Rear passenger footwell soaking - drying ideas?

[skoff]

So after having left the E39 over Christmas I return to it to find a small swimming pool in the rear footwell.

I tracked the problem down to the inner door membrane that was clearly letting in water - we did have some torrential rain over Christmas. So hopefully the cause is fixed with a tube of silicon sealant, and there shouldn't be any more water getting in (unless it turns out the air-con condenser drains are also blocked - the other known cause of this sort of thing).

However this presents me with a problem. I have pulled up as much carpet as I can and soaked up a large proportion of the water with a sponge - 2 or 3 litres worth (!), but the carpet in the E39 is backed with soft foam that is as absorbent as a roll of 'Juan Sheet'. Are there any tricks I can use to dry the carpet out and stop the windows steaming up as soon as the air-con is switched off? I'd prefer not to have to take the seats out to get the carpet out.

I have tried a bag of rice, but there is just too much water in the foam backing for this to work. Heater on and windows open seems about the only other option.

[adam1979]

An iron set to a non carpet burning heat. A small travel iron would be best to get in tight gaps. Will take a few goes and maybe create some steam so leave doors open but will work. Good luck

[adam1979]

Or the wifes hair dryer

[Podie]

Soak up what you can, the get a tetrosyl moisture mate from Halfords for a fiver (google it)

[Frances The Mute]

Crack the window open slightly and leave a small fan heater in the car. You'll get quite a bit of condensation, but the window will help that. Leave some silica in there overnight and that will help clear up the rest.

If you do any decent mileage in the car, leave the heaters on full blast and concentrate them in the floor area.

[skoff]

Thanks guys will give those a go. Good ideas there!!

[ghibbett]

Also driving with the AC on will help suck a lot of the moisture out of the cabin.

[Mr-B]

Frances The Mute said:

Crack the window open slightly and leave a small fan heater in the car. You'll get quite a bit of condensation, but the window will help that. Leave some silica in there overnight and that will help clear up the rest.

If you do any decent mileage in the car, leave the heaters on full blast and concentrate them in the floor area.

My sister tried the fan heater idea on her MX5 when she left the roof open during a cloudburst. The end result was that the fan heater fell over and set fire to the car, the car was in the garage at the time so it set fire to the house at 2.00am. The final bill was around £250k!! And a 9 month refurb on the house mainly due to smoke damage.

Be careful.

[dooosuk]

I think the quickest and easiest solution would be to take the carpets out and dry it properly.

[skoff]

dooosuk said:

I think the quickest and easiest solution would be to take the carpets out and dry it properly.

Probably in terms of time, but not in terms of effort and hassle... Taking the carpets out seems to require removing both seats and a good deal of trim, so I'd rather try other options first.

As regards the fan heater option and associated dangers, I'd already decided that it wasn't the option for me, I've had too much bad luck with this car to try anything even remotely risky...

[skoff]

Hmm, not good... Just been back to the car and there is another swimming pool in the back... This means either a) the membrane reseal didn't fix the problem, or b) the aircon drain pipes are blocked, which is frankly a PITA... Gotta get the thing up in the air now. What I don't understand is where the water is coming out of.

[MarkwG]

I've done both rear door membranes on mine: one worked, the other's better but not there yet. Neither produced a huge amount of water, so, no consolation, but I think it's not just that...

[skoff]

Well the water isn't going away so I decided to whip out the front seat and remove the carpet. Apart from it being a bit of a PITA (German engineering too good for its own good!) I have discovered that the water is basically all along the passenger side. I only took a couple of pics after I'd removed most of the water which I will upload in a minute, but where can the water be coming from?

My thoughts are that it might have been there for ages and ages just collecting bit by bit and I only noticed it recently as most of the water stays in the foam and doesn't make the carpet wet.

Or, that it is a blocked air con drain pipe, but how on earth do I resolve that?

Anybody been through the same thing?

We have a nice day today so the car is sat on the drive with all the doors open and most of the carpet up drying out. Let's hope it doesn't rain!

[skoff]

Here are the pics:



ETA - sorry for the dreadful pics, I don't suppose they help much, will try to get some better ones...

Edited by skoff on Saturday 7th January 12:30

[bolide]

The best way is to leave a dehumidifier running in the car till the moisture goes. It can take 3-4 days if the interior is very wet. You'll have to lift the carpets so the wet areas are exposed

Nick Froome

[Wacky Racer]

bolide said:

The best way is to leave a dehumidifier running in the car till the moisture goes. It can take 3-4 days if the interior is very wet. You'll have to lift the carpets so the wet areas are exposed

Nick Froome

This. Dehumidifier is the way to go.

But get to the root of the problem, there are electrics down there.

[skoff]

Wacky Racer said:

This. Dehumidifier is the way to go.

But get to the root of the problem, there are electrics down there.

Yes this is what I am trying to do, I have traced the air-con drain pipe from the outside of the car to the bit behind the dash which I assume is the condenser, but the pipe feels squashy as it does all along the underside of the car, it certainly doesn't feel like it has a blockage and there is no wetness or seepage from the pipe itself. I have also disconnected the under seat air vent and there is no water in there that I can see.

Trouble is I can't run the engine as I have the battery disconnected to prevent air-bag warning lights so I can't really tell if there is a leak.

To be fair I have run the car this week and there has been no steaming up at all so it looks like the foam can retain quite a bit of water without it being obvious. So I am far from sure that all this water is just what's left over and isn't new water leaking in at all. I sealed the rear door pretty well.

I am starting to be convinced that it has been gradually gathering in the foam drip by drip from the dodgy door seal and has finally reached saturation point so became noticeable.

I don't think I am going to be left with any option other than to put the car back together and see if it fills up again. I am worried about all those electrics though.

[Twin Turbo]

Spooky......my e39 Touring is suffering the exact same problem!

Noticed on Friday evening that the rear passenger footwell was soaking. Can't have been like this for long.....I tend to clean and hoover the car weekly, although it hadn't been done for a couple of weeks over Xmas. Trawling a few forums, the door membrane does appear to be a culprit........although as I'm working this weekend, I've no time to investigate......other than to check that it does appear to be JUST the rear passenger rear footwell that wet.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

[rjwojcik]

I've had my E39 touring for eight years now, the membrane seems to go every two or three years. Always the same side and the indi just replaces it now. It did take him a while to find the cause the first time. I also discovered the car had a prang on that door (b4 I got it). I use a dehumidifier to dry the car out, got one from ebay.

Don't really understand this membrane bit, as when it starts happening I can tell 'cause when I open the door I get a splash of water burst out, normally over my shoes. Aren't there any drainage holes to allow the water to flow out?

[rassi]

Sorry if I missed it but does it have a sun roof? Blocked drain channels could also create the same problems.