a fire wall question lol

[camryi4]

ok, how many of you guys would be upset, mad, etc if an alarm installer drilled a tiny hole in the firewall? i was taking a look around when cleaning my car the other day, and i relized... hmm... he drilled a hole,thats not nessesary... but its been done, an it kinda bugs me...... i WAS gonna get bestbuy to redo my connections and solder it cuz i wasnt happy and what not cuz the alarm's sensitivity is wee bit stupid sumtimes an they used wire nuts, you think best buy would have tiny rubber gromets to put on that wire and the hole thats been drilled at a stereo/alarm shop? that shop didnt tape up the wire or heat shrink the section that goes thru the firewall... so who knows metal burs may be scraping the wire... im sure ppl here have gotten an alarm installed at bestbuy, can you tell me if they drilled thru the firewall or not and if they used any wire protection of any sort for that section?

[Dave's]

Any auto parts store should have a rubber plug or grommet although you may need to remove the wire to install it. Or use a razor to cut it half way through. You can put a hole for the wire in a plug. I wouldn't want a wire going through a hole in metal with nothing to protect it but drilling the hole wouldn't bother me. (I once had a friend with a rusted freeze plug close to the firewall. They wanted hundreds to replace it. I popped it out, pulled the carpet down, drilled a hole, used a punch and hammer to reset the new one, installed a rubber plug and put the carpet back in place. About five bucks. As long as it's plugged I don't see a problem.)

[Don M]

It is a shame to have the 'easy way out' used on something like this

If the hole is a bit bigger than the wire, a dab of silicone sealer or shoe-goo applied from both sides would probably work to stop any chaffing. Maybe pulling the conductor out of a short piece of wire, split it long ways and pop it over the wire you are trying to protect might be possible. Use a piece a bit larger in diameter.

[TJHammer]

I once had to create my own grommet so to speak and used thick vinyl tube from home depot....squeezed it through the cut hole and glued it in place - just a dab, because the tightness held it in place. Ran the wire right through no prob after that. I did'nt feel like hunting down a grommet

[camryi4]

thanks guys, this really eases the pain up lol.. hey what about foglights? i will be getting those for sure in the near future, wouldnt i also gotta get those thru the firewall? as its still unclear some camrys already have the harness and some dont lol, should that hole just be made a wee bit bigger so in the future i can use that hole to pull the wires faster an easier? theres a hole there now... a small one, sooo should i get it enlarged a bit? ... no point in poking holes in existing grommets right? so my idea is enlarge the hole, put a nice grommet on it an later it will be good enough to pull foglight wires thru it, yay or nay?

[camryi4]

Originally Posted by Dave's

Any auto parts store should have a rubber plug or grommet although you may need to remove the wire to install it. Or use a razor to cut it half way through. You can put a hole for the wire in a plug. I wouldn't want a wire going through a hole in metal with nothing to protect it but drilling the hole wouldn't bother me. (I once had a friend with a rusted freeze plug close to the firewall. They wanted hundreds to replace it. I popped it out, pulled the carpet down, drilled a hole, used a punch and hammer to reset the new one, installed a rubber plug and put the carpet back in place. About five bucks. As long as it's plugged I don't see a problem.)

haha what car was that?

[Dave's]

Oh, it was years ago. A big block V-8 which had a freeze plug on the back of the heads. The repair shops wanted to remove the head, replace the plug and reinstall with a new head gasket so of course that was big bucks.

[camryi4]

Originally Posted by Dave's

Oh, it was years ago. A big block V-8 which had a freeze plug on the back of the heads. The repair shops wanted to remove the head, replace the plug and reinstall with a new head gasket so of course that was big bucks.

lol how u get the plugs out anywayz? hey can i get your opinion to my reply? its like reply number 5 i think.. right before the reply that u wrote back to

[Don M]

Originally Posted by camryi4

thanks guys, this really eases the pain up lol.. hey what about foglights? i will be getting those for sure in the near future, wouldnt i also gotta get those thru the firewall? as its still unclear some camrys already have the harness and some dont lol, should that hole just be made a wee bit bigger so in the future i can use that hole to pull the wires faster an easier? theres a hole there now... a small one, sooo should i get it enlarged a bit? ... no point in poking holes in existing grommets right? so my idea is enlarge the hole, put a nice grommet on it an later it will be good enough to pull foglight wires thru it, yay or nay?

It will be a pain in the a** to enlarge a hole with a wire already in it. You will have to pull that wire while you drill it, depends on you situation. A new hole might be in order for future additions. The grommet is an excellent idea. I often pull a piece of string thru the hole and leave it in place for future 'pulls'. Always attach a new string to replace the one you use for the future.

Farkle on!
(anyone know that term?)

[Dave's]

If you're talking about the leaking freeze plug, I just put a screwdriver in it where it was rusted and pried it out. There was maybe 2" clearance. Not enough to drive in the new one without the hole for the punch.
On your idea, it depends on how hard it is to remove the wire. If it's easy to do then drill a hole the correct size for the grommet you wish to use. Main thing is not to have an open hole. For another wire you could find another factory plug/grommet which can probably accept another wire or go with your idea and use the one this guy made. Without knowing how big your wires and the hole is it's difficult to decide what would work best. As I said, if the wire(s) are small and you can't easily remove it, you could just use a plug by cutting from the center out to the edge. You put the cut over the wire and insert the plug. The plug should squeeze down tight around the wire. When you're ready to run the fog lights, pop the plug, slide in the new wire and reinsert the plug. You can do the same with a grommet. I just wouldn't want to use a grommet with a center hole larger than will be filled with the wire(s).

[camryi4]

Originally Posted by Dave's

If you're talking about the leaking freeze plug, I just put a screwdriver in it where it was rusted and pried it out. There was maybe 2" clearance. Not enough to drive in the new one without the hole for the punch.
On your idea, it depends on how hard it is to remove the wire. If it's easy to do then drill a hole the correct size for the grommet you wish to use. Main thing is not to have an open hole. For another wire you could find another factory plug/grommet which can probably accept another wire or go with your idea and use the one this guy made. Without knowing how big your wires and the hole is it's difficult to decide what would work best. As I said, if the wire(s) are small and you can't easily remove it, you could just use a plug by cutting from the center out to the edge. You put the cut over the wire and insert the plug. The plug should squeeze down tight around the wire. When you're ready to run the fog lights, pop the plug, slide in the new wire and reinsert the plug. You can do the same with a grommet. I just wouldn't want to use a grommet with a center hole larger than will be filled with the wire(s).

THANKS A BUNCH an whats farkle? lol

[Don M]

Originally Posted by Don M

Farkle on!
(anyone know that term?)

On the motorcycle forums I frequent, farkle is an item or mod added to enhance the appearence or function of the bike. The WIKI explaination conflict but you get the general idea:

1)

F.ancy A.ccessory R.eally K.ool & L.ikely E.xpensive 2)Farkles may include any accessories but especially those intended to increase the function of a motorcycle -- vs. those intended to glamorize (i.e. if an accessory is chromed, it is probably not a farkle - see Bling.)

A lot of us here are Farkling but didn't know it.