Bought the Battersea Gransport . . . .

[PHAB]

Hi all,

So I bought the 'Battersea Gransport' yesterday . . . yes the one that has been knocking about online for eons! Wanted Nettuno / Avorio and saw the inspection report Dale @ Prestige Autoworks which was pretty positive. Do a fair bit of spannering myself so went in pretty eyes open.

First impressions - lovely, smooth as silk engine, gearchange significantly better than an SMG e46 M3 I had years ago...right amount of attention. Really enjoying it.

Here comes the but . . .

Drove it 50 miles to Goodwood for the revival and coming into GW went round a right hand bend....heard sloshing....ut oh...then a nice little cupful of water appeared in the passenger footwell. Know what you are thinking....Matrix. Except that there is a bill for a replacement matrix 3 months ago in the folder. Ive just stripped out the scuttle etc and the AC drain was not blocked unfortunately. . . . the bottom inch of the pollen filter is sodden and there is a little bit of water in the bottom of the blower fan housing. Other than AC drain does this have to be matrix...struggling to see how it can be anything else.

Hope I am right in thinking there will be some sort of duo valve that isolates the matrix if the heater is off? Good to drive I hope? Relays / electrics in passenger footwell bone dry.

Here starts a labour of love...and I suspect strife!!

 

[hashluck]

The bottom of the pollen filter should not be sodden suggesting something is still blocked somewhere.

Also could there have been residual water lying around from the previous repair?

 

[CatmanV2]

The pollen filter very much should not be wet. As long as you're sure the drains are clear (pour some water in to check) I think this residual.

Matrix can't drain into the pollen filter (unless the GS is very very different from the 4200)

C

 

[Zep]

I guess you have checked the condensate drain that runs from the heater box to the outlet on the underside of the car? This is behind the trim panel on the drivers side of the lower dash. This has a crimped end that can retain dirt and water.

 

[nfm]

Standard practice on changing the pollen filter is to remove all leaf debris etc as it gets blocked. Suspect a drain there is blocked leading to water finding another way out?

 

[jebroni]

sounds definitely like a blocked drain ( scuttle windscreen or drain pipe in footwell ) as I had the same problem on my old 4200.
plus if matrix had gone then it will be coolant rather than rainwater

 

[FIFTY]

Welcome

Another vote for the drain in the driver's footwell

 

[conaero]

Yes that’s leaves in the drain. Try removing the pollen filter and use an airline to blast it.

Failing that, the drain pipe ontop of the tunnel is kinked/blocked.

Get a new pipe £7ish, go in via the driver footwell to the drain. It gromets to exit in the tunnel, it’s the other end that is a pig.

What you need to do is remove the old pipe completely and with a hacksaw blade, half the height of the nipple and cut that end of the pipe so it has more clearance.

Cable tie to secure.

Finally the grommet end/exit cut the valve bit off so the leaves pass through better.

It’s a pig of a job, costs nothing and makes a big difference.

 

[Scaf]

Guessing this problem as occurred after the inspection ?

 

[FIFTY]

Guessing this problem as occurred after the inspection ?

It's a lurker... If you buy a car with blocked drains and store it correctly and use it sparingly in the rain, the problem can take months to surface.

 

[PHAB]

Thanks everyone for the swift replies.

I did remove the drivers footwell carpet and the drain line, which annoyingly didnt produce any water...also checked the 'teet' part under the car wasnt clogged, which it wasnt. There may be a chance its blocked higher up on one of the bends over the transmission tunnel. Will try putting some air down it on Monday.

Just on the matrix theory, surely if the matrix is leaking it will leak onto the pollen filter....the matrix sits directly behind the filter no? Or is that the evaporator im seeing?

Drain holes all de clogged and draining fine to behind front wheels.

Will keep an eye on it and keep the thread posted.

Other niggles are a definite clunk front left when on rapid rebound surfaces...ie not damper...probably lower or upper arm bushings...

headlamp lenses needing a cut and polish - I understand they are acrylic so best to do by hand rather than with rotary?

Loving the car, especially the cabin. Its like sitting inside a beautiful Italian handbag!

 

[Motorsport3]

Nice colour combo. My qpv is nettuno with (I think) avorio, and suits very well. Are you in wandsworth area? I'm based in Putney so up for organising a drive while the weather remains pleasant.

