Inner Fender Liners.

[squeegee_boy]

[Phishman068]

To clarify, i am "pissed off" because of what the salt is doing to the cars, and the rate at which it is doing it.
The van in question was purchased as a parts bus but recommissioned. It is not that rusty body wise. During the recommisioning, we replaced the entire exhaust system.
That was last January.
This Feb, I needed a new muffler already, and the bulk of the exhaust is already looking extremely crusty.
That's one year and 2000 miles. Not acceptable.
Yes, the first muffler failed prematurely, but it certainly failed due to rust, and having a dedicated winter bus makes you think a bit differently about what the road crap really is capable of.

I wll be doing some extensive and hopefully creative means of reducing future corrosion soon, the idea of wheel well liners is just one of the first steps.

I'm glad to hear some people are running them, but the fitment issues have me concerned. Photos would be nice, as well as some input from the man behind the supplier.

Shy of covering the whole car in axle grease, I'm open to anything.
_________________
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=559766&highlight=winter+rust
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482402&highlight=sunroof+syncro
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=569774
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6864936#6864936

"Along with the ability to go fast, one looses the desire to hurry."

[1vw4x4]

Craig,
First great thread. As you know I've given up the fight on my
City Syncro. With out yearly cleaning, sanding, and rust proofing, every vehicle is doomed. Its just a matter of time. You can slow the rust but you can't stop it. A lift in your new garage would be best, but I know how that is....
You think your pissed off... try 30 year of it!
Eric

[svenakela]

I have successfully rust protected several cars with zincing. It is an industrial method where the surface is sand blasted and then coated with zinc. The zinc applicator looks like a mix between a paint gun and a welder. The wire is fed to the tip where it is electrified and melts. Air is blowing the 500 celcius degrees hot metal onto the surface.
One of the companies here that makes this kind of galvanizing use a HVLP sand blaster and they can clean any metal sheet without warping. They have an Alfa Romeo standing in the parking lot, unpainted. It has been there the last 25 years or so.

It is not needed to make it over the entire car, only the sensitive areas like wheel archs etc. Why not the entire exhaust? I'm pretty sure you can find a similar company in your hoods. I have three in my little area.

[kipkohl]

Gee, I don't know....maybe I'm doing something wrong but these don't seem to fit very well on my '91 Gl. The passenger side front went in OK, but there seems to be gaps around the lip of the well where water and mud could get in. The others could be trimmed to fit (and BD does state they might need to be) but even if correctly fitted I'm wondering if they're going to trap moisture around the edge of the wheel well. And, will trimming effect the tension needed to keep them in. Is there more to installing these than pushing them in and tucking the edge in?

[tarandusVDub]

[JPrato]

[terence wilson]

Hello jprato,i live in Honeoye Falls ,i have an 87 wolfsburg weekender i bought in november. It is in gc,and i have been washing salt off of it all winter.What kind of under coating are you using?thanks Terence

[Cdub!]

Anyone have any recent experience with these??? Thinking of buying them; but would hope the fit issue with the right rear has been addressed.

[dgbeatty]

The old maintenance schedule called for a through inspection and reapplication of waxoil every fall. Very few owners in the states do that. Our 1987 had the optional additional undercoating and waxoil application performed at the factory when new. It spent the first 13 years in the midwest rust belt before we moved to California. It was treated yearly with waxoil, it is still rest free, seams included. BTW although it rarely see salty roads these days we still touch it up every fall with waxoil.
We tried a set of the liners. The fit was awful. FWIW I believe they are made in Poland. I would happily twice the price for good quality well fitting liners.

[MsTaboo]

The fitment problems with these liners has to do with trying to tuck them under the outer wheel well lip.
If installed outside the wheel well outer lip they fit fine, but look like crap!

For the rears at least, using fender flares (Terrawagen) to cover up this join works great. Unfortunately because the front flares attach to the door this trick won't work for the front liners, so I'm running only the rears.
Looks good and works.

Been using since last summer. Happy with result. I do plan to take off both the flares and the liners every year or so to clean and wax underneath to protect against rust. So far the liners have kept the area protected by them very clean.
Of course I did a thorough cleaning and rust protection regime before installation. Just putting the liners on over a rust problem won't help any!

(edit) I got to thinking about the front liners again. Since the front flares do cover the wheel well lip when the door is closed maybe I will try fitting the front liners. The front flares are split between the portion which fits to the door and the small section that is attached to the body, this may present a problem but a little trimming may help. The edge of the wheel well liner will show when the door is open but that might be a small price to pay for added protection and maybe a little less road noise.
I'll play around with it when I have time (trying to finish the house this summer) and report back with pics.
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
All that's needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.
Resist Kleptocratic Oligarchy (and Idiocracy)!

[timichango]

Subscribing. I think I need a little of this magic plastic protection — the salt around here in the winter is brutal, and unfortunately I need to run my van in the winter for at least another season until we can afford to pick up a beater truck for the salt season.
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Vroomhilde-San: Our 1991 Silver Vanagon Westy automatic + Subie EJ25

[Cdub!]

Thanks for the replies. The van's in Southern California so no salt or corrosives; just wanting to be proactive in keeping the inner fenders free of debris and anything that would promote rust.

[timichango]

I'm assuming that those things are probably vacuum-formed — anyone try using a heat-gun to reform them slightly to resolve any fitment issues?
_________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vroomhilde-San: Our 1991 Silver Vanagon Westy automatic + Subie EJ25

[MsTaboo]

[TinyPickle]

reviving this century old thread.

Does anybody know/have experience, how much more rubbing with bigger wheels is present, if any? lets say 215/75 R15 on stock syncro.

Cheers,
_________________
God of rust, have mercy.

WIP - Offroad Spec Syncro - 1.9 TDI AFN - Build Thread
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
IG: syncro_brothers

[chrismsnt]

[TinyPickle]

[MsTaboo]

I've been using the liners sold by BusDepot for years. Mounting them works best if you also use TerraWagen Flares.

By putting the liners in so the edge is outside the wheel well they fit much better than trying to stuff them under the lip. This is where the TerraWagen Flares work to cover that join and look good.
I pulled mine off recently when doing extensive maintenance and the amount of grime under the flares was less than I expected.

The liners do a great job of reducing the amount of dirt/mud that spray around the wheel well. You still need to use something like Fluid Film before mounting to protect from salt corrosion.


Plenty of clearance with 215/65r/16 tires.

Pretty clean under here considering the roads I've been driving. The plastic liners clean easily with a hose.

_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
All that's needed for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.
Resist Kleptocratic Oligarchy (and Idiocracy)!

[redrosie]

I am happy with my front installation, haven't done the rears yet.

I used rubber trim to help seal the gap.

I tucked the liner behind the fender flare.

A heat gun softens the plastic so you can push and stretch the liner for a tighter fit. Go easy with the heat, don't hurry this step. Hold the plastic to the shape you want and let cool. Do this step gradually.
My mud flaps help hold the liners in place. I had to trim then just a little.
I also trimmed the liners slightly they are sloppy from the factory.

Bulb trim.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HR1N87N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Also sprayed a few coats of Flexseal on body side of the liners to help deaden the sound.
This is not shown in the pictures, of course be sure to do this after the heat gun process.