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Clean out your wheel arches!!


LexG
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Was reassured by the amount of rust proofing on the arches, it all just needed a clean and a Waxoyling in the cavities .. saw a Ford Fiesta that had rotted right through into the engine bay!  

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I'll second that. Yeah, I do them on all of my Lupos every couple of years. Essential if you want your Lupo to last.

The fronts are easy enough to clear out, and it gives me a chance to check the integrity of the waterproofing when the covers are off. It's the little plastic inserts that the screws plug into that always worry me a bit. The reason they're there is because it permanently wet; the idea being that there is no direct contact between the screws and the bodywork. The crud builds up because all the water that runs off the windscreen and roof is channelled into the scuttle under the wipers- which flushes any dust and bits straight down into the arches.

The rears are more problematic because there's a sharp edge where the paint chips off exposing bare metal below. Then the rust worms its way below the paint until it reaches the spot welded seam and it's game over. Only solution is to grind off any remaining paint and rust and redo it all. I've already had to respray the rear arches on my Silver SDI. The other's I've held in check for the time being with waxoyl, after a thorough drying first with a hair dryer...

It's worth a quick maintenance check on your arches like @LexG suggests if you haven't inspected them for a while, as it'll save you a "lot" of work and money later.

Edited by mk2
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