Here's my issues on this 03' R53 I purchased with 86k on it.


- Door sill water leak, little rust happening
This I know what I need to do, i'm going to sand off the rust, put down some POR15 and then add silicone sealant along with a gasket this company made for both A & B pillars. If someone can show me a photo of their weather stripping along the sill that would be a huge help. I don't know if the lip of the strip is supposed to overlap the interior molding or if it is supposed to fold inside of it.

- Heater seams to have only one setting... super freaking hot.

- Even when the heater is on to defrost all my side windows are fogging up, could that be because of the bad door weatherstrip leak issue?

- passenger tail lamp has moisture inside. any remedy that doesn't require full replacement

- Low beams seem dim, i know i can adjust the angle since they may just be pointing down, thoughts?

- My rear windshield is clogged, anyone have any fancy methods to getting all the compacted dirt out of the metal fitting? It's not the nozzle that is closed. I had open up the housing for the wiper motor and noticesd the metal fitting was heavily compacted with dirt.

Any link to DYI or Manufacture advice would help. Thanks!

- RH

 

The fogging windows and super hot heat may be one issue....
Sounds like the "blend" flappers in the heating system may be stuck, and perhaps stuck on recirculate.
You might just try new light bulbs...halogen bulbs DO dim with lots of use..so sometimes they have not burned out, but they functionally "used up".
Look around the car..espically by the battery well in the trunk for water/moisture that might be contributeing to your windows fogging up....have a sunroof? Tye drains can cometmes get clogged with pineneedles/etc, and the tubes overflow and get parts wet that are not supposed to get wet...like interior parts....leading to fogging.
As for the doorseals and rust...look up realoem.com, use your vin or production date, from tye doorjamb, and you can look up oem parts prices/numbers for the doorseals with schematics....some sponsors here can get you parts a bit cheaper than the typical oem prices listed on that site.....with moisture and sound, i would hestitte to use anything but the oem seals....

 

Rear light....remove it...dry it out...add some sealent to the seams....fix the interior mosture issue..reinstall.....just a couple nuts and lightbulbs.

 

Thanks! I was hoping a seal job would do the trick!

 

The headlight lowbeams are acutally a xenon package. But I'm assuming the same dimming issue can occur over time. If it is a matter of the tilt of the headlamps, is there a how to somewhere online for adjusting them?

Mine is a hardtop so no leaks from the roof. I think it's mailing the pillars and the door sills although nothing seems to be under the carpet.

As for the heater, I am acutally realizing I've had the recirculate button on the majority the time which would explain everything.... : ( although moisture is still inside the car. The heating issue as well is still a mystery, its stay the same extreme hot even when i have the dial in the blue.

Which sponsors in particular would be able to help me?

Thanks for you help by the way!

- RH

 

The xenon lights (like all euro cars) are self leveling...reqired by law in europe....asian cars just omit that feature on us cars....
The "facelift" xenon projectors are awsome...on 2005+ gen1 cars....being an older gen1, you my need bulbs, or a prior owner might have put cheap ebay bulbs in....older ones are not as good, but considered to be better than the halogen ones....

 

Hmm if thy are self leveling then they must be dimming. The xenon bulb is the D2-R correct? Speaking of headlamps. I inspected my high sans and and noticed you can point them down or up. Is that a 2-way manual adjustment or do they adjust as well?