How To Guide MOD ..How to Stop the Dirt Getting into Your Sills (Maybe)

Nodzed

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I've been doing some long overdue maintenance on the Titan over the past week in as much I have had the sills and wings off a job I have been putting off for the past two years, firstly to check out the condition and secondly to give everything underneath a darn good clean and several coats of Waxoyl. (other brands of anti-rust products are available ;)) And luckily, no rust on the inner sills and just some surface rust on the inside of the outer, these were replaced with new ones as I had them ready, the old ones will get re-sprayed and go on another members Zed.
The Waxoyl was put on by brush (3 coats drying in between) then a liberal spaying of rattle can Waxoyl.
The arches front & back were also done.
Here's a few pics
20180204_113816.jpg
20180204_113846.jpg
20180204_113858.jpg



OK this isn't a thread about that and I'm not going into any detail about sill removal as there are very informative and helpful threads already posted that can be better utilised. This is about what happened after.

So I'd spent money and time getting this job done, and I would (as I'm sure all other owners who have treated their sills would too) strongly advise all that haven't to get the sills off and treat the underside, it's not a difficult job it just takes a bit of time. It's pretty scary how much muck gets in and sits there rotting your sills from the inside out ..... UNSEEN. So I was saying I had spent time and money doing this but then got to thinking, it's going to happen again, OK I have treated everything but surely there is a way to improve this poor design that BMW has left us all with.

So I thought I'd make some covers that stop the crud getting into the sill via the poor fit of the wheel arch liners, as are two of them on my Zed.
20180210_113414.jpg




And here's what I came up with.

I used;
1 plastic seed tray (strong but flexible plastic)
16 self tappers with washers (same as found on the Z3)
A dremel (but a junior hacksaw will do)
Sandpaper
A marker pen
Auto black silicon sealant
All the parts (excluding the dremel) came to under £20

Here's the seed tray, cost £4.75

20180210_105341.jpg


First job (once the car is up off the ground and the wheels are off is to cut the flat base out of the tray.
20180210_112714.jpg


As you can see the plastic is flexible, not solid and brittle I am assuming brittle plastic wouldn't last long against stone damage.

20180210_113000.jpg



Once I had my sheet I cut a square piece, bigger that I needed for the first panel. I put it in place and then drew the outline of the sill on it and marked any other cuts I needed, then set to work with the Dremel (btw if you do this and use a Dremel beware the hot molten plastic bits flying off the cutting wheel, they burn :arghh::arghh:

So I ended up with this.
20180210_115140.jpg


I then spent a few minutes fettling it with sandpaper to get the best fit I could

20180210_115215.jpg



Now the beauty of spending extra time on the first one is, the opposite side is identical, just reversed so once you are happy just trace around the first on the plastic sheet before you fit it to create the second.


20180210_115323.jpg



Clean up the edges with sandpaper and fit.

First job here is to place on the car and drill the holes for the self tappers before putting any sealant on.

I decided to use some sealant on the edges of the cover not touching the sills and to put extra waxoyl on the leading edge of the sill and the cover where it touches the sill.

20180210_120354.jpg

20180210_115502.jpg



Next job, screw it on, and I added a little more sealant to the covers edges, again only where plastic touches plastic.

20180210_124900.jpg



For the rears its the same process just a different shape.

20180210_143347.jpg


I have absolutely no idea if this will work, but this is how I view it.

The muck gets in there anyway and cant get out, anything that helps to stop this must be an improvement in my book, plus these covers will also protect the leading edges of the sills from stone chips and grit blasting from the wheels, again helping to keep the rust at bay, also its totally reversible if you need / want to remove it.
I haven't blocked any waterways so water that does get in can still drain out.

And though its not the prettiest solution, once the wheels are back on, and all the new shiny plastic has got as scarred and dirty as the rest of the liner you cant really see it.

20180210_144801.jpg


Hope this is of some use and I have explained the process successfully.
 
Last edited:

Jack Ratt

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Great idea Niall :beer
 

Sean d

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Spot on mate, most modern cars are now designed that very way:thumbsup:
 

t-tony

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I've been doing some long overdue maintenance on the Titan over the past week in as much I have had the sills and wings off a job I have been putting off for the past two years, firstly to check out the condition and secondly to give everything underneath a darn good clean and several coats of Waxoyl. (other brands of anti-rust products are available ;)) And luckily, no rust on the inner sills and just some surface rust on the inside of the outer, these were replaced with new ones as I had them ready, the old ones will get re-sprayed and go on another members Zed.
The Waxoyl was put on by brush (3 coats drying in between) then a liberal spaying of rattle can Waxoyl.
The arches front & back were also done.
Here's a few pics
View attachment 73642 View attachment 73643 View attachment 73644


OK this isn't a thread about that and I'm not going into any detail about sill removal as there are very informative and helpful threads already posted that can be better utilised. This is about what happened after.

