Justwondering
Well-Known Member
It was a beautiful day on Friday this week, until I decided to clean out the trunk and again discovered the carpet was wet. Boo... hiss...
The underside of the trunk lid was dry. The underside of the trunk edges were wet, dripping water.
Removed the jack handle, jack, spare tire, carpet hiding the hinges, carpet liner from the bottom and the carpet trim hiding the rear of the light sockets.
Here is the trunk:
There is a quarter sized spot of rust about half way down on the left side.
There is light rust along crevices on the right side.
There was about 1/4 inch of water in the two round circular depressions towards the top of the picture and a light about of water over the entire bottom.
If this water issue had been going on a long time, the pan would be completely coated in rust. Since there was so little rust, I have to conclude the water problem is a recent problem; although a persistent one.
--- Post updated ---
Inside each of the wheel wells was a cardboard insert cut to fit the shape and size. The driver side is shorter length than the passenger side.
The cardboard is painted black on one side. It fits against the inside of the quarter panel and has a curve to the bottom so it fits across the bottom (about 4 inches or so). I suppose that was to provide structure to keep the panel vertical.
What actually happened was it provided a growing medium for mold and mildew. The bottom inside curve of the quarterpanels is water tight. If any water gets in there is sits until it evaporates. While it sits, it saturates the cardboard. The combination of paint, cellulose from the cardboard, and the glue to make the cardboard provided an excellent dinner.
Can't put that nasty bit back in the car. What to do?
I don't have any black cardboard laying around the house.
But I do have inspiration.
Foamboard... left over from a convention I attended last year.
--- Post updated ---
Flipped the foam board over.
Put the driver side cardboard on the foamboard.
Here's the money shot...
Notice all the nasty bits at the bottom.
Roughed in an outline pattern.
Using a carpet knife, cut out the pieces. Since the foam board is not as flexible as the cardboard, I cut three pieces and used black gorilla tape to create my 'hinges'. The two shorter pieces appear to provide a pitiful handle as well as enough coverage for the rear, vertical area immediately behind the bumper and up to the top of the trunk.
Had just a wee bit of black paint left in a spray can and a big roll of gorilla tape.
Here is a comparison of the before and after:
Only thing I had to do at the end when test fitting it was to trim about another 1/2 inch off the edge farthest from the handle. My hinges work because I left a bit of space between the pieces. So I should have reduced the length by the same amount of gap I left for the hinges.
Also, I did not make the curved piece at the bottom.
If the purpose was to keep the cardboard vertical, the foamboard is much stiffer and doesn't need the additional support.
If the purpose was to cover the bottom of the inside wheel well, you'll need to not bend over and twist to the side with a flashlight to look at the raw metal. lol
Repeated the process for the other side.
The underside of the trunk lid was dry. The underside of the trunk edges were wet, dripping water.
Removed the jack handle, jack, spare tire, carpet hiding the hinges, carpet liner from the bottom and the carpet trim hiding the rear of the light sockets.
Here is the trunk:
There is a quarter sized spot of rust about half way down on the left side.
There is light rust along crevices on the right side.
There was about 1/4 inch of water in the two round circular depressions towards the top of the picture and a light about of water over the entire bottom.
If this water issue had been going on a long time, the pan would be completely coated in rust. Since there was so little rust, I have to conclude the water problem is a recent problem; although a persistent one.
--- Post updated ---
Inside each of the wheel wells was a cardboard insert cut to fit the shape and size. The driver side is shorter length than the passenger side.
The cardboard is painted black on one side. It fits against the inside of the quarter panel and has a curve to the bottom so it fits across the bottom (about 4 inches or so). I suppose that was to provide structure to keep the panel vertical.
What actually happened was it provided a growing medium for mold and mildew. The bottom inside curve of the quarterpanels is water tight. If any water gets in there is sits until it evaporates. While it sits, it saturates the cardboard. The combination of paint, cellulose from the cardboard, and the glue to make the cardboard provided an excellent dinner.
Can't put that nasty bit back in the car. What to do?
I don't have any black cardboard laying around the house.
But I do have inspiration.
Foamboard... left over from a convention I attended last year.
--- Post updated ---
Flipped the foam board over.
Put the driver side cardboard on the foamboard.
Here's the money shot...
Notice all the nasty bits at the bottom.
Roughed in an outline pattern.
Using a carpet knife, cut out the pieces. Since the foam board is not as flexible as the cardboard, I cut three pieces and used black gorilla tape to create my 'hinges'. The two shorter pieces appear to provide a pitiful handle as well as enough coverage for the rear, vertical area immediately behind the bumper and up to the top of the trunk.
Had just a wee bit of black paint left in a spray can and a big roll of gorilla tape.
Here is a comparison of the before and after:
Only thing I had to do at the end when test fitting it was to trim about another 1/2 inch off the edge farthest from the handle. My hinges work because I left a bit of space between the pieces. So I should have reduced the length by the same amount of gap I left for the hinges.
Also, I did not make the curved piece at the bottom.
If the purpose was to keep the cardboard vertical, the foamboard is much stiffer and doesn't need the additional support.
If the purpose was to cover the bottom of the inside wheel well, you'll need to not bend over and twist to the side with a flashlight to look at the raw metal. lol
Repeated the process for the other side.
Also there's a Wally World super center but I never, EVER go there no matter what. Too many freaks, fruits, trailer trash, the scary, the smelly, and just plain rude and inconsiderate people there. It's like it's a magnet for the dregs of society. Sorry, rant over..............