 

[Zep]

Thanks everyone for the swift replies.

I did remove the drivers footwell carpet and the drain line, which annoyingly didnt produce any water...also checked the 'teet' part under the car wasnt clogged, which it wasnt. There may be a chance its blocked higher up on one of the bends over the transmission tunnel. Will try putting some air down it on Monday.

Just on the matrix theory, surely if the matrix is leaking it will leak onto the pollen filter....the matrix sits directly behind the filter no? Or is that the evaporator im seeing?

Because of the direction of airflow, if the matrix has failed the water will tend to go away from the pollen filter. I would say that if the matrix has failed and the drain is blocked, you would get enough pooling of water to wet the filter. But much more likely it is just the drain being blocked and condensate from the a/c.

I assume the coolant level isn’t dropping?

 

[TimR]

I had similar...it was extremely heavy rain.
As your car has sat..the drains under the scuttle that discharge through the wheel arches; crud will likely have dried and plugged them up...water has gathered and reached its limit, overflowing to affect fan motor box and pollen filter housing once used... possibly.
Its a theory...the seals arent too convincing, especially if they get used over & again.
Hopefully nothing too serious
edit- simpel test is to run a hosepipe into the now removed scuttle and check to see water disappears quickly over each wheel arch onto the ground behind the wheels...

 

[TimR]

Thanks everyone for the swift replies.

I did remove the drivers footwell carpet and the drain line, which annoyingly didnt produce any water...also checked the 'teet' part under the car wasnt clogged, which it wasnt. There may be a chance its blocked higher up on one of the bends over the transmission tunnel. Will try putting some air down it on Monday.

Just on the matrix theory, surely if the matrix is leaking it will leak onto the pollen filter....the matrix sits directly behind the filter no? Or is that the evaporator im seeing?

Drain holes all de clogged and draining fine to behind front wheels.

DOH!

 

[safrane]

Happend to me at Le Mans... took a lot of cursing to free the debris.

 

[PHAB]

So I've decided to go about this properly - I have a bit of a perennial distrust of anyone doing the job to the standard that you would if it were your own car....and with the excellent how-to and plenty of zip lock bags, a dymo machine and a couple of hours an evening for the foreseeable the plan is to remove the dash (and all that it entails) to see what is going on myself.

I will then almost certainly replace the heater core (leaking or not) with the all metal variant from motorads and investigate whether the footwell leak is coming from the heater core, the pipework or perhaps a blocked condensate drain right at the top under the evaporator. I suspect the latter but it will be nice to confirm. I will also dynamat the floor and doors of the car, give the carpets a good shampoo whilst they are out, clean off any sticky surface and also give the leather a good clean and a feed whilst its out, before re-assembling. Pretty sure the speakers are past their best too so will investigate replacing with something better but still OEM look (probably headunit too).

So far the seats are out, steering wheel off, cluster out, central console out, airbag out. Awaiting a mate's puller to remove the steering boss and stalks (to be replaced with one with CC).

Scratching my head as to the backlighting for the HVAC panel not working as have checked bulbs now that its out and they are ok - circuit boards all look fine too - if anyone has any ideas please do shout. I assume it receives a 12V from the headlight circuit that is possibly not getting through. If anyone has a pin out for the 3200 / GS HVAC panel it would be super handy!

.....and for what its worth, my journey so far has confirmed that this is not a job for a mechanic 'on the clock'. Far too many incorrect fixings used, the odd crossed thread, missing washers, missing screws, some barely finger tight etc etc. I dont blame the previous people who have worked on the interior though - it's something that has to be done with limitless time and endless patience. 100% not a job on a fixed price. Ive even got a zip lock of 'unknown'....screws, washers and fixings that Ive found loose behind the dash / center console etc. Eurospares basket currently has 22 bolts / fasteners/ screws / washers in it!

 

[oaros]

Found any zip ties yet?

Or are those only used to hold on the front undertray?

 

[PHAB]

Found any zip ties yet?

Or are those only used to hold on the front undertray?

Zip ties? Absolutely nothing that sophisticated. A bit of hemp twine here and there though

 

[Oneball]

When you get the dash out, shake out anything that’s floating in the long windscreen vent duct. There’s nothing worse than going around a roundabout as something slides around in there.