Interior Strip - 11/16/2021

The last chore of the year was to strip my interior. If you'll remember, I found some mold on my carpets back in September. At the time, I wanted to get it out immediately, but later rethought that approach and did my research before proceeding. I ended up doing the job right before thanksgiving which was cool enough to do the work in a Tyvek suit + a vapor rated respirator. I'll spare you the nitty gritty, and focus on the big moves.

E39 owners should be able to work out what the problem stemmed from. I know there are several models that suffer from this issue, but I believe this generation of 5 series had the worst issue with water coming in around the rear door sills. The best ongoing theory is that this is caused by the sound / vapor barriers in the door. Specifically, when the barrier's buna rubber delaminates from the barrier / door-frame, water, that normally wicks its way down the barrier to the door drain, takes a shortcut between the door card and the door frame to the rear carpet. Left untreated, this can cause issues. If you get your carpets damp and cover your car for 6 months then park it in a dark shop for a year in Mississippi heat / humidity THIS is what you get.