BMW 6-Series E63 and E64 Water Drain clearing and Microfilter Change
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
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Timm's BMW 6-Series E63 and E64 Clearing the Water Drains
Updated to include E-Box Drain here: • BMW 6-Series Hidden Wa...
This problem affects all ages of BMW’s, everything is going fine until one day you start to smell a slight dampness which you happily ignore. On cold mornings you also notice that the windscreen is foggy on the inside, you ignore that as well - and then one day the carpet squelches when you get in - and that’s not a good feeling.
More info with pictures: www.meeknet.co...
Unfortunately, the E63 and E64 are prone to flooding into the cabin, possibly due to the design of the drains, their position and large shut-lines. In particular, these models have the habit of filling the cabin footwells with water via the front drains - and filling the boot and rear footwells via the drains in the soft-top housing. So, we will attack the front drains first and then move onto the drains in the back of the car.
Hoselock Sprayer: amzn.to/2KKHdY4
On-Line procedure here:
www.meeknet.co....
Here I am again, Timm. Fixing my car, thanks to you. Again. 😂 thank you! You've saved guys like me so much money! Wanted to take time and say thank you and your time and effort are appreciated!
Thanks, it's my pleasure!
thank you tim,my 6 series had water logged carpets for 6 months before i found this video.i had brought it to a few different places but nobody could find the leak.you have saved me a fortune on a simple repair.
Really glad to hear you got it sorted!
This saved my 630i which had a pond in the rear footwell 😭. The drains in the wings were full of muck and the drain under brake booster was completely blocked. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Tim.
Glad it helped!
Great info, just recently purchase my E64 and thanks to this video have avoided a massive problem as the car was being stored indoors it was completely dry but after checking all drains were blocked solid (apart from luckily the one under the ECU box). There was enough water under the brake booster to keep a couple of goldfish happy lol
Well done Mike, you dodged that one!
Great tip - I just saved hours of work replacing the entire rocker cover gasket!
Brilliant!
Good stuff!
Thanks Timm, all filters replaced. Cowlings and drains cleaned. That was alot of sheit in there! Cheers, Cater-Smith (Brit in Canada)
Well done, that will keep it happy for a while!
You might be my saving grace thank you. Stressed new owner of a garage kept 645ci that just went through a surprise snowfall and woke up to a free pool in my rear flooring. Im sure this is the issue so thank you so much
I hope this fixes it - it should do!
Hi Tim, I guarantee, if you remove the front wheels, mud guards, the plastic cover arch you will see more leaves to clean. As for the rear the end if the tubes where the water comes out is not round like the top, maybe you should have a look at that too.
I don't have a BMW, but I do this to my cars once a year or when replace the brakes, wiper arms off, cowl off, mud guards off, plastic surround off and hose off all the dirt off. I did spray some panel wax on there some years go to prevent rust. Thanks keep posting video I enjoy watching them, and now I want a BMW E64 (the convertible).
Thanks Richie, and yes, I've had the wheel liner half out in this video: ruclips.net/video/ZJD4y_Qpmww/видео.html
The best plan is to chop off the stupid stirrup on the drain exits from the wings - they cause the problems in the first place!
Cleared out the rear water drains in the convertible today.
Drivers side were fine. Passenger side really blocked and had a puddle of water around them after last’s rain.
Couldn’t clear with water pressure, used an unused zip tie to poke down the hole and clear blockage.
Cleaned the front ones out today the rear ones a couple of weeks ago.
All were blocked solid so glad I did it.
Actually vacuumed the front ones before blasting with the hose pipe. The rear ones gently poked an unused cable tie down the holes to loosen things up a bit.
All this and it is still a 10 minute job at each end.
Nice work Barry!
Very useful - thank you. I have had a jacuzzi in the drivers side wells for some time now and this has solved the problem and saved me £200 min from the sharks
Glad it helped!
Hello, just to thank you for your guide to cleaning out the water channels, the little scroat who service my car at the dealers must agree with you that the little plastic leaf catcher was also useless because he threw it away! I have the tree blossom problem also. The drain in the wing was well and truly blocked, so I was glad I checked.
Mechanics seem to throw away all the plastic bits - even complete under-trays! The wing drains have a stupid cross-part that stops the leaves coming out the bottom. I removed them when I had the wheel liner off: ruclips.net/video/ZJD4y_Qpmww/видео.html
Thanks Tim, I had to figure this out for myself, as I could not understand why the water would accumulate under the microfilter, found a dead bloody mouse in there too which was crisped up! I agitated the crap with a air hose and hot water, amazed how quickly crap builds up!
Good work Doug - but be careful with high-pressure air lines as they can blow the rubber bits off! Still, better than a crispy mouse....
