Front Wheel Arch Liners

[TTM]

Later cars, fitted with these addtional plastic covers, have a tendancy to develop rust at the bottom of the front wings much more easily than earlier cars, and these plastic covers may well be partly responsible for trapping all sorts of unwanted substance. I'm not sure how much this contributes to the development of rust but I would think early cars do not really need them.

 

[barks944]

Might just have the wings off for a good rust check and a thick coat of dinitrol then. Saying that though, theres more than plenty of unwanted substance in my wings they get full of cr*p. Perhaps the dinitrol would deal with the rust and the covers stop all the cr*p building up in the wing.

 

[944Turbo]

thom you talking the ones at the bottom of the wing or the arch liners around the tyres? I would have thought without the liners you get crud up in the top of the wing and the bottom corner etc. Sorry cant help with the original Q I thought early cars had them as well anyway. Tony

 

[barks944]

On the late model lux's ive seen they have a plastic cover in the front wheel arches to stop mud etc getting into all the recesses. My early lux doesnt have these and as such gathers a considerable ammount of mud in the arches. Is it possible to fit the plastic covers too the early cars?

Tom

 

[barks944]

Yes arch liners would be a much better term for them.

 

[TTM]

Sorry, my mistake, was indeed thinking of the small ones at the bottom.

 

[barks944]

Good suggestions sc0tty, I prefer prevention to cure though so I still want to know if I can fit the liners.

 

[Mike_Pollock]

I think the point is - do you want to take the liners out every other time you wash the car. 'Cos the muck and moisture will still get in and out of sight is out of mind. Mike

 

[barks944]

Thats a good point, but surely anyone with a late model lux or S2/turbo would have this issue as they all would have the liners fitted. Do people with the liners fitted regularaly remove the liners to clean muck out? On a side note got to say that Dinitrol is excellent stuff, ive put quite a bit on my car already and I find it as good at stone chip protection as it is at rust proofing.

 

[Mike_Pollock]

You may have noticed that a regular S2 problem area is the rust in the lower wings! My '83 Lux is fine there - except where it hit the ditch! Mike

 

[barks944]

Your slowly convincing me it might be better to leave them off now . Btw im envious of your lack of sunroof. Wish mine didnt have one. In fact my fogs are broken too so I wish I didnt have them either. Especially as they dont seem to make any difference when they do work, at least from a drivers perspective.

 

[Pastry]

ORIGINAL: sc0tty jet wash the arches

personally i wouldnt let a jet washer anywhere near my car, water under that kind of pressure is virtually guaranteed to get somewhere it shouldnt. nothing wrong with just using a hose

 

[Alpine]

[/quote] personally i wouldnt let a jet washer anywhere near my car, water under that kind of pressure is virtually guaranteed to get somewhere it shouldnt. nothing wrong with just using a hose [/quote] I agree with that too, just use a hose, treat with Dinitrol and then keep it clean. I'd leave the arch liners off otherwise they will just hide the muck.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

personally i wouldnt let a jet washer anywhere near my car, water under that kind of pressure is virtually guaranteed to get somewhere it shouldnt. nothing wrong with just using a hose

I'd consider doing this once to remove all the dirt and any loose underseal etc. Find out the real areas that need attention, then deal with them.

 

[Pastry]

for caked on mud get it wet, leave it a few mins to soften then rinse it off, pretty easy.

 

[zcacogp]

I'm with Sc0tty - not afraid to use a jetwasher on parts of the car, although not directly onto paintwork. Into the wheel arches isn't a problem; they get some pretty ferocious spray when driving hard in wet weather (and a fair peppering of grit as well), so a jetwash at a reasonable distance isn't going to do anything untoward that wouldn't happen anyway.

ORIGINAL: barks944 Do people with the liners fitted regularaly remove the liners to clean muck out?

Yes, I do. At least once a year, usually in springtime. And take the plastic trims off the bottom of the wings and cills, clean them, clean the metal they attach to and apply rust-proofing (Waxoyl, or Dynax 50 as I bought the other day.) Oli.

 

[944 man]

heel arch liners were intoroduced with the series two cars (September 1985 - 1986 model year), for those interested. They can cause issues as people have mentioned, but they were brilliant at preventing hydraulic lock caused by the car sucking in a huge mouthful of water from the front wheel arch when the car ran through standing water...

 

[Pastry]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp I'm with Sc0tty - not afraid to use a jetwasher on parts of the car, although not directly onto paintwork. Into the wheel arches isn't a problem; they get some pretty ferocious spray when driving hard in wet weather (and a fair peppering of grit as well), so a jetwash at a reasonable distance isn't going to do anything untoward that wouldn't happen anyway. Oli.

i cant see how youll reach the bits that need cleaning from a 'safe distance' e.g. behind the lip of the wheel arch fors starters. In fact i cant see any way of getting the lance of my jetwash anywhere near the bits i normally clean out without taking the wing off. or sticking it on a ramp with the wheels off. The water pressure at nozzle is a few orders of magnitude higher than any road spray, and ive heard (perhaps urban myths right enough) about misdirected karchers forcing water past seals that would normally withstand any ingress from normal use. whenever i see someone with a karcher theyve got it 2 inches from the bodywork or firing it straight into the brakes and it just makes me wince. but like scotty says, whatever... down to personal choice ;p

 

[random hero]

ORIGINAL: A9XXC You may have noticed that a regular S2 problem area is the rust in the lower wings! My '83 Lux is fine there - except where it hit the ditch! Mike

The rusty lower wings on the turbo/s2 is nothing to do with the arch liner,its caused by the little black side skirts/trims !!

 

[Alpine]

ORIGINAL: sc0tty The lower wing corrosion on S2 and Turbos is not related to wheel arch liners, it is caused by the lower front sill trim which is a plastic gutter that traps mud, dust, gravel and moisture.

I don't agree that it's the lower front plastic trim that causes the rust. Behind the bottom of the wing is a flat ledge, and this is the cause of the rust problems because mud and dirt build up here and never gets a chance to dry out properly. That is why the wings rust from the rear outwards at the bottom, and the first you know of it is when the Wurth starts to bubble. The wheel arch liners curve inwards towards the back of the wing (when viewed from behind), which helps the mud to build up. The lower front plastic trims hang down from below the wing, so any mud that builds up should be of little concern (but I agree it is best removed).