Maybe a fix for water in your pollen filters?

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JamesBB

JamesBB

Active Member
Posts
761
Location
Sandwich. Kent.
As per normal in a P38, my pollen filters have been getting wet.

I may have found a cure........... :D

It has worked for 10 days now and there has been some amazing rain down here, so far the footwells are dry.

The fix that has worked so far is developing a little plastic drain/shield/deflector that re-routes the rain away. It is a thin flexible plastic in an L cross section, slid under the plastic flap immediately above the pollen filter caps. I have made them the entire length of the cap and slightly longer too so that the rain water runs off to the outside edge and down the wing. I sealed down the caps themselves with gutter sealant, and ran a bead of sealant along the edge of the plastic deflector before screwing it down under the main screw holding the entire thing in place securely.

Anybody else tried this or similar? If not, give it a shot, works a treat so far!

Cheers all.............:bounce:
 
To be honest think it is best and neatest to seal the filter box caps. A little silicone on the cap and cooking oil as release agent on box lip does the job fine. It is always the middle that leaks. They bow by being over tightened at each end.
 
I think the overtightening is correct.

The plastic I have added just guides the water away to the wing. I will add photos once I have taken some. :)
 
Hi JamesBB please hurry with photos you tell us you have this cure and keep us all in the dark, unless you are getting it patented first, I have done what warmers has stated to try and help
anyway guys have a great Bank H:5bparty:eek:liday weekend
 
OK, 21 days no wetness inside the car.

Here are a couple of photos of the fix.

Please bear in mind the fix is very rough, I did it as a proof of concept to see if it does the job, the answer would be yes it does.
I used a piece of very thin, flexible clear plastic. A cut section from a packet of windscreen wipers in fact.
You need to make an "L" section that is long enough, one for each side. Make sure the plastic is about 1cm min for each part of the "L" section or flap, and make sure the length is sufficient to cover from the far inside edge to the edge of the inner wing itself.

Unscrew the single screw on each side, now you can open the gap slightly put some sealant along the front edge of the gap.
I used black gutter sealant under the bottom edge, same as I used around the pollen filter caps themselves.

Slide the plastic into the gap and flex/bend to match the contours of the surrounding plastic. Hold it in place and screw tight the single screw and that should hold it all in place. I put some more gutter sealant (maybe too much as you can see) along the inner edge down to the filter cap, just incase it gets wet.

Remember to not screw down the pollen filter caps too tight as the middle bends up creating a slight gap, enough for any stray water.

Repeat for other side.

I plan to make some proper plastic ones, something a little easier on the eye that maybe a little less Heath Robinson, maybe stick them down with self adhesive strips etc.

Anyway, it has done the job so far. 21 days and terrible weather in that time, not a drop inside the car. Well............ not the footwells :)

Cheers


Effectively
 

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wammers said:
To be honest think it is best and neatest to seal the filter box caps. A little silicone on the cap and cooking oil as release agent on box lip does the job fine. It is always the middle that leaks. They bow by being over tightened at each end.
Click to expand...

Question, if you seal them, how hard will it be to remove the seal when you need to change them? Sorry for this question since my English is not perfect and I am not sure how do describe the product I have in mind but could we use the same product for bathrooms or external joints? Something like this LePage / LePage® Sealants / LePage® Ultra Seal Kitchen & Bath Silicone Sealant ?

After reading a lot it seems that my wet carpet are maybe due to this Pollen Filter and/or a blocked A/C evaporator drain and not O-Ring. Since the liquid was indeed water (I tasted it) and I discovered it after wash my car with pressurized water (Karcher). And I remember that I checked the Pollen Filter not a long time ago, maybe I did something wrong when put them back again.
 
Last edited:
SpacePig said:
Question, if you seal them, how hard will it be to remove the seal when you need to change them? Sorry for this question since my English is not perfect and I am not sure how do describe the product I have in mind but could we use the same product for bathrooms or external joints? Something like this LePage / LePage® Sealants / LePage® Ultra Seal Kitchen & Bath Silicone Sealant ?

After reading a lot it seems that my wet carpet are maybe due to this Pollen Filter and/or a blocked A/C evaporator drain and not O-Ring. Since the liquid was indeed water (I tasted it) and I discovered it after wash my car with pressurized water (Karcher). And I remember that I checked the Pollen Filter not a long time ago, maybe I did something wrong when put them back again.
Click to expand...

