What is this pipe-looking thing underneath the rear seat on the passenger side?

[mike87]

What is the purpose of this pipe-looking thing underneath the rear seat on the passenger side?

See circled in red



part #8 here:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=1113-USA-02-1987-E30-BMW-325i&diagId=41_0328

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[rcsoundn1]

It is a drain o some sort, does your car have a sunroof?

[mike87]

yes it does, the sunroof drains into this pipe?

[IceWhite]

How will water drain upwards?

It could be for the positive battery cable leading to the battery in the trunk.

[vpilarrt]

It's actually a protective tube for 1 (or more) of the fuel vent lines. Seems like overkill to me but maybe it was needed to pass some crash test.

[mike87]

How will water drain upwards?

It could be for the positive battery cable leading to the battery in the trunk.

I don't think it's for the positive battery cable, I recently relocated the battery back to the trunk and the cable is actually shown in the picture below the "pipe"

[LJ851]

Cut it in half with a torch, then you can be sure.

[IceWhite]

I don't think it's for the positive battery cable, I recently relocated the battery back to the trunk and the cable is actually shown in the picture below the "pipe"

Oh Ok, Couldn't see it in the pic.

At least we know what it positively is not.

[mike87]

figured it out, thanks for everyone's help:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1852096-What-s-the-best-way-to-repair-this-tank

http://www.e30tech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97139

[vpilarrt]

Umm...what I said.

[TobyB]

Whut he sed.

More importantly, it dumps into the rear wheel housing, where it's covered by
a sheetmetal cover that corrodes, and the metal 'Y' pipe under there rusts
out and you get fuel leakage in odd situations. Like turning left with a full tank.

t

[kingston]

Whut he sed.

More importantly, it dumps into the rear wheel housing, where it's covered by
a sheetmetal cover that corrodes, and the metal 'Y' pipe under there rusts
out and you get fuel leakage in odd situations. Like turning left with a full tank.

t

Truth. This exact issue ended my last track weekend early. :(