Rust warning - drain tube exit points

[Blink]

I also found this behind the pollen filter housing (LH plenum).



That's a hinged door - it's probably what makes that 'thonk' noise when the aircon/heating shuts down. It was covered in an adhesive foam sheet which was disintegrating and coming off in sticky globs of gooey grey mess. I've scraped the rest of it off to stop it getting sucked in and clogging the heater & vents etc. The foam is supposed to seal the doorway (29W x 10H x 10D centimetres approx). The white thing is a part number label on something else.

[The Mighty Quinn]

Originally Posted by Blink

Finally got a glimpse of the RH drain hole. It's just visible if the scuttle & wiper assembly are off, but only by leaning right in over the LH wing and peering between the various pipes etc. Here it is lurking under the servo.



The servo is the big out of focus thing with ribs on it. Note the dry mud trail down to the hole (and that's after I'd hooked/dragged most of it out with a bent stick).

Driver's side doesn't look so bad there, Simon - even though there's a fair bit of crud built up.
I'd say those tubes have done a pretty good job for 20-odd years, given the rather convoluted design they have to cope with. You've good access now for getting some cavity wax inside the lower chamber, so I shouldn't think you'll see much further deterioration in there.

How did you get those tubes out? They look like a PITA to mess with..


Cheers,
Karl.

[Blink]

Originally Posted by The Mighty Quinn

Driver's side doesn't look so bad there, Simon - even though there's a fair bit of crud built up.
I'd say those tubes have done a pretty good job for 20-odd years, given the rather convoluted design they have to cope with. You've good access now for getting some cavity wax inside the lower chamber, so I shouldn't think you'll see much further deterioration in there.

How did you get those tubes out? They look like a PITA to mess with..


Cheers,
Karl.

The rust is on the underside of the hole though Karl so it's not visible in the pic - I could see it by peering up from underneath the car. I've treated it now, then I painted it using a 10" brush poked up through the lower hole. I'll blow some wax in from the top using a long flexible lance.

Getting the LH tube out is easy - push it down from the upper chamber into the lower chamber, then pull/prise it out from under the car.

Getting the RH rube out is much trickier because of the darned servo. I just kept poking and prodding with various implements until the top flange was half way into the upper hole - then I pulled/prised it the rest of the way from under the car. If you just give it really good tug from underneath you'll probably tear the upper flange off.

NB. I don't think it's possible to get the RH tube back in again without taking the closing panel off the RH plenum.

[Blink]

Originally Posted by Blink

.... NB. I don't think it's possible to get the RH tube back in again without taking the closing panel off the RH plenum.

I took the closing panel off and it doesn't make it any easier to get the rubber tube back in the hole - in fact you can't even see the hole.

Here's the panel.

Back (plenum side)


Above: note the debris along the lower edge - that shows the amount of stuff that gets into upper chamber and collects on the floor.

Front (engine side)


The only way to see/access the hole properly is either take the servo out or take the engine out.

The servo is only about an inch off the floor and blocks access to most of the hole - I can just about get a finger onto one side of it but it's not enough to get the upper seal on the tube to locate properly.



Bad design - the hole should have been two or three inches nearer the centre of the car.

[Blink]

Btw, there's an arrow on the top of the tube to indicate which way round it should go. If the arrow is a few degrees out in either direction the sloping lower seal doesn't line up with the sloping floor of the lower chamber and it'll leak anyway.

[KWIL]

Regarding tip, "fine steel wool and Brasso" for cleaning wiper linkage, better to use S/S scourer, ordinary steel wool drops fine pieces which go on to cause rusting.

Don't believe me, try cleaning something over a S/S sink.

[Saga Lout]

Originally Posted by KWIL

Regarding tip, "fine steel wool and Brasso" for cleaning wiper linkage, better to use S/S scourer, ordinary steel wool drops fine pieces which go on to cause rusting.

Don't believe me, try cleaning something over a S/S sink.

Try this from my personal tips book, screw up a handful of tinfoil and use that, it's also great for buffing up the kitchen pans and chrome bumpers.

[Blink]

Originally Posted by Blink

... I can just about get a finger onto one side of it but it's not enough to get the upper seal on the tube to locate properly.

I've now tried lying on the engine (literally) and I still can't get a grip on this tube. It's an absolute ******* .

[genpk]

i reckon A small amount of oil in the bottom of the plenum every so often would fix that rust easily.

[Francophile]

A small amount of oil in the bottom of the plenum every so often would fix that rust easily.

.....but, depending on the drain tube material, might do more harm than good. Rubber and oil are unhappy bedfellows, so need for caution.



Derek.