Sorry, drain unblocking?

[nimrod]

normanh you mentioned pvc covered curtain wire, I did the god forbid coat hanger and it just was not flexible enough, It felt as though it was pushing on body work near the drain hole inside the car, it only went down about an inch, does it matter if the curtain wire has the eyes at the end, I think it was designed for net curtains, I you can tell, I still was not brave enough to tackle the side vents.

[AndyM]

Guys don't get leaving your drain cleaning for as long as you have.

I certainly won't be! Couldn't believe how much water was in there.



Tried getting my vents on late on Friday but they weren't having it with the temperature/tools I have, so ordered a trim removal set from the 'bay to try and prise them off without damaging anything. Used some wire from the top in the mean time with limited success.

Nimrod, I think it's worth going for the vents as the best long-term solution to this.

[nimrod]

On the body I am going to put electrical tape then a thin strip of hardboard and electrical on top of that, then use a wood split chisel covered in tape, does the front edge of the vent pull off at 90 degrees and then the back slide towards drivers door? I hope to have a chance this weekend. Do you think my idea will work ok?
Has anyone tried an airline through the top of the drain?

[AndyM]

I watched Mr 'Ding' take mine off at Ding Day. I think it pulls directly away from the car at the front (3 clips on the leading edge), then it unhooks from a rear clip at the back.

I tried mine quickly on Friday with a plastic spatula but couldn't get enough force on it for the clips to pop. The trim removal kit I've bought was only about a fiver and has a number of different hard plastic implements to try with. Ideally I think you want to get 'around' each clip so you can pull it out straight, should avoid shearing them off.

[nimrod]

There's a car workshop where I work, I will see if they have a tool, I do not really want the students to have a go.

[fretlessfender]

I cleared mine this weekend. Used a flat head screwdriver wrapped in electrical tape and some thick corrugated cardboard to protect the paintwork.  The clips stayed in the body and I removed them with a small pair of pliers, put them back in the plastic and popped the plastic back in afterwards. s:grin: :grin: s:grin:

[redarrow]

I cleaned my water tubes out today, i took
The side seatbelt plastics of and found, the top
 Water holes , i got a tube and a small funnel, and
 Some water , i first open the side vents with a flat head
screwdriver with force , first the upper corners then a hard Paul,
Then i removed the rubber and then used a screwdriver
To get all the crap i  could see, then i used the pipe and put water
In it till the water was flowing properly, i was prodding the hole with
A coat hanger on both sides then i took  the clips out then
Put them back on the vent and pressed it all in finished.

I did respray the vents while doing the work also
Reattached my hood strap and also changed the gear
Bearings and touched some paint chips up.

Busy man lol

Regards john/ redarrow

[nimrod]

I,m a happy man now I am all unblocked, even the engine sounds louder on tickover, the motor vehicle workshop said bring my car round, they looked and tugged at the vents, I suggested using an air line, so dropped the roof, put the air line in the top drain, the air line had a small pipe attatchment, used it and it blew all black bits out it was a bit messy, filled the pod with water,drip, drip, so did it again with water in it gurgle, gurgle, woosh all cleared out it was poring out of the sill, even used the air line on the sill which caused it to flow even better, as even that seemed to be filled with crud, also did the same for the other side, I've had the car since 07 and can never remember it flowing so well.
So for me this is the easiest way of clearing my drains, a piece of cake, but only if you are able to get access to an airline with a small pipe adaptor, how ever you clear yours good luck....  s:D s:D

[wallzaveerz]

Would just dropping the roof and blasting down the top of th drains with a pressure wash not have the desired effect?

[shnazzle]

Would just dropping the roof and blasting down the top of th drains with a pressure wash not have the desired effect?

Tis what I did


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[wallzaveerz]

And did it have the desired effect?

[Anonymous]

This one was relatively clean when I did it but the build up on the flap can get much worse, poking stuff down from the top or blasting with water will open the flap but not clear it, leaving it to gum shut again, the best solution is to remove & clean thoroughly.

[nimrod]

I think using a high pressure waterjet would have produced the same result, but I did not have access to one, when I wash my car in future I will pay more attention to the drain holes when I rinse the car, I am still getting used to hearing the motor behind me now.

[StuC]

This one was relatively clean when I did it but the build up on the flap can get much worse, poking stuff down from the top or blasting with water will open the flap but not clear it, leaving it to gum shut again, the best solution is to remove & clean thoroughly.

+1 to taking it out and cleaning it properly or this happens...

[nimrod]

Yuck, mine was coming out black.

[AckersMR2]

+1 to taking it out and cleaning it properly or this happens...

That image still turns my stomach every time I see it  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[StuC]

I know, right?  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[eynonz]

Wow..... well I'm not going to describe what that looks like. O.O

Looks like I know what I'm going to be doing soon.

[AndyM]

Did mine this afternoon. Couldn't believe how much mud came out of the N/S one (although it was nice and dry and didn't look like ^^^   s:? :? s:?  ).

Only downside was when removing the final clip from the O/S vent it pinged back inside and dropped into the sill. I hope it doesn't create a noticeable rattle!   s:x :x s:x

[normanh]

The last time and only time I bought clips from Mr T they were were about £1.20 each and that was about 4 years ago, the curtain wire has worked fine since and I rod the drains twice a year as the car is mostly parked under trees.


norman

[redarrow]

I agree with norm, i will be doing the same with the curton wire
as in london trees every where,
I have to wash the car nearly daily , i have start to use
The non water sprays now as the water fetching to wash
The car from tree debre was getting me down,
Now i just spray and good old wipe and go .

Regards redarrow/ john

[nimrod]

When you mention curtain wire, is it the same wire used for net curtains, they are flexible and have slight stretch to them, mine have eyes at each end I assume one end needs to be removed?

[AndyM]

When cleaning mine on Saturday I found a 200mm cable tie worked very well (the actual drain chamber is only about 150mm long). The clip end of the tie can be used to help pull out debris that you loosen as well.

[normanh]

Net curtain wire is the one, get yourself one thats at least the width of the hood as its a handy gadget for threading the strap back should it become detached in the hood - ear preventer.

norman