@@longmoormilitary-railway7620 no worry there, I used a plastic tube and blew down there, it was grim!!!! Not sure if my car has got any drainage points in the rear like your convertible has? Mine is a coupe
Please help me. I drive an E63 5 series. A couple of weeks ago all the warning lights started flashing like mad. The air suspension went and the rear of the car was dragging. Turns out the battery was submerged in water, fuses were blown, electrics gone. So I replaced everything, took a while and cost a fortune. Got the car back on the road for 2 days and then Heavy rain yesterday- the car was making a crackling sound. There was water in the boot again. Dried it out but it's lashing raining again and the water is getting in somehow. Help me!!
Hello Timm,
First comment from me.... but a massive fan of yours! Your channel is one of the reasons I decided to commit to an E64 just over a year ago. Sorry for the long comment, but I need your help understanding something.
When I got the car, I immediately followed your procedures for soft top reconditioning and the clearing of the drains.
Recently, I noticed a slight damp smell and immediately looked at it and there appeared to be light damp under the driver and right passenger seat. So..... immediately dried it and after Febreeze, no smell lingered. Caught it in time.
So I investigated all the drains and noticed two things:
-The Brake booster drain was blocked
-My right hand side leaf catcher (or intake manifold duct as BMW calls it) was missing. I knew it was there before when I did this job. The car has been to a couple of garages for some proactive maintenance... but no one knows where the part has gone. New one ordered from Bay, so no drama.
I also have the benefit of keeping my car in a garage.
My question is two fold:
1. After clearing the drain and checking the others and having blow dried the impacted cabin areas... I'm convinced that a day or two later there is some moisture on the carpets again. Is this possible? Am I maybe over thinking it? It is only on the right hand side of the cabin in both footwells.
2. Can you please explain the "Why". Why does water end up in the cabin if these drains are blocked. And whatever the reason, Is it possible for water to remain in the "pipeline" after clearing drains and drying the carpet?
I hope my question(s) make sense.
You are an incredible videographer and your knowledge and attention to detail inspires me. I would love to buy you a beer some time when I'm in Hampshire.
Thanks for a great comment, very kind of you. On the E64, when the drains are blocked, at the front the water gets in past the grommet in the brake booster area, at the back it gets through the rear bulkhead into the boot and behind the rear seats.
The problem with the cabin is that the carpet is quite thick and there is sound insulation underneath it. That acts like a sponge and that's where the water stays. It is difficult to remove the water, one of the best ways is to run the A/C all the time (it has to be working). The A/C dries the incoming air and any moisture will evaporate and join the air exhausting out of the car.
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation Comprehensively explained, thank you for taking the time. Especially the bit about the sound insulation. I will follow the aircon advice and with the weather improving, I will seek every opportunity to have the roof down and aid the drying out process.
You rock Timm!
Great Videos and thank you for taking the time.. The plug under the electronics box can be access by removing the wheel covers inside the fender. My drain was totally clogged and quite a lot of water came out. Since there is no obvious reason to leave it in, i removed the clogged drains completely.
Thanks! Yes, I did a video on that one here: ruclips.net/video/ZJD4y_Qpmww/видео.html
Thank you so much Tim! I have water behind my e64's drivers side seat in the footwell and I'm suspecting the drains are blocked. This will be my weekend job! 👍🙏
Glad it helped!
So still the same problem as with my e39.. well at least i know how to do it now
Thanks
There is one even under the brake master cylinder non that important but it’s good to clean it once a year as it gets full leafs
Did that one, the brake booster is on the other side on UK cars
Good job, I have to do this to mine.
Thanks! Don't leave it for too long!
Your all videos are perfect. I also clean this soft top place; with soap + water.
Then I put SKF Lithium Bearing Grease to mechanism.
My car is E36. My dream cars are E64 cabriolet and 8.50i. Sincerely.