Clean the seal as best you can. Rub some cooking oil or wax around lip of box to act as release agent. Then put some silicone on lid around seal, press lid down gently and evenly onto box lip to create new seal, don't put screws in. Allow silicone to set then lift off and trim excess silicone. Replace with screws but gently tighten do not force them down or you will deform lid.
 
wammers said:
Clean the seal as best you can. Rub some cooking oil or wax around lip of box to act as release agent. Then put some silicone on lid around seal, press lid down gently and evenly onto box lip to create new seal, don't put screws in. Allow silicone to set then lift off and trim excess silicone. Replace with screws but gently tighten do not force them down or you will deform lid.
Click to expand...

Thanks !
 
I did exactly the same thing last weekend after the rain.

First of all thought the o rings/matrix had gone again a few weeks ago but couldnt find any damp around that area.

Pulled the pollen filter lid off, what a mess, pulled the leaves and crap out first, pollen filters where black and the drivers side was damp and had sitting water either side! Ah, source of the water.

The caps had been overtightened, and the gaskets had perished.

Did what Wammers suggested but didn't grease them up, Probably regret it when I come to change them again. But they are not leaking now anyway.
 
cljcars said:
I did exactly the same thing last weekend after the rain.

First of all thought the o rings/matrix had gone again a few weeks ago but couldnt find any damp around that area.

Pulled the pollen filter lid off, what a mess, pulled the leaves and crap out first, pollen filters where black and the drivers side was damp and had sitting water either side! Ah, source of the water.

The caps had been overtightened, and the gaskets had perished.

Did what Wammers suggested but didn't grease them up, Probably regret it when I come to change them again. But they are not leaking now anyway.
Click to expand...


Comes from years of sealing access panels on airiplanes. Bit of a bastard to get off if you don't use some sort of release agent. You don't use cooking oil on those, it would be red biddy or wax, but it's what everybody will have to hand, and as good as anything else. Or some wax polish.
 
Last edited:
Just a few more question, it is 10:34pm here and I tested the AC on the car, at 28c outside I could quickly test if the drain was working and indeed after 10 minutes at LO, I could see below the car some water coming from the drain. So can I safely assume that the drain is working correctly?

Now after 10 minutes I could not see any moisture or any humidity on both front carpets, can I assume that the O Ring as so far "OK" and then concentrate my attention to these pollen filters? I did not had my tools handy so I did not open them, but I messed with the left hand one to check their status a few month ago and we had in the past few day a "mini" typhoon here.

Also I noticed on the passenger side (Left of the car like in the UK), below the glove-box and close to the door some trace of liquid on the plastic area just below the glove box coming from some kind of vent. This is at the total opposite of the central console. Is this still making the pollen filters the culprit?
 
SpacePig said:
Just a few more question, it is 10:34pm here and I tested the AC on the car, at 28c outside I could quickly test if the drain was working and indeed after 10 minutes at LO, I could see below the car some water coming from the drain. So can I safely assume that the drain is working correctly?

Now after 10 minutes I could not see any moisture or any humidity on both front carpets, can I assume that the O Ring as so far "OK" and then concentrate my attention to these pollen filters? I did not had my tools handy so I did not open them, but I messed with the left hand one to check their status a few month ago and we had in the past few day a "mini" typhoon here.

Also I noticed on the passenger side (Left of the car like in the UK), below the glove-box and close to the door some trace of liquid on the plastic area just below the glove box coming from some kind of vent. This is at the total opposite of the central console. Is this still making the pollen filters the culprit?
Click to expand...

There are also drains for the scuttle panel but you have to remove the pollen filter boxes to get at them. Eight bolts each side from memory.
 
I cleared the drain holes for my AC, still need a new air dryer and recharge.

Regarding the pollen filters, I thought try to stop the water getting hear the caps, hence the plastic edges to divert the water away.

The gutter sealant does not dry solid, it remains kind of sticky for a long time. Well the stuff I use does. :)
 
Has anybody else tried this?
Mine are still working fine after months!
Must get in there and put some better engineered/looking ones in situ. However, I bet if they look better they will not work better........
 
JamesBB said:
Has anybody else tried this?
Mine are still working fine after months!
Must get in there and put some better engineered/looking ones in situ. However, I bet if they look better they will not work better........
Click to expand...

Silicone seal a lot better you can't see it unlike a plastic dam. :D:D
 
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