Dammit! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

87Camry5Speed · 08-22-2003, 10:28 PM

A few days ago I was cleaning off my windshield on the passenger side, sitting in the car with some good ol' Van Halen blaring on the CD player, when I looked down between the open door and the fender only to see a ton of crap had accumulated there! So I undid everything (the inner fender liner was a major pain in the ass!), and got all the dirt out. It sure looked as if a mouse nest was in there at some point. I had everything buttoned back up, when I went to reattach the rubber strip that runs the length of the bottom of my (gen2) car... The f***in' thing rotted and bent outward on me!

Therefore, this weekend (and days before I start college again- great fookin' timing!) I'm getting my first intensive lesson in automotive bodywork. At least on the affected side, the molding is coming off, I'm filling in and sanding off all the holes (from screws and clips and such), and repainting the lower body satin black - the black will be over rubberized undercoat for rock chip protection and rust prevention. I don't know how the rest of you might feel about it, but I can't help getting a little pissed looking at it the way it is now. I had hoped I could put it off until spring... no way! Had to vent...

Steve

Velocity · 08-22-2003, 10:33 PM

Man, sounds like a tough situation your going through. Sorry to hear that happening to you. But things like that always lighten up.

toyrolla · 08-22-2003, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 3SFECamry
A few days ago I was cleaning off my windshield on the passenger side, sitting in the car with some good ol' Van Halen blaring on the CD player, when I looked down between the open door and the fender only to see a ton of crap had accumulated there! So I undid everything (the inner fender liner was a major pain in the ass!), and got all the dirt out. It sure looked as if a mouse nest was in there at some point. I had everything buttoned back up, when I went to reattach the rubber strip that runs the length of the bottom of my (gen2) car... The f***in' thing rotted and bent outward on me!

Therefore, this weekend (and days before I start college again- great fookin' timing!) I'm getting my first intensive lesson in automotive bodywork. At least on the affected side, the molding is coming off, I'm filling in and sanding off all the holes (from screws and clips and such), and repainting the lower body satin black - the black will be over rubberized undercoat for rock chip protection and rust prevention. I don't know how the rest of you might feel about it, but I can't help getting a little pissed looking at it the way it is now. I had hoped I could put it off until spring... no way! Had to vent...

Steve

Wow Steve.....I'm dreading that myself...I just discovered that same crap myself and I'm DREADING the undoing of the fender liner.......I have to do it though.....probably will be tomorrow....wish me luck....

menaboy64 · 08-23-2003, 03:19 PM

I am doing something to my Camry you might want to try. My rubber strips just started falling off so I pulled all of them off. The bottom ones, the side ones all over the car, and now I'm going to just shave it all clean with bondo. Nice and smooth, maybe even the rain gutters. Just park it safely from assholes that fling doors open.

FRITO · 08-23-2003, 05:31 PM

aww man, i have the saME PROBLEM WITH CRAP ACCUMULATING DOWN IN THERE!!!

i had a plant growing, it was hilarious. seriously there is like bunch of pine needles and debris. i had like a 3" talk plant growing poking through!!! damn humidity and rain in Florida

i need to take off the panel and blast that shit out.

ima have to lok at it better to figure it out.

xavior66 · 08-23-2003, 10:54 PM

Meh, I take my fender aprons off so much that nothing has time to accumulate. And as for the bottom rocker panels, yes, mine were actually *hanging* off for the longest time. Sooooooooo, I got some flathead screws and drilled them back in. A very boroish method indeed, but you can hardly notice it at all.

87Camry5Speed · 08-24-2003, 11:07 AM

I'm glad to know it isn't just me with this problem! Thanks for your input; I went out to get all the bodywork stuff yesterday but Wally World didn't have crap. Not even the rubberized undercoat! I may wait a bit on this one, as I have a bigger fish to fry this afternoon: the front engine mount. It looks easy, and adventurous; hangin' out under the car with 400 lbs of engine floating loosely over your head! But of course I fully intend to use a jack with a block of wood between it and the oil pan to support the motor. As for the molding, I think I'm going to take it off but leave the screws in so that nothing can get in and rot the fender or rocker. There's no rust in either of those spots, a rare and lucky thing in my vintage Camry...

Again, thanks for telling me about your fender problems; Frito I would have loved to see the plant you had in yours

Toyrolla, don't worry too much about the inner liner; you'll only have to undo four 10mm bolts. You're not taking it completely off; rather, you're just moving it out of the way where you'll be working to give yourself more space. Taking it off completely involves removing the wheel, and there's a lotta bolts you could miss the first time around. When I put my new hood cable in last spring I had to do it and it's a bit of a pain in the ass.

Steve