wheel well patch work
 

The wife and I put her '00 Grand Am to rest about a month ago and got an '07 Mitsubishi Outlander AWD...a really nice vehicle. We didn't notice it, but there was a piece broken on the plastic wheel well shroud. When the vehicle gets on the interstate, the wind must have pushed it against the wheel and rubbed a huge hole.

Seeing as we just got it and there was no evidence that the vehicle was in any accident before (and no carfax reports), we tried to get it replaced under warranty. Stealership said they would not cover it as "they just don't break for no reason". But they did offer to replace it for me for $155! http://www.rangerpowersports.com/for...lies/rotfl.gif So I asked them how much for just the part....$75 http://www.rangerpowersports.com/for...lies/rotfl.gif I told them no way and I'd patch it myself...I had no clue what to patch with...but I'd find a way.

So we put our heads together and came up with this solution. I used an old office shredder bucket that had some stiff, but flexible, black polypropylene. I couldn't find my pop rivet gun, so I went to Ace Hardware and bought their cheapest one plus their smallest aluminum rivets and washers...cost me 25 bucks in tools and supplies. I've got to paint the rivet heads yet, but once it gets dirty, I don't think it would be too noticeable.

http://pictures.ccernst.net/Outlander/100_2784.JPG

http://pictures.ccernst.net/Outlander/100_2785.JPG



What do you guys think? Once things get better, I'll replace it...but for now I think it turned out pretty well.


Edit: For those of you taking the wheel liner off yourself, the larger plastic rivets are easily removed with a flathead screwdriver. For the smaller rivets that have no indentations for a screwdriver, I used a corkscrew-like dentist's pick. it worked very nicely with no broken rivets.

You know that's really a funny thing. I had the same issue with my outlander. The only thing that came to mind was that the air coming through the front air vent for the tranny cooler was the culprit. I ordered a new one for me though. That's actually a pretty good idea.

That looks like it turned out good and easy on the pocket too. Once you get some black paint on the inner wheel well no one will even notice it.

I do wonder why it happened in the first place. I hope it is not a regular thing with these where you have to change fender liners before tires. LOL

I think what made it easy was the patching plastic and aluminum rivets. With enough rivets, but not going overboard, it doesn't have to hold a lot. The plastic I used was stiff enough to pop the 1/8" aluminum rivets w/o pulling through. There was a section in the middle of the liner (I like that better than shroud) that broke that runs between the vents. It was a little thicker probably due to them wanting more strength. With the plastic being thicker, the rivets didn't work and had to resort to very small bolts. If someone else tries this with a softer plastic...maybe a type of rubber, you'll need washers behind it.

The only downside, and I don't think it is much of one, is that I did lose a vent slot. I don't think it is a big deal when going 70mph down the road...enough air will get shoved through the small radiator right in front.

my wheel well suffered the same fate. i temporarily put a gutter tape pending having a permanent solution. the wheel well just couldnt hold the air flow if you are speeding at the highway.

I saw that kind of damage on my vehicle, on the same side, but thought I must have done it by running over something large and it broke that piece off. I didn't realize others had the same issue...

The exact same thing happened to my other car, a Toyota MR2Spyder. I did once take the front bumper off and this happened a certain while after that. I took the car to the dealership and they replaced the lining in the wheel well after some bagging.

I'll be keeping an eye out on the shield next time I go out of state. The upside is we now know where there's really good air flow to put in a cold air intake.

hahaha

the dealership was right. They dont "just fail".
something was hit to rip the plastic "scrivets" out.
it happens often. Doesnt take much of a hit to damage plastic.