Thanks! The E64 will never be more affordable than they are today - they are as cheap as muck in the UK. The bad news is that the 8-Series is racing up in value!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation , Everyone likes real cars. Old 8'er is real BMW. I am mech. engineer and I love these old legend cars )
Hello again Tim thankyou for your recent reply to my comment.... I have a further issue with my 2006 630i convertible....the dreaded boseman poke situation.... basically the roof opens and closes as you'd expect most of the time, it always drops down perfect never had an issue opening the roof, but it's becoming common that when I close the roof it basically does 99% of the movement of closing the roof but it leaves like a one inch gap and won't just click into place, so the roofs fully closed but there's a small gap because it won't go that extra inch and click into place.....then comes the red flashing light....I've done the boseman poke and the light disappears....sometimes it's just an issue of reopening the roof fully and then trying to close it again, on a good day it will close fully on the 2nd attempt, on a bad day it's 4 or 5 times of opening and closing the roof before it decides to close.....do you have any advice on how I could resolve this issue??? Annoying sometimes even tho the roof as closed fully I still get the yellow roof symbol on the dash with the annoying beep sound to indicate it's time for me to get my wallet out again 😂.... My car as only gone 65k miles so I'm assuming it's got low milage for it's age....also one other thing if I may, I commented few days sho regarding thinking my water drains are blocked because my boot carpet is wet, when the back lifts up to lower roof I can see water droplets on the back of the metal part of car that lifts up to hide the roof... My second question is this....I noticed after accelerating away from a red light that I heard water sloshing around in the back of the car, do you have any advice were abouts this water maybe located ? Any advice be grateful I'm a newbie to these cars and I'm not a mechanic etc......the third and final thing I'd like to mention is relating to the airbag and seatbelt light being on my dashboard, randomly came on one day, I assumed it had something to do with the passenger seat as my friend lowerd passenger seat by mistake when trying to put the seat forward, I believed this had messed with wires under seat and broke something, when i spoke to BMW specialist they are saying I need a new rollover protection control module, they are £400, I literally ordered one off eBay yesterday for £120 but then I saw a video on RUclips last night regarding the a9402 error code for rollover protection internal fault and one of the video comments mentioned they had the same issue and it came from having a leaky fuel filter housing which inturn as led to oil leaking onto the altinator and sending the electrics into a frenzy... I went and checked under the hood and hey presto I've got a leaky fuel filter housing so I'm now thinking I more than likely need a new altinator also....my point is saying this is, if you ever get the a9402 error code don't automatically assume it's the control module, one of the RUclipsrs commented on the video saying one of the reasons for that error code is because of low voltage, guess I'm gonna have to get the multimeter out and check.... honestly your videos have kept me sane since buying me 630i very informative and easy to follow instructions I like how you tell non mechanical minded people like myself exactly which tools I need to complete the jobs, I find that extremely helpful, but yeh if you could shed any light onto why my roof sometimes doesn't close fully I would be very grateful, kind regards
Get the soft-top half open, this gives access to all the linkages, use a light oil and lubricate all the pivots - it is usually stiffness that stops it fully closing
Hi Tim,
Thankyou once again for another great video. I watched this thinking this may have something to do with my M6 alarm going off by itself. I was wondering if you could offer advice on tracing the cause of this i am suspecting the bonnet sensor may have had water get into it. My other question was is there a grommet on the right hand side like there is on the left?
Cheers,
Thanks! There's a water exit under the E-Box which can get blocked up: ruclips.net/video/ZJD4y_Qpmww/видео.html
Diagnostics will be needed to find which sensor/switch is the problem, but try some WD40 into the switch as a starting point.
Very helpful
My pleasure!
I'm getting water coming into the cabin and also into the boot area on my e63... Parked her up over winter came back the boot was sodden, left paperwork in there the paper had started to become moldy , I'm assuming the water drains are blocked , gonna have a go at fixing this myself.... Had an issue with the idrive system basically the parking sensors would not come on when I engage reserve gear, also the volume on stereo would not work.... But then randomly start working again, lead to believe this is due to water drains being blocked which then damages the module in the boot.....also had an airbag light and seat belt light come on dash, error code a9402 rollover protection internal fault, been told I need a new rollover control module at a cost of £400, just goes to show if you don't keep these water drains "leaf free" then they can soon cause damage to the electrical systems quiet fast....I'm guessing the drain holes are there for convertible only but find it strange they designed water drains so close to the electrical systems located in the boot
The problem with module damage due to water ingress is continued in much later modules - the PDC module in the 1-series being one of them. The rear water drains on the E63 aren't so well covered as on the E64 - but well worth checking on the forums
One under e box is accessed via the wheel arch. Need to take wheel and arch lining out to do it. I've done mine.
Thanks Lee, that's great information!
Hi Tim I live in NY and just had a big rain storm. Looked in the rear footwell behind the driver seat and the carpet was soaked. Checked the front drains and both were a little clogged but not terrible. I have an e63 coupe and was wondering if there are any rear drains equivalent to the ones under the convertible mechanism on yours. Have any ideas?
Hello Pete, I'm afraid I'm not sure, try bimmerforums.co.uk - there's a few E63's on there
Hi Timm, love the videos, so instructional, re the drain pipes in the E64 rear soft top compartment, what can you do if they're blocked ? is there an easy way of unblocking ? I've vacuumed with a wet/dry vac, poked with a doubled over (not sharp) wire coat hanger and tried to jet water directly down with the hose, short of jet washing or compressed air I'm at a bit of a blank ? ps. drain in question is Very Rear O/S, and the big ole rain we've just had left me with about a pint of water in that area. Thank you. Mark
Drain cleaner sometimes works, just be careful with it - it is corrosive!
