Rain leakage question.

[Hugh]

I have removed my door panels and discovered that rain water (Seattle) gets into my car by leaking onto the top of the window crank mechanism and then traveling on top of this cylender to the inside of the door skin to my panels, it then runs down the inside of the door onto the floor and makes my carpet wet...this happens on BOTH doors.

I look at it and can't understand from looking at the design of the door and mechanisms what would make this actually NOT happen. I am under the assumption that water is SUPPOSED to get into the door itself and then go out through the drainholes at the bottom (How could you stop this? There is no seal between the outer door skin and the window glass.)

But why doesn't the water leak on top of the window crank to the inside of all of your cars? Am I missing a part? is something adjusted or installed wrong?

Help! Thanks!

[DukeRimmer]

Missing door vapor barriers (plastic sheet glued to inside of door shell) cause more water damage to these cars than all other leaks combined. If there's a leak, check the doors first. All water that strikes the closed glass flows into the door and drips off the bottom of the glass onto the inner door shell. When the vapor barrier is missing, it passes through the holes in the inner shell and onto the trim panel. Then off the trim panel to your carpets, ruining both, and then the floors rust away. Door speaker installers are a menace to '02 society. You don't even need help to check for this leak as you do with under dash and trunk leaks. Just apply water to the outside of glass and see if it drips out from the drains, or off the trim panel. Has anyone noticed my previous vapor barrier rants?

[Hugh]

so if the water is coming in on the door crank mechanism, the vapor barrior wood have a whole here anyway right? Wouldn't the water still get in? Or is it sealed around these mechanismes in some way?

Also, where might I find such a vapor barrior? Is it a bmw specific thing or can I use some plastic from home depot or something?

Thanks and sorry if this seems obvious, I am having a hard tume seeing it.

[philv]

hugh,

just get some plastic from the hardware store and some spray on adhesive. with the door panel off glue the plastic over the inside of the door and trim around the outdide edge so it does not stick out from under the door panel when you pop it back on. no need to be pretty, it's covered up. just try to do a neet job. this keeps the water in the door so it drains out the bottom of the door the the drain holes.

[wohleb]

My car had a clear plastic vapor barrier about twice as heavy as a yard-leaf garbage bag. Lowes or Home Depo will carry this.

The plastic was spray adheared to the door structure and all penetrations like the window controls and door levers were taped with duct tape so that the barrer was pretty tight to the shaft of the lever (the tape is not stuck to the lever or window control shaft).

Also tape over the areas where arm rest mounting screws penetrate the plastic just to give it a little more strength.

[DukeRimmer]

first roll up the window and spray water on it as if it's raining. You'll see much more intrusion than around the crank. Apply the vapor barrier and spray more water, watch it flow out the drains at the bottom of door shell. Congratulate yourself for having an '02 interior drier than most, then tell your freinds to check their doors.

[Mike Self]

that 3M black strip caulk that's used as a sealer between panels etc--available at any auto body supply shop. The advantage is that you can peel the plasstic off easily for inside door maintenance. Just form the caulk around each opening in the door metal, and tape it at the top and sides to hold in place.

cheers

mike

[DukeRimmer]

Strip caulk is not sticky enough. When it drys and loosens it's grip, rain water will find the gap. Also want to revise my previous post about any plastic sheet will do. It's better to use thin plastic film and push it into all the low areas around the openings in the inner door shell. Every square mm of plastic that contacts the door should be stuck down. Don't try to duplicate the original and bridge the low areas with heavy plastic sheet. Don't try to save old vapor barrier, just replace it. Once again, sorry Mike.

[c.d.iesel]

....JUST TO ADD to the other above tips -

I use the heaviest mil. clear plastic (painters drop sheet roll)

from the hardware store, and I use WURTH Rubber Glue #11374,

which brushes onto the door metal - and after you position

the clear plastic on the door, you trim with a razor blade around the door

The rubber cement can be rebrushed over on the next removal/application of the plastic with little build up which is important to the trim panel fitting flush to the door.

[ingraham]

It's really thick plastic film with a self-adhesive back. Easy to use but expensive. It comes in a big roll, and you need about one meter of length per door.

[heinrich]

While you're in there: have you ever noticed rust bubbles on the bottom rear corner of '02 doors? The door drain hole is about 3-4 inches forward of the rear edge of the door, and behind the hole there is a little unsealed pocket in the seam between the interior and exterior metal panels. This pocket is actually lower than the drain hole, so water collects in there and does it's nasty work. You can clean and dry out that little pocket and fill it with some silicone sealant so that the water runs foward out of the drain hole instead.

[DukeRimmer]

the ’02 forum’s Foremost Authority. Wurth rubber glue is a simple contact adhesive that is thinner than the stuff in tubes and thinner than that in most cans from other makers. Thinner makes it easier and therefore quicker to apply. Speed=profit. It is the best product made for weather strips and sunroof seals. Everyone who has ever glued anything should try it. To use it on a vapor barrier, however, is to use not enough glue. It must be applied to both surfaces to be glued. It’s hard to imagine brushing it, with it’s 12mm brush, on thin plastic sheet in adequate quantities to seal a vapor barrier.

It’s also hard to believe someone who disagrees with Mike and C.D. so I implore you, for the sake of your interior, to experiment for yourself and apply common sense. Next time you have the trim panel and vapor barrier removed from your car, use your garden hose to apply water to the outside of your rolled up window in quantities sufficient to imitate rain fall. Much of the water will not be shed by the belt line seal,* and will pass through, into the door shell, between the glass and the “squeegee”. What passes through will drip off the bottom of the glass. It will not drip onto the outer door skin. It will not drip to the bottom of the door. It will drip onto the inner side of the door shell, and from there will want to pass through all the openings in the inner door shell in order to ruin your trim panel, and then your entire interior and floor. When you see the amount of water that comes through you’ll know why it’s so hard to find a good used trim panel, why I’m so obsessed with this, and why you should seal up the shell better than can be done using original type materials and technique. Why attempt to duplicate the original look where no one will see it? Use spray adhesive (any brand) on the entire inner door shell and the entire THIN plastic sheet. Push the plastic into every low area and stick it to every mm of the inner door except around the lock rod. Cut away excess with razor blade being extra careful at the lower corners as the openings are very close to the edge here.

*The belt line is at the bottom of glass. Down by the door handle is the upper side moulding. All cars have belt lines, some cars have no side mouldings.