|
| |
August 2004 - Sunroof Work - Drain Tube Installation
Last month I covered running the tubes through the body to
their new locations. I have not made enough progress to begin installing the
tracks for the sunroof yet, but plan to in October. What I did do follows.
At a local get together, a conversation with another owner recently about
his relocated drain tubes was some what disconcerting. He stated he
accomplished the same procedure I did, but he ran the tubes down into the
fender well a couple of inches and left them there. Nobody sits in his back
seat ever... until recently. On a long trip with 4 passengers in the
car, he starts to smell something burning. They all get out and look but
find nothing. Later investigation at home in the garage, he finds that the
tubes were rubbing on top of the tires and burning down... This month, I
installed the rear drain tubes into the fender wells with a basic plumbers
fitting to finish the install to prevent the rubbing problem mentioned...
once and for all, I hope. |
 |
|
I measured the hole and tube diameters. At a local hardware
store, I found that these two parts would fit. I suggest that if you go this
route, measure accordingly. I don't know that my hole is anything special,
but I would recommend you use commonly available sizes of materials. Mine is
1/2" ID reinforced tubing. The outside 5/8" hole had to be reamed to make
sure the fitting below with the threads fit through. |
 |
|
These parts are about $2.00 with the most expensive being the
threaded adapter on the right. You need two of each to do the job. |
 |
|
First, rustproof and undercoat around the hole to ensure that
nothing gets back inside the car in the future. |
 |
|
Next, press the fitting through the hole. Cut the tubing to
the length so that the run is nice and smooth so everything empties out onto
the ground as I have shown here. |
 |
|
Finally, thread the outer fitting on nice and tight. If you
chose a surface that's not flush, you might want to add some silicone caulk
just in case. This section is now done and complete. I have not yet
decided how to approach the front drains yet. It's
important to note that originally, I wanted a black fitting, but none were
available. However, when I installed this I found out the color made it easy
to see if there would be any foreign objects clogging it in the future... so
it's a feature !! |
| |
|
