02-05 - What causes a wet soft-top with the Hardtop on???

[SeanPwnery]

On the recommendations of many here, I finally had a decent weekend to take off the hard top, and evaluate and clean the soft one. This is only the second time I've been able to close the soft top since buying the car. Both times, I was greeted with the same ... wetness? The "C-pillar" area of canvas was wet both times, the first time some fine dirt made its way down there too.

Went in there with Raggtop, cleaned the roof material the best I could, let it dry, drove around a bit, then had to vacuum the hell out of it to get the horsehair bristles off from the included brush the kit came with (what a chore that was!) - applied two thin coats of the "protectant" can ... which used up half of it - maybe it was a little too breezy to get the most out of it, I'll try it again in a week or two.

Now, I'm pretty intimately familiar with how BMW sunroofs work and drain away water, but this is my first convertible, let alone one with a clip-over hard top too. I had always assumed the seals have a channel built into them to pull away water from the windshield to roof union, down the sides, and "away" somewhere else to keep water from getting inside the soft-tops storage area... guessing this isn't the case?

Any idea where the water possibly seeps in from? Is this just par for the course and just get used to pulling off the hard top regularly to keep the canvas dry? No water ever seems to get inside the car, just back there where the soft top resides.

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[Bubblehog]

On the recommendations of many here, I finally had a decent weekend to take off the hard top, and evaluate and clean the soft one. This is only the second time I've been able to close the soft top since buying the car. Both times, I was greeted with the same ... wetness? The "C-pillar" area of canvas was wet both times, the first time some fine dirt made its way down there too.

Went in there with Raggtop, cleaned the roof material the best I could, let it dry, drove around a bit, then had to vacuum the hell out of it to get the horsehair bristles off from the included brush the kit came with (what a chore that was!) - applied two thin coats of the "protectant" can ... which used up half of it - maybe it was a little too breezy to get the most out of it, I'll try it again in a week or two.

Now, I'm pretty intimately familiar with how BMW sunroofs work and drain away water, but this is my first convertible, let alone one with a clip-over hard top too. I had always assumed the seals have a channel built into them to pull away water from the windshield to roof union, down the sides, and "away" somewhere else to keep water from getting inside the soft-tops storage area... guessing this isn't the case?

Any idea where the water possibly seeps in from? Is this just par for the course and just get used to pulling off the hard top regularly to keep the canvas dry? No water ever seems to get inside the car, just back there where the soft top resides.

I have an '05 and the soft top has never been wet with the hardtop on. Water must be getting by the seals between your deck and the hardtop, or by the window opening and blowing in. It's possible your window auto up/down is out of calibration and it isn't shutting all the way- didn't you have noise issues too? There's a procedure in the owner's manual for re-calibrating the auto up/down that the windows do when you open and shut the doors. Try that and see if the window (whichever side the leak is on) shuts tighter afterward.

 

[SeanPwnery]

I've got the rattle because of the missing "link", but other than that, the auto windows are doing their thing. Hmm.. maybe that's why the PO left the defroster link off on the other side ... so both of the rear pins are "level" back there against the seal?

 

[BluByeU]

Your rattle noise is your tell-tale. Your HT top is not sealing tight, either because the HT rubber seal that runs around the entire rear of the HT is damaged or possibly dried out. The other possibility is the missing plastic clip (spacer) on the driver's side. I believe in other threads you mentioned it was missing..
Rain water & car wash spray can not get to the soft top storage from the windshield area even if the built in drains in the A colum were clogged. Water can get in under the HT back at the rear deck all the way around from door to door if HT isn't fitting correctly.

 

[medurham]

On the recommendations of many here, I finally had a decent weekend to take off the hard top, and evaluate and clean the soft one. This is only the second time I've been able to close the soft top since buying the car. Both times, I was greeted with the same ... wetness? The "C-pillar" area of canvas was wet both times, the first time some fine dirt made its way down there too.

Went in there with Raggtop, cleaned the roof material the best I could, let it dry, drove around a bit, then had to vacuum the hell out of it to get the horsehair bristles off from the included brush the kit came with (what a chore that was!) - applied two thin coats of the "protectant" can ... which used up half of it - maybe it was a little too breezy to get the most out of it, I'll try it again in a week or two.

Now, I'm pretty intimately familiar with how BMW sunroofs work and drain away water, but this is my first convertible, let alone one with a clip-over hard top too. I had always assumed the seals have a channel built into them to pull away water from the windshield to roof union, down the sides, and "away" somewhere else to keep water from getting inside the soft-tops storage area... guessing this isn't the case?

Any idea where the water possibly seeps in from? Is this just par for the course and just get used to pulling off the hard top regularly to keep the canvas dry? No water ever seems to get inside the car, just back there where the soft top resides.

The hard top seals by pressure as you latch the rear fasteners. Make sure the seals are all pliable, clean, and I spray a silicone film on the seals so they can slide about as you tighten the latches, but also wax the painted area the hardtop seals to. Make sure the latches snug up the hardtop so the seals seal.

 

[Ron W.]

The hard top seals by pressure as you latch the rear fasteners. Make sure the seals are all pliable, clean, and I spray a silicone film on the seals so they can slide about as you tighten the latches, but also wax the painted area the hardtop seals to. Make sure the latches snug up the hardtop so the seals seal.

Good things to know if ever faced with a leaking issue. What silicone film do you use and is it good for conditioning all rubber seals? Also what do you mean by Wax the painted area the hardtop seals to? Im a newbie with my 2005 and trying to learn all I can. Thanks

 

[Issyro]

When the hardtop is on you can see the area where the top touches your rear metal body. The rubber seal is squeezed as you tighten the fasteners, so this colored painted part of your rear deck is where he is saying to add more wax for protection. As the top naturally moves so slightly as you drive the rubber seal/gasket rubs agains the paint and the silicone on the seal/gasket and wax help against the friction created by the top on the paint.

 

[Issyro]

I purchased rubber silicone spray at Walmart, any one will work.

 

[Ron W.]

When the hardtop is on you can see the area where the top touches your rear metal body. The rubber seal is squeezed as you tighten the fasteners, so this colored painted part of your rear deck is where he is saying to add more wax for protection. As the top naturally moves so slightly as you drive the rubber seal/gasket rubs agains the paint and the silicone on the seal/gasket and wax help against the friction created by the top on the paint.

are you referring to regular car body wax? and what do you yourself use? Thanks