Just done mine, the o/s wing drain was blocked, and there was 2” of water sitting below the brake master cylinder!! Pulled the rubber bung...once I found it.. Car was dry in the footwells luckily, but water and electrics don’t mix, dodged a bullet there..
Yes, it's easy to clear, but very difficult to clear up if you don't do it!
Great vids from your channel. Excellent. Have done thease now but the one under the 'E'box is impossible...and it drains a lot slower than the drivers side which is easy to do as you can actually see the lower drain beneath the brake servo. . . Why oh why don't manufacturers design with logic anymore. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and knowhow.
It's not impossible mate, it just needs a different approach.
Jack up the left hand side of your car.
Undo one liner plastic scrivet directly above the tyre.
Take one screw out that holds the plastic liner, screw facing toward the engine bay.
Take three screws out from underneath the car.
Then pull the liner out, just bend it out of the place. Then you can clean the leaves from the side drain above, plus you can access the Ebox drain aswell - it has a flap on it,and my one had a white plastic ball inside of it, its really funny actually. My one had zero water inside.
@@warboyrb Brilliant, thanks again for your knowledge and time replying back. Enjoy your day today.✓
Thanks BT - I'll record a video of my attempt to clear that one!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation Great...look forward to that.👍
Tim you are the voice double of David Walliams 👍😄
There's no answer to that.....
Great video and information I just cleaned mine on the 635id after I noticed water in the rear drivers side it's taking alot of time to remove the water from carpet I dry it still seems wet after a couple of days ?
Unfortunately that will happen, it takes ages to get rid of the water as it soaks into the foam that is under the carpet
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation
Hi mate thanks for your reply I was thinking of removing the seat and lifting the carpet then put the dehumidifier in for a day or so
Get an industrial dehumidifier - that will dry it over a few days!
Hey, Timm i have a 2007 bmw 650i that cut off at low speeds or at stop. It does it the most when it's rain or after a rain storm sometimes it will start right back up and sometimes i have to wait 15 mins to 30 mins before starts but the car runs fine no check engine lights do you know what that can be.
That sounds like you have a Chinese MAF fitted - does it look new?
@Timm's BMW Repairs and Information not sure it look new how can I tell if it malfunctioning
Great vid! I've just bought an e63 635d. Will do this asap
Better to do the clearing as soon as possible - often overlooked until your feet get wet!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation i did the drains, passenger side was a mess, drivers side great. 👍
Got an M6 a few weeks ago. Car won't start. It's in the garage now and seems water has got to the electronics as a result of a blocked drain etc. Wish I'd seen this earlier
The 6-Series is awful for blocked drains due to the really wide gaps everywhere....
You forgot the 2 on top of the windshield one is on the driver side and the passenger side.
All covered here: ruclips.net/video/ZsnRfhWlpQ0/видео.html
Instead of taking the trays out, I clear the big stuff and then use a shop vac to get little things out
You need to get those trays off to get to the brake booster drain - very important!
Thank you for that video. Very informative and easy to understand. I'm going to check my drains next week. BTW, I love the color of your car. Oh, one question, how do you stop the top midway?
Thanks Steve! All explained here: ruclips.net/video/ZsnRfhWlpQ0/видео.html
My 2006 has a part that covers the midline fasteners for removing the airbox to get to the wing drains under the hood/bonnet. I didn't see you mention removing that part? Any advice would be appreciated as I couldn't figure it out and didn't want to break it.
Yes, it has a small cover between the two filter trays - No 12 here: www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=EK73-USA-06-2005-E64-BMW-645Ci&diagId=64_1338#64319171858
Looks easy enough to get off, just a number of clips....
Hi Tim, is there rear drains for the E63 or any to clear for the sun roof? I can’t find any guides thanks
Sorry, I can't find any info on that either....
Is there a way of clearing the drain underneath the ECU box on the passenger side?
Yes, I only recently went looking for it - all explained here:ruclips.net/video/ZJD4y_Qpmww/видео.html
Please help me. I drive an E63 5 series. A couple of weeks ago all the warning lights started flashing like mad. The air suspension went and the rear of the car was dragging. Turns out the battery was submerged in water, fuses were blown, electrics gone. So I replaced everything, took a while and cost a fortune. Got the car back on the road for 2 days and then Heavy rain yesterday- the car was making a crackling sound. There was water in the boot again. Dried it out but it's lashing raining again and the water is getting in somehow. Help me!!
That sounds like a nightmare! I have no experience of the E63 - the E64 rear drains are quite different. Hopefully this thread will help you:
www.bimmerforums.co.uk/threads/water-in-spare-wheel-well.449858/#post-2686818
Water clearing it's not normal...
It's such a crap design. No idea who BMW employs to do this job, but I'd never sign off on that design.