Rust trap in front wings
Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:20 pm
Hey all,
thought it time to check for rust and top up the waxoyl treatment on my truck. Stripped out the insides to check under the rear heater etc and wheel arches and all seems clean and nice! Will hair dry it tomorrow to spread the wax thats already there then give it a thorough top up.
But, I did find a spot that might cause a problem in future. Right at the bottom of the front wings where they join the door pillar. All the dead leaves etc that land on the windscreen seem to slip through the gaps below the bottom corners of the windscreen (just under the bonnet), they go down between the inner and outer front wings and seem to settle right at the bottom. I cleared them out last year but checked again today. Both sides were pretty full of wet leaves and mud.
To get them out, I undid the bottom two bolts that hold the front wing on (visible near the bottom when you open the front doors), I removed the front mud flaps, and I undid the bottom two plastic screw things at the back of the wheel arch liner. That allows the wing and liner to be gently pulled away giving great access to clean it all out. Tomorrow I'll waxoyl and bolt it all back together. If you do this be very careful if you need to open or close the doors when the wings are loosened as they might well rub unless you hold the wings back tight against the body.
I've not heard any complaints about problems here - perhaps I'm unlucky that there's a tree close to where I park. But, wet mud against steel seems like a bad combination to me so might be worth checking out. You might not need to take it all apart to check - if like me you got little fingers you can just get a finger in through the gap at the bottom when the door is open - if its mucky then it might be worth cleaning it out.
Oh, and I'm going to try to prevent further problems by adding some aluminium mesh across those gaps where the leaves get in in the first place.
Cheers all,
davey.
thought it time to check for rust and top up the waxoyl treatment on my truck. Stripped out the insides to check under the rear heater etc and wheel arches and all seems clean and nice! Will hair dry it tomorrow to spread the wax thats already there then give it a thorough top up.
But, I did find a spot that might cause a problem in future. Right at the bottom of the front wings where they join the door pillar. All the dead leaves etc that land on the windscreen seem to slip through the gaps below the bottom corners of the windscreen (just under the bonnet), they go down between the inner and outer front wings and seem to settle right at the bottom. I cleared them out last year but checked again today. Both sides were pretty full of wet leaves and mud.
To get them out, I undid the bottom two bolts that hold the front wing on (visible near the bottom when you open the front doors), I removed the front mud flaps, and I undid the bottom two plastic screw things at the back of the wheel arch liner. That allows the wing and liner to be gently pulled away giving great access to clean it all out. Tomorrow I'll waxoyl and bolt it all back together. If you do this be very careful if you need to open or close the doors when the wings are loosened as they might well rub unless you hold the wings back tight against the body.
I've not heard any complaints about problems here - perhaps I'm unlucky that there's a tree close to where I park. But, wet mud against steel seems like a bad combination to me so might be worth checking out. You might not need to take it all apart to check - if like me you got little fingers you can just get a finger in through the gap at the bottom when the door is open - if its mucky then it might be worth cleaning it out.
Oh, and I'm going to try to prevent further problems by adding some aluminium mesh across those gaps where the leaves get in in the first place.
Cheers all,
davey.