Hood seal question

[nando]

My 91 came with the full seal.. that's what I would get.

[shawmcbigdis]

I don't see why just the upper seal wouldn't work, I've seen E30s with just that part before.

Well I will find out next week if it works because I went ahead and ordered it.

[roguetoaster]

I don't see why just the upper seal wouldn't work, I've seen E30s with just that part before.

[shawmcbigdis]

Did you take your current seal off and check for rust where the cowl panel meets the front inner skin? That's a very common rust spot, and it can allow water to leak down.

Just double checked, no rust there. Although those 2 panels are just spot welded from what I can tell, and the way water was getting in was actually from under the hood seal, so I would assume water could still get in-between those 2 panels correct? Since I'm already putting seam sealer on my other rust repair spots, I will probably slap some there, just to be safe.

So any answer to my original question? Is it OK to by the small top only hood seal piece?

[roguetoaster]

Did you take your current seal off and check for rust where the cowl panel meets the front inner skin? That's a very common rust spot, and it can allow water to leak down.

[shawmcbigdis]

Make sure the issue isn't the gap between the fender and the body of the car. Checked this, and this my problem. If so, dab some RTV between the gap. I thought it was the gasket not sealing as well...

I ran a hose on the car, and then opened the hood, and could clearly see where the water was coming down the firewall right by the driver side wiper, about a 1 foot wide section. The foam insulation stuff on the firewall was also loose there where it was leaking. So fairly positive that is it. Now there may be a secondary leak I didn't notice because that one was so obvious. I'll check after I fix this.

[Zambuzan]

Make sure the issue isn't the gap between the fender and the body of the car. Checked this, and this my problem. If so, dab some RTV between the gap. I thought it was the gasket not sealing as well...

[shawmcbigdis]

So it appears the hood seal on my 86 es is bad. It is allowing water through just in front of the driver, which has caused some rust and a leak under the fuse box.

My question is about the 2 different hood seal options. The car currently has the full length 3020mm version, that is a single piece from the front of one fender all the way around to the other. Most places list this part as M3 specific, but real OEM lists it for e model cars as well. it is part # 51711919961. Then there is the top center section of the 3 piece seal, that it seems most cars have. Part Number 51711933992, this just does the back of the hood near the windshield, and just turns the corner on either side then stops.

The second option is almost half the price as the full length version. Is there a difference in how they fit onto the car and seal against the hood? Can I just buy the shorter version, and cut my existing seal to remove the center section and continue using the side sections of it?

I'
m assuming I can, since as far as I know there are no body differences between the e and i cars, so this should be fine. But I don't want to spend $50 to find out I was wrong. So I figure I'd actually ask first.

Thanks