What to do?

[siteunseen]

The last 4" of the rain channel, left & right sides, of my hatch are open to the rain. It dumps right where they rust :stupid:. Does anyone know of a way to stop that besides not driving on rainy days or washing the car. Carry a towel?

[hr369]

The last 4" of the rain channel, left & right sides, of my hatch are open to the rain. It dumps right where they rust :stupid:. Does anyone know of a way to stop that besides not driving on rainy days or washing the car. Carry a towel?

Sure there are solutions but how much work do you want to

Do?

You could put a marine paint finish on the ledge

You could build a drip rail the last 4"

You could install a weatherstrip on the extended drip rail that sealed out water but closing the

Hatch could take more force

[Mikes Z car]

Don't remember who but someone did some bodywork on their car to slant that area under the back hatch so the water would run out of the car. The edge closer to the front of the car was raised to accomplish this if memory serves. I plan on extending the drip edge on my car with something removable in case I want to try something else later.

Edited January 12, 2013 by Mikes Z car

[EuroDat]

Always wondered way the engineers did this. Its basic physics that water is going to lay there and we all know what that means

[siteunseen]

Hey Mike do think a piece of 3/8" or 1/2" clear hose cut in half would work? That's all I can think of besides doing something major. Maybe use "Gorilla Glue" to attach them? I'm temporarily fixing the rust spots until I can have it painted and don't want to do it again.

[Mikes Z car]

I haven't tried gorilla glue for anything so don't know how well it sticks to plastics. I would think a tube cut in half would work as long as there is a good caulking or weathertight seal between the hose and the car. If you look straight down at that tube after installation I would think it would need to be as least as wide as the existing gutter drain at the side of the hatch, wide enough to drain off any water going straight down into that crack between the hatch and the car. Wouldn't hurt if it went under the lowest lip of the existing drain gutter. I had been putting this off but today I put a wad of clay in a tube shape in that area and closed the hatch to see what clearance there is and it looks like there is plenty of clearance for your idea as the clay was not touched by the hatch.

On the 71 240Z I used to have I used to keep that ledge heavily waxed but the car was kept garaged so I never found out if that had an effect.

Before:

After:

Edited January 12, 2013 by Mikes Z car

[siteunseen]

That waxing helped it looks like, I'll do that for sure. I'll let you know about the idea I've got.

Thank You.

[EScanlon]

Gorilla Glue in my experience is hard to control as to where it goes and then when it starts foaming, even more difficult to keep in place while it sets.

I would recommend a product called Shoe Goo, Household Goo, or other XXX Goo. Think of it as Silicone on major steroids. Where silicone sticks and is hard to tear off, this stuff grips and you need pliers to even tear it, and even then it's hard to peel off.

One might think that this would make it problematic, and it can be if you aren't familiar with working with silicone. However, if you are familiar with silicone, and remember the old spit on your finger to smooth it out technique, this stuff will please you to no end.

I'd check your local hobby store and see if they still sell those styrene plastic "beams" and other straight pieces. One of them, if memory serves, is as close to a "C" channel as can be... but in miniature. Again, IIRC, it's available in various widths. Find the one that's closest to the width of the channel you're hoping to extend and then glue it in position with the Shoe Goo. Smooth the transition from one to the other and you should have a properly extended drain.

FWIW

E

[bpilati]

Always wondered way the engineers did this. Its basic physics that water is going to lay there and we all know what that means

They expected the sheer acceleration of the Z to clear the water off theat ledge.

[DRBall]

Try plummers putty it is used to seal around pipes and is not sticky so once it's in place it should stay in place. And it's easy to remove.

[Stanley]

There was a small rusty spot - hit it with a rotary wire brush on the drill, put some Ospho. There was a tiny hole and some joints in the sheet metal at the ends, where water could get into areas below - filled them with JB weld. After the girl hit me, the body shop painted it. Looks ok for now. Will wax it next time.

[grannyknot]

I was just doing some rust repairs to the hatch deck when I saw this thread so fabbed up a couple of little chanels.

Great idea guys, thanks.

Chris