So I'd spend money and time getting this job done, and I would (as I'm sure all other owners who have treated their sills would too) strongly advise all that haven't to get the sills off and treat the underside, its not a difficult job it just takes a bit of time. Its pretty scary how much muck gets in and sits there rotting your sills from the inside out ..... UNSEEN. So I was saying I had spent time and money doing this but then got to thinking, its going to happen again, OK I have treated everything but surly there is a way to improve this poor design that BMW has left us all with.

So I thought I'd make some covers that stop the crud getting into the sill via the poor fit of the wheel arch liners, as are two of them on my Zed.
View attachment 73665



And here's what I came up with.

I used;
1 plastic seed tray (strong but flexible plastic)
16 self tappers with washers (same as found on the Z3)
A dremel (but a junior hacksaw will do)
Sandpaper
A marker pen
Auto black silicon sealant
All the parts (excluding the dremel) came to under £20

Here's the seed tray, cost £4.75

View attachment 73647

First job (once the car is up off the ground and the wheels are off is to cut the flat base out of the tray.
View attachment 73648

As you can see the plastic is flexible, not solid and brittle I am assuming brittle plastic wouldn't last long against stone damage.

View attachment 73649


Once I had my sheet I cut a square piece, bigger that I needed for the first panel. I put it in place and then drew the outline of the sill on it and marked any other cuts I needed, then set to work with the Dremel (btw if you do this and use a Dremel beware the hot molten plastic bits flying off the cutting wheel, they burn :arghh::arghh:

So I ended up with this.
View attachment 73650

I then spent a few minutes fettling it with sandpaper to get the best fit I could

View attachment 73651


Now the beauty of spending extra time on the first one is, the opposite side is identical, just reversed so once you are happy just trace around the first on the plastic sheet before you fit it to create the second.


View attachment 73652


Clean up the edges with sandpaper and fit.

First job here is to place on the car and drill the holes for the self tappers before putting any sealant on.

I decided to use some sealant on the edges of the cover not touching the sills and to put extra waxoyl on the leading edge of the sill and the cover where it touches the sill.

View attachment 73653
View attachment 73654


Next job, screw it on, and I added a little more sealant to the covers edges, again only where plastic touches plastic.

View attachment 73655


For the rears its the same process just a different shape.

View attachment 73656

I have absolutely no idea if this will work, but this is how I view it.

The muck gets in there anyway and cant get out, anything that helps to stop this must be an improvement in my book, plus these covers will also protect the leading edges of the sills from stone chips and grit blasting from the wheels, again helping to keep the rust at bay, also its totally reversible if you need / want to remove it.
I haven't blocked any waterways so water that does get in can still drain out.

And though its not the prettiest solution, once the wheels are back on, and all the new shiny plastic has got as scarred and dirty as the rest of the liner you cant really see it.

View attachment 73657

Hope this is of some use and I have explained the process successfully.
Good thinking Niall.

Tony.
 

andyglym

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I like that. You could flog that as at mod?
 

Nodzed

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t-tony

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People will buy items if it saves making them Niall and of course if the price is right. If someone can buy a set of these and set about fitting them straight away rather than having to make them first, I think you're on to a winner mate.

Tony.
 

Bozzy

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That's a great idea Niall, I like it :thumbsup:.
Front mud flaps help at that end, if you don't mind the look of them but for rear of the sills I couldn't think of a way to prevent stone chips etc, so this looks a great idea.
 

Mint

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This looks a great idea Niall, food for thought:thumbsup:
 

t-tony

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They trap it in a different place but also prevent stone damage. They would be better described as stone guards to be honest.

Tony.
 

roadvoyager1

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I removed my original BMW mudflaps last year. Underneath was a mess. The clip which held the flaps in place damage the paint on the sill and wing edge causing it to rot away. No sign of this until the mudflap is off. The sill for about 6" was full of sandy material.
I made some flaps very similar to @Nodzed using the same logic. Mine are about 2mm wider than the sill and flush at the wing. Ialso sprayed so Finitrol ML (like Waxoyl) into the face where the plastic touches the painted metal as this seems a weak point. I have templates on an A4 sheet if anybody is interested.
I am still to sort out the rears but am looking to extend them beyond the "notch" in the wing.
Good work @Nodzed. As they say great minds think alike (fools seldom differ)..