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Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:25 pm

Hi Folks.
New to VW and not sure if I should replace this rear panel? First please tell me what this rearmost part of the body is called?

Looks like the PO already replaced this but did they do an acceptable job? It seems the track for the seals do not line up well and part of the panel is well above the adjacent piece. The panel seems new but is dented from storage in various driveways for who knows how long.

Any input or advice is welcome.

Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:32 pm

Its called the rear apron but that's all I got, I'm not a body man.

Thu Apr 21, 2022 6:49 pm

Since you aren't a body man you might explore replacing the apron, none of that is hard to hammer out, but attaching a new part may be more suited to your skill level. But don't be shocked if the new part doesn't quite fit, most replacement stuff these days is just barely in the ballpark as to quality and fit.

Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:10 pm

busdaddy wrote: Since you aren't a body man you might explore replacing the apron, none of that is hard to hammer out, but attaching a new part may be more suited to your skill level. But don't be shocked if the new part doesn't quite fit, most replacement stuff these days is just barely in the ballpark as to quality and fit.

I’ve hammered out a bit already. How about the joints are they supposed to blend in with each other or is that gap correct?

Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:24 pm

How is the fit with the lid closed?

Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:32 pm

Looks like a reasonable part but it looks to me NOT to be high enough. That is the whole rear apron needs to go up towards the rear window. This should bring the seal "J" Channel into closer alignment. Poor installation by the PO.

What you needed is a photo of the bottom of the rear fenders to see how they lined up with the rear apron. If my diagnosis is correct I would have thought the apron was well below the line of the rear fenders.

If true I'd drill out the spot welds and push the whole apron up to see if you can improve the fit. the apron should only be held on in a few places with some spot or more likely plug welds.

Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:15 am

viiking wrote: Looks like a reasonable part but it looks to me NOT to be high enough. That is the whole rear apron needs to go up towards the rear window. This should bring the seal "J" Channel into closer alignment. Poor installation by the PO.

What you needed is a photo of the bottom of the rear fenders to see how they lined up with the rear apron. If my diagnosis is correct I would have thought the apron was well below the line of the rear fenders.

If true I'd drill out the spot welds and push the whole apron up to see if you can improve the fit. the apron should only be held on in a few places with some spot or more likely plug welds.

Dan the workingstiff wrote: How is the fit with the lid closed?

This weekend I'll pull the lids and fenders out of my attic and see how all that looks. That should definitely give me a better idea of what I need to fix rework. Thanks for the input.

Fri Apr 22, 2022 8:29 am

That panel should line up better than that. But it is not uncommon to have to "help" the panels fit better. The misalignment of the seal channel is not uncommon either. I would remove what is there.

If you are going to go that route, the decide if what you have is worth saving or start with a new one, instead of screwing around with the old one and wasting time. Also. I just looked at the prices of the apron. :shock: I guess it's been a while since I bought one.

Fri Apr 22, 2022 3:22 pm

Do a search in the Gallery menu here for Rear Apron and you will get lots of photos

Ditto search within this forum for the same thing putting Rear Apron in the "Title" menu.