[ppointer]

Hi fellow bmw geeks:

Sometimes when we get torrential rains in Florida, especially with hurricanes churning in the gulf, I'll find a couple of inches of water in the battery area on the right and the amp area on the left. Of course the amp gets submerged and starts cackling.

I have replaced the taillight caskets with new OEM. Anyone have thoughts on where the water gets in? Not finding the water anywhere else in the back, indicating the windows are not leaking.

thanks in advance!

[e91Owner]

Originally Posted by ppointer

Hi fellow bmw geeks:

Sometimes when we get torrential rains in Florida, especially with hurricanes churning in the gulf, I'll find a couple of inches of water in the battery area on the right and the amp area on the left. Of course the amp gets submerged and starts cackling.

I have replaced the taillight caskets with new OEM. Anyone have thoughts on where the water gets in? Not finding the water anywhere else in the back, indicating the windows are not leaking.

thanks in advance!

Have you taken a hose to see if the main gasket that seals the liftgate is letting any water in? Or perhaps the glass gasket?

[gbmw311]

Originally Posted by ppointer

Hi fellow bmw geeks:

Sometimes when we get torrential rains in Florida, especially with hurricanes churning in the gulf, I'll find a couple of inches of water in the battery area on the right and the amp area on the left. Of course the amp gets submerged and starts cackling.

I have replaced the taillight caskets with new OEM. Anyone have thoughts on where the water gets in? Not finding the water anywhere else in the back, indicating the windows are not leaking.

thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by ppointer

Hi fellow bmw geeks:

Sometimes when we get torrential rains in Florida, especially with hurricanes churning in the gulf, I'll find a couple of inches of water in the battery area on the right and the amp area on the left. Of course the amp gets submerged and starts cackling.

I have replaced the taillight caskets with new OEM. Anyone have thoughts on where the water gets in? Not finding the water anywhere else in the back, indicating the windows are not leaking.

thanks in advance!

Have you checked the drains for the sunroof?

[Aquastevae]

Originally Posted by ppointer

Hi fellow bmw geeks:

Sometimes when we get torrential rains in Florida, especially with hurricanes churning in the gulf, I'll find a couple of inches of water in the battery area on the right and the amp area on the left. Of course the amp gets submerged and starts cackling.

I have replaced the taillight caskets with new OEM. Anyone have thoughts on where the water gets in? Not finding the water anywhere else in the back, indicating the windows are not leaking.

thanks in advance!

Beside replacing those taillight gaskets, make sure the taillights are fastened down tight. Because that is where mine leaked previously. After really tightening them down well, they haven't leaked since. Lastly, I would advice to drill a couple of small holes in the bottom of both compartments. Standing water in those places will NEVER be a good thing. Hope this helps.

[ppointer]

Originally Posted by e91Owner

Have you taken a hose to see if the main gasket that seals the liftgate is letting any water in? Or perhaps the glass gasket?

OMG that is so obvious I feel stupid for not getting that done. Thank you for this. I will give it a shot this weekend.

[ppointer]

Originally Posted by gbmw311

Have you checked the drains for the sunroof?

I have not done this. Can you give me a short sentence or two on where to look? Sunroof works but I never use it.

[ppointer]

Originally Posted by Aquastevae

Beside replacing those taillight gaskets, make sure the taillights are fastened down tight. Because that is where mine leaked previously. After really tightening them down well, they haven't leaked since. Lastly, I would advice to drill a couple of small holes in the bottom of both compartments. Standing water in those places will NEVER be a good thing. Hope this helps.

I did the gasket replacement in June or so, then checked the bolts this past weekend when I cleaned up the mess. They were fairly tight but I did add just a little more torque.

To your point about drilling a hole, I did leave one of the drain plugs off -- specifically the one right over the muffler.

Greatly appreciate your post, so thank you.

[e91Owner]

Here's a pic of the one of the rear drains. Since you are getting leaks on both sides, it seems unlikely to me that they are both cracked, unless you recently had work done in the sunroof. It's in the upper left corner of the image. You have to click on it.

[King Rudi]

In before the "my amp isn't working" post.

[LKN624]

Check your Tail Light seals and make sure the 3 nuts per Tail Light are tight. This is a typical issue that I see. I would advise NOT drilling your body for drain holes. The Body already has dedicated drain holes for this very purpose. For Example, when you take out your battery you will see two plastic plugs. Punch them out (they will most likely break) and let everything drain out that way. I would then replace them with a couple 20mm rubber plugs just in case you need to drain that area of water or any liquid.

[ppointer]

Originally Posted by e91Owner

Here's a pic of the one of the rear drains. Since you are getting leaks on both sides, it seems unlikely to me that they are both cracked, unless you recently had work done in the sunroof. It's in the upper left corner of the image. You have to click on it.

Thank you for your pic. Those are looking good on my e91, about as pristine as yours. I can blow some air through them to ensure they are not clogged.

[ppointer]

Originally Posted by LKN624

Check your Tail Light seals and make sure the 3 nuts per Tail Light are tight. This is a typical issue that I see. I would advise NOT drilling your body for drain holes. The Body already has dedicated drain holes for this very purpose. For Example, when you take out your battery you will see two plastic plugs. Punch them out (they will most likely break) and let everything drain out that way. I would then replace them with a couple 20mm rubber plugs just in case you need to drain that area of water or any liquid.

Thank you. I did double-check that the nuts were tight (they were). Instead of drilling any holes, I left open one of the drain holes directly over the muffler. Doing this temporarily until I can crawl in the back and have my wife hose down the back of the car.

[caldep]

In my E91 had a single rain event that flooded my amplifier. The problem was clogged sunroof drain and a slight leak in the sunroof.
I had never had any leaks prior and the drain did not look clogged when looking at it from the the hatch area. But the driver side one was indeed clogged between the sunroof and the drain valve (in the image).