Leaky doors

[Henn28]

It rained cats and dogs here over the past several days thanks to the first big storm of the hurricane season. It’s way too early for this crap - Late July is usually when we start seeing named storms.

At any rate, I’ve go water in both floorboards in the back. After some investigation I’m reasonably sure enough that I’ve got leaky vapor barriers. The rears have never been changed, despite my having been in the doors many, many times over the past 10 years.

Two new barriers on order, along with 4 new plugs for the bottoms of the doors. These plastic plugs look very degraded in my x5. I’m not sure if they have anything to do with it, but just in case I figure I’ll swap in new ones.

I’m assuming the doors will leak normally to some extent in heavy rain, but should drain to the outside rather than into the car if the barriers are compromised?

[AV8R4AA]

Vapor barriers are to blame. Get your butyl tape from Amazon. I just learned that WD40 is the absolute best for cleaning that black goo monster off.

[Henn28]

Originally Posted by AV8R4AA

Vapor barriers are to blame. Get your butyl tape from Amazon. I just learned that WD40 is the absolute best for cleaning that black goo monster off.

WD 40! Great call, thanks. I assume I can get more black goo of the appropriate type at auto zone, or Amazon?

[Salty B.]

Originally Posted by Henn28

It rained cats and dogs here over the past several days thanks to the first big storm of the hurricane season. It’s way too early for this crap - Late July is usually when we start seeing named storms.

At any rate, I’ve go water in both floorboards in the back. After some investigation I’m reasonably sure enough that I’ve got leaky vapor barriers. The rears have never been changed, despite my having been in the doors many, many times over the past 10 years.

Two new barriers on order, along with 4 new plugs for the bottoms of the doors. These plastic plugs look very degraded in my x5. I’m not sure if they have anything to do with it, but just in case I figure I’ll swap in new ones.

I’m assuming the doors will leak normally to some extent in heavy rain, but should drain to the outside rather than into the car if the barriers are compromised?

Same deal when Helene hit here while parked at the airport uncovered. Both my rear barriers were in shreds. While you can get new ones from FCP, they're expensive, and it only happened the one time. So every time I hit the local pick-a-part I'd yank off the rear door cards and eventually found good ones that I carefully peeled off, cutting through the goo with a very sharp box cutter. And yes WD40 will easily melt the goo, but you'd better be wearing disposable gloves.

I got a roll of butyl rope from amazon, not sure that's something an auto parts store would have. I still have not replaced the rear door barriers tho... I hate taking door cards off because those mounting points for the clips always break off and re-gluing those takes time for it to cure. I did replace the driver's door one with a good junk yard barrier when I had to get in there to replace the DHC last year. Hope that repair lasts.

The plugs in the bottom of the doors I don't think are for drainage and I'm unsure why they're there.

[80stech]

If my memory is correct, the drains for the doors are hidden behind the weather-strip.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by Henn28

WD 40! Great call, thanks. I assume I can get more black goo of the appropriate type at auto zone, or Amazon?

I was never able to find the butyl at any auto parts store. I found it on line. Comes in caulking tubes. I needed it because someone that had been in the drivers side door before and had replaced the original stuff with butyl tape. It didn't work worth a damn.