak-fix.5341/

 

[waynerp]

Many Thanks Guys. Will try and source some rubber.
Any suggestions on what sort of rubber?

 

[t-tony]

Hi Wayne, have you traced that single black wire back to where it came from. It doesn't look as though it belongs there some how to me.

Tony.

 

[waynerp]

Hi Tony. Am going to do that tomorrow. My knees gave up today with all that bending and kneeling! dam im getting old!!

 

[t-tony]

all that bending and kneeling

Yep, I know that feeling mate. Good luck with the seat conversion.

Tony.

 

[Dino D]

I used bicycle tube rubber.

 

[miller1098]

Just looking at your roof windscreen joint ,I don't think mine looks like that.ill ckeck tomorrow but it looks like your room needs to be a little more forward ? I don't know what others think,but try to get your roof fit right before other options.

 

[Dino D]

Just looking at your roof windscreen joint ,I don't think mine looks like that.ill ckeck tomorrow but it looks like your room needs to be a little more forward ? I don't know what others think,but try to get your roof fit right before other options.

I've faffed about a lot with this and even pulled the seals off and adjusted the metal frame that they mount on forwards but that opened a tiny gap further back which let water in...the seals shrink it seems. I also apply liberal amounts of gummi pfledge twice a year (I take the seals off and cover the rear as well as spray some into the holes behind the seals so inside is treated too).
Adjusting the hood catches too much makes it very tight and seems to put a lot of pressure on the catch not to mention effort needed to close it, especially on the passenger side (for us Z3 sized drivers )

My seals are probably original so not bad going 17yrs on given with adjustment and tlc they are still water tight.

 

[miller1098]

It's up to you,looking at my roof that doesn't leak yours looks too tight and to far back it may be an idea to set it up correctly first then stick stuf on it?it would be interesting to see some other roves that don't leak.heres mine

 

[waynerp]

I had a new roof fitted last year, so am not sure if it might have tightened up a bit.
I tried to adjust the hook on the drivers side but the alan key hole has been rounded off, so i couldnt do that. looking at your image your roof does appear to be sitting a bit more forward than mine.
Are their any manuals / instructions for adjusting the roof?

 

[roadvoyager1]

I had a gap of about 1mm between the front side seal on the hood frame and the screen header seal. Removed the seal and refitted it slightly further forwards to close the gap. Seems to have worked and there is not a gap to the next seal back ( I noticed you commented about that). Maybe it is a fine balance (and a lot of fiddling) to get both seals to close effectively.

You possibly know already but there are two bolts in the base of the door for adjusting the angle of the glass runners. This seems critical in getting a good seal. I messed on for ages getting the angle right to cure a leak half way down the a-pillar after having a replacement door fitted. There were also shims in the door hinge which had an influence also, but unless the door has been off probably best to leave these alone.

As @miller1098 says, your hood does look to be sitting a bit further back than I would expect. I'm afraid I don't know how to adjust this but am sure somebody will have an answer to share with us all.

 

[Dino D]

Do you get wind noise from the windscreen/roof joint?
It will be very noticeable if you did have a gap as the wind rushes in there.
If I recall correct the actual seal across the top of the window is further back under the hood frame itself and there is a channel just under the hood material to let water run down to the A pillars.

The hood material itself may sit a bit back making it look like there is a gap but unless air is getting in the seal is probably tight. The way the hood material is mounted to the frame may vary of course as its done by hand I guess..

 

[waynerp]

Hi All,
So i did a Smoke Pellet test today results here >> https://youtu.be/-Kr6qpXxJCo
Looks like most of the upper window seals are letting out air on both the seal joints.
I put a couple of layers of inner tube on the drivers front seal joint yesterday and there wasn't any smoke coming from there.
As @roadvoyager1 mentioned, i might need to adjust the window angle to see if this resolves it.
That said we have rain scheduled today, and as my carpets are out i will be able to get a good look to see if any water comes in.

 

[zedonist]

Just a word of caution on your new seats, the roll over protection on the Z3 is built into the seats, its the reason they are so heavy...

 

[andyglym]

Just a word of caution on your new seats, the roll over protection on the Z3 is built into the seats, its the reason they are so heavy...

That's interesting to know, thanks

 

[Dino D]

I like the smoke pellet test, great idea!

I cured my leaks there by removing the seal (just pops off) and then unscrewing the little frame part the seal attaches 2 (torx heads).
Then added a washer (m6 regular size, penny washers are too big) or two to space it outwards to close the gaps left by the old compressed seal.
Then refit the frame and seal and test.

I saw a BMW TIS document somewhere showing this procedure but find it now, dead simple though.

 

[waynerp]

Just a word of caution on your new seats, the roll over protection on the Z3 is built into the seats, its the reason they are so heavy...

WoW i didnt know that.
Are the roll bars behind the seats more for show?

 

[waynerp]

I like the smoke pellet test, great idea!

I cured my leaks there by removing the seal (just pops off) and then unscrewing the little frame part the seal attaches 2 (torx heads).
Then added a washer (m6 regular size, penny washers are too big) or two to space it outwards to close the gaps left by the old compressed seal.
Then refit the frame and seal and test.

I saw a BMW TIS document somewhere showing this procedure but find it now, dead simple though.

Excellent thanks. Will give that a try now