After a bit of investigation and pulling out the carpets, it turns out my leak is coming from the sealing frame (No. 13 in the diagram below – 51718398104). The water is either getting in through the frame itself, which is cracked, or finding its way past the perished/dripping butyl that seals the frame to the bodywork and roof.
From what I’ve seen, this seems to be a fairly common point of failure on the Z3, particularly where the frame itself snaps. In my case, it’s cracked in one place only, fortunately right down the middle.
I’ve been following this useful Google Doc that walks through the process:
drive.google.com
I just wanted to update the forum and let people know what I’m up to. I’ll be cleaning all the old butyl off tomorrow. It definitely looks like someone’s attempted a repair before and done a not-so-brilliant job.
Before I refit everything, I was wondering if anyone has any tips or recommendations for reinforcing the plastic frame to prevent it cracking again?
From what I’ve seen, this seems to be a fairly common point of failure on the Z3, particularly where the frame itself snaps. In my case, it’s cracked in one place only, fortunately right down the middle.
I’ve been following this useful Google Doc that walks through the process:
Z3 Sealing Frame Replacement.pdf
drive.google.com
I just wanted to update the forum and let people know what I’m up to. I’ll be cleaning all the old butyl off tomorrow. It definitely looks like someone’s attempted a repair before and done a not-so-brilliant job.
Before I refit everything, I was wondering if anyone has any tips or recommendations for reinforcing the plastic frame to prevent it cracking again?
