OK, a month later, and I'm finally getting around to dealing with this problem. I've found that the problem is indeed the drain system up front, where water rolls off the lip of the hood into the pocket drain where the hinge is, and from there down to the drain hole below the battery. That drain hole below the battery was plugged with debris and rust pieces from the disintegrating battery tray.

I've got that cleaned out finally. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, so I guess I will find out if just clearing the channel will be enough to keep it from backing up and leaking into the interior. If not, then I guess it will be wire brush, POR, and bondo. Lots of bondo.

Kurt

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- '79 240D - engine swap complete! Engine broken in! 28-31 mpg! Lovin' the ride!
- '86 190D (W201-126) - 2.5 NA engine, 5 speed, cloth interior, manual climate controls, 33-34 mpg (sold to forum member).