330ci Cabriolet 2001 major water leak

[djwad]

Hi guys, I have a serious water leak in the trunk of the car when it rains. The water is present right where the hydrolics for the retracting roof connect to the frame. the water appears to fill up there first and then spill over into the trunk/boot. There's so much water that the whole entire boot fills up as high as the spare and the battery gets flooded as well. I've used silicone on the seals that appear to have gaps but still it leaks.

I was wondering if I should just drill holes in the frame work so the water can just drain out? I've looked for plugs or drain areas but see no holes in the frame for the water to drain. I've also removed the plastic plugs under the spare wheel and it still doesn't drain out of the trunk/boot.

Any suggestions?[driving2]

 

[Kirby]

I would try really hard to find and fix the leak as opposed to drilling drain holes. Drilling will expose bare metal, leading to rust, which is never a good thing.

It has to be one of two things:
1 - A poor seal around the perimeter edge of the rear deck lid (the part that lifts up store the top).
2 - A poor seal at the front edge of the deck, directly over the hydraulics.

I would use a hose and spray water in small areas, and then look for exactly where the water is leaking. The only real way to fix this is to replace whatever gaskets are leaking.

A long time ago, I had a sunroof that leaked, and I tried fixing it with silicon. Ultimately, the silicon made the problem worse, because it is stiffer than the gasket and it will not flex easily, and actually created bigger gaps.