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Drain locations

16K views 26 replies 9 participants last post by  Trandy 
#1 ·
Does anyone have a diagram of where all drains would be on a 2005 sl500? I want to make sure that none of them are clogged with debris.
 
#2 ·
You will know, as water will get inside the car

but none the less there are 3 critical ones, two in the rear, that you can ealisy see they Y hoses running down toward the deep ends of the trunk

The third and most common to clog is up front, by the starter battery, where the air intake vent is.

There is a tray system that separates are from liquid, with a gravity emptying this tray. if you live in an area with lots of tree droppings, the drain hose can get clogged, and water over flows, and gets into the interior by the passenger foot area.

To clean it, you need to remove the battery (remove rear first) then take the ducting box apart, and clean its drain hose that goes into the wheel well area.
 
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#3 ·
Bayhas: Can I not run some kind of flexible tube or such down the drain holes? Or are they constructed so that the catchment box has to be disassembled? That sure seems like a lotta work just to ensure that the drains drain.

And about the drains on the rear: are they in the rubber seal channels beneath the trunk lid? Any special tricks for draining them?
 
#4 ·
Front one: I would only do it by disassembling the tray, it sounds a lot harder than it is, but i wouldnt stick anything in there blindly, for 2 reasons: -The tray will need cleaning anyway (a stick wont do the job) - the rubber drain flap can be very easily damaged.

for rear, you're looking at the wrong area, look under the rear glass, under the pillars, and you will see Y rubber hoses, that you can track, and clean if needed.
 
#6 ·
Thanks again man. I had my Indy clean out the front one near the starter battery. It was indeed clogged.

When the rear ones get clogged, where does water typically run in? Into the trunk or down the sides of the windows and into the car?

Does anyone have a diagram of where all drains would be on a 2005 sl500? I want to make sure that none of them are clogged with debris.
You will know, as water will get inside the car

but none the less there are 3 critical ones, two in the rear, that you can ealisy see they Y hoses running down toward the deep ends of the trunk

The third and most common to clog is up front, by the starter battery, where the air intake vent is.

There is a tray system that separates are from liquid, with a gravity emptying this tray. if you live in an area with lots of tree droppings, the drain hose can get clogged, and water over flows, and gets into the interior by the passenger foot area.

To clean it, you need to remove the battery (remove rear first) then take the ducting box apart, and clean its drain hose that goes into the wheel well area.
 
#7 ·
I ve never seen the rear clogged, but the front clog all the time.

When the tray overfills, it dumps its water into the blower motor, and air sampling sensor, also, it gets the floor area wet, rusting and damaging the B bus, along other components, such as distronic, on 2004 and older models, and some times the TCU

It gets ugly real quick, so the tray needs cleaned every other year in basic conditions, or yearly in cars parked in wooded areas. Garaged cars can go longer, as leaves and tree junk are the primary reason why the drain clogs.
 
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#8 ·
I had the front cleaned. It was indeed clogged. However, this didn't seem to solve my problem.

My problem is water dripping in on both the driver and passenger sides when raining. Today I lathered some sliding compound on the rubber seal parts where the retractable roof connects to the front of the car. I thought that it would help form a better seal.

I ran it through the auto car wash today, yet the problem persists. I have attached a few pics of where the water is coming in.

As you can see from the driver side pic, the water is dripping from the plastic that's located to the right of the rubber seal. It's dripping in the same location on the passenger side.

Tomorrow I will try a couple more coats of the sliding compound. Any other suggestions to attempt to remedy this?
 

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#10 ·
Is this seal on the top of the windshield one part? Looks like a couple up there.

That was kinda my thoughts, and it's where I added the sliding compound. None look broken off or anything, but I'm sure after 12 years + wear they won't be exactly the same form as before. Hoped the sliding compound may help the rubber create a better seal, but no dice on first attempt.
 
#12 ·
Brandon: About your leaks ...

1. Can you confirm that the seal around the windshield glass is watertight?

2. What is the "sliding compound" you mention? I googled for it, but only got links to miter saws.

For what it's worth, if anything at all ... a coupla years ago there was an episode on the Brit tv series Wheeler Dealers that featured an Aston Martin DB7 that had a water leak. Mike and Edd, the principals on the series, used an "automotive smoke detector" gizmo to generate a cloud of odorless (I trust) smoke inside the car. The smoke disclosed a leak where one of the door windows met the rubber weatherstripping. By repairing (or maybe replacing) the weatherstripping, they eliminated the leak.

I have no idea where one might find an acceptable smoke generator. Maybe body shops and windshield repair shops have them, but I have never seen one. I found links to ultra sonic leak detectors. Here's one of the links:

Ultrasonic Leak Detector & Gas Air Water Dust Equivalent To PP4 Power Probe Type | eBay

Please let us know how you get this resolved. Good luck, Mate.
 
#14 · (Edited)
1) I'm not assuming any seal is water tight on a 12 year old vehicle, unfortunately. I got the body shop to have a look when replacing and repainting my bumper molding. Their conclusion was it's the seal on top of windshield that meets the convertible top. Meaning when the top closes, it's not properly sealing. Which in turn causes the water to drip down the sides and eventually into the car, as pictured.

From running it through the car wash I suspect they may be right. Water doesn't immediately start pouring in- takes maybe 10 mins then starts dripping in like pictured.

2) part number 000 989 36 60
I don't see any visible tears or breaks in the seal. I was hoping this may help in creating a better seal. After time and many opens/closes I'm sure many roofs don't seal so great any longer.
 
#13 ·
If my car is left in an extended rain or I have to go through a drive through car wash, I end up with a wet trunk and sometimes a Christmas tree dash and of course then problems with the electronics until it dries out.

Is the wet trunk due to clogged drains in the rear, or would it be caused by something different?
 
#15 ·
This is likely due to leaky seal at the buttom of the rear windshield. Search the forum for R230 seal leak
 
#18 ·
No, it should be much tighter than that. Get the Allen wrench from your tool kit, remove the round cover on the headliner and see if you can tighten more with the wrench. If so, I suspect a bad hydraulic cylinder.
 
#21 ·
Took it to the dealer. The Tech took a look and said that's normal closing position for this vehicle. I find it hard to believe that normal closing position looks like this.

I'm taking it back tomorrow for a water test. I've done my own, as has a body shop. I can already see where the water is coming in. Maybe I should take it to a different dealer.
 
#23 ·
This is not frequently mentioned, but the rubber moulding that runs down the A pillars includes a drain hole to take water from the front of the foldingg roof/ top of the windscreen. If blocked, you can get water on the front seats. I deal with these with thin (1.6mm) strimmer cable, which works really well.
 
#25 ·
WIS AR77.50-P-3035R :
The gap between the vario roof and the crossmember above the windshield should be 5mm. Measured on the outside, metal to metal. The height offset between these two panels is 1mm max.
Really, there's a lot to adjust on the roof, once things get imperfect. I have never read or heard that the seal is the cause of leakage. You yourself are the only one in this thread that deems the seal to be your problem. If there are no cuts or malformations in it I would definitely look at the basics first.
 
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