I had a few small detailing jobs I wanted to do that were all related to the trunk area. Since the jobs were somewhat interdependent, I decided that I would wait until the time was right & do them all at once. I'm glad I did not wait any longer to start this work.
One of the jobs required removing the inner trunk linings. The bracket holding the autotelephone transmitter/receiver unit had to be removed to allow the easy removal of the driver side inner trunk lining.
As I reached down to the base of the bracket, I felt an oily residue. I figured the previous owner may have been carrying a quart of oil in the rear fender well which evidently leaked at one time. I removed the bracket’s four mounting screws, removed the autotelephone unit & then removed the left lining.
I discovered two interesting things that may affect any of our cars...
1. I could see daylight. The drain line from the C-Pillar was not inserted through its drain hole. The line had somehow backed out of the hole & terminated into the fender well. Thankfully, my car spent most of its life in a very dry climate & has seen very little rain since. Thankfully there was no sign of water, dampness or corrosion. Those of you living in wet climates may want to check for this problem. There is a drain plug in the front of the well, but it could be clogged with debris thereby allowing water to pool with no means of evacuation.
2. What a gooey, sticky mess. The oily substance was not from a leaky motor oil container. It comes from the end of the sunroof cable containing tube. The bottom of this tube is crimped, but evidently not crimped shut. Everytime you lube your sunroof cable, it will eventually ooze its way into the base of the fender well & make an oily mess. I assume any moisture along the cable travels the same path.
Correction started with a non-metallic scraper followed by a good vacuuming. The front & rear well plugs were removed & cleaned. Then several liberal dousings & wipings with a degreaser took place. An old toothbrush worked great for scrubbing tight areas. Throw an old rag underneath the plug holes to capture any of the mess that falls thru. The foam liner over the tube disintegrated in my hands because of oily saturation.
Now that the well was clean & looking new, I set about making sure the mess never happened again. First, I sprayed a little silicone spray on the C-Pillar drain tube & reinserted it thru the drain hole where it is supposed to be. Problem 1 solved. The front drain plug was also reinserted into its hole.
Next, I used a piece of surplus flexible tubing which fit over the tube nicely. I cut a section to replace the disintegrated foam buffer. This acts as a buffer to prevent metal to metal contact between the inner fender & tube.
I took some measurements, then punched a ½ inch hole thru the center of the rear well plug. I clamped one end of flexible tube over the cable containing tube, then ran the end thru this plug providing a nice, tight fit. Now, if anymore goop flows out from the cable tube, it will travel thru this tube and be evacuated to the great outdoors. Problem 2 solved.
This area is now proper, clean & possibly better than original design.
One of the jobs required removing the inner trunk linings. The bracket holding the autotelephone transmitter/receiver unit had to be removed to allow the easy removal of the driver side inner trunk lining.
As I reached down to the base of the bracket, I felt an oily residue. I figured the previous owner may have been carrying a quart of oil in the rear fender well which evidently leaked at one time. I removed the bracket’s four mounting screws, removed the autotelephone unit & then removed the left lining.
I discovered two interesting things that may affect any of our cars...
1. I could see daylight. The drain line from the C-Pillar was not inserted through its drain hole. The line had somehow backed out of the hole & terminated into the fender well. Thankfully, my car spent most of its life in a very dry climate & has seen very little rain since. Thankfully there was no sign of water, dampness or corrosion. Those of you living in wet climates may want to check for this problem. There is a drain plug in the front of the well, but it could be clogged with debris thereby allowing water to pool with no means of evacuation.
2. What a gooey, sticky mess. The oily substance was not from a leaky motor oil container. It comes from the end of the sunroof cable containing tube. The bottom of this tube is crimped, but evidently not crimped shut. Everytime you lube your sunroof cable, it will eventually ooze its way into the base of the fender well & make an oily mess. I assume any moisture along the cable travels the same path.
Correction started with a non-metallic scraper followed by a good vacuuming. The front & rear well plugs were removed & cleaned. Then several liberal dousings & wipings with a degreaser took place. An old toothbrush worked great for scrubbing tight areas. Throw an old rag underneath the plug holes to capture any of the mess that falls thru. The foam liner over the tube disintegrated in my hands because of oily saturation.
Now that the well was clean & looking new, I set about making sure the mess never happened again. First, I sprayed a little silicone spray on the C-Pillar drain tube & reinserted it thru the drain hole where it is supposed to be. Problem 1 solved. The front drain plug was also reinserted into its hole.
Next, I used a piece of surplus flexible tubing which fit over the tube nicely. I cut a section to replace the disintegrated foam buffer. This acts as a buffer to prevent metal to metal contact between the inner fender & tube.
I took some measurements, then punched a ½ inch hole thru the center of the rear well plug. I clamped one end of flexible tube over the cable containing tube, then ran the end thru this plug providing a nice, tight fit. Now, if anymore goop flows out from the cable tube, it will travel thru this tube and be evacuated to the great outdoors. Problem 2 solved.
This area is now proper, clean & possibly better than original design.
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