DocV
Reader
2/22/25 5:43 p.m.
Writing to ask for advice on an E30 with an aftermarket sunroof. I have had this 1991 318is for the past decade, and it has been an on again/off again daily driver. The old girl lost her garage spot to my wife's new ride, and now outside, I've got water in the trunk (on the right under the battery and on left under the jack). I got all new seals for trunk surround, antenna, tail lights -- it seems to be coming from the sunroof.
The sunroof was apparently a dealer installed thing (car was delivered to USA as a slicktop and some monkey cut a hole in the roof ) - American Sunroof Company, which is no longer in business?, so I have no idea how to service/disassemble/clear drain channels etc. Sunroof is otherwise operable.
The car is otherwise in pretty great mechanical shape, and I am wanting to give it a refresh (hopefully for the next decade!), wanting to repaint it. Anyone have any experience with having a fabricator/body shop weld in a panel? Should I look for a coupe shell without the sunroof and reshell the car?
I don't suppose there's any hope the car is original to your region and that Kiser Upholstery still exists? Maybe they'd have some insight?
Beyond that, I think my first thought would just be careful exploration... I think clogged drains are way up the list of probable sources of the water, and even buying a little compact borescope is a tiny patch on other things you could end up doing in terms of helping you look deeper into the mechaninsm to see where you might do some gentle poking...
If sunroof, but in the trunk, says drains are at least making it partially to their destination, yes?
Could that help you find the drain tube and work backwards from there? Pull trunk trim, flood roof with water hose and see what you see?
When wife's VW drains have clogged (twice now), it finds a new path to drain, straight into the headliner.
If it makes you feel any better my factory sunroof in my e90 is leaking on the passenger side even though all drains are clear. I fear I have a cracked fitting or hose and need to start pulling a-piller trim/headliner to find out.
I think just filling that hole is going to be hard to do and likely easier re-skinning the whole roof if you can find an appropriate donor. Lots of work though but if the rest of the shell is clean and straight it is worth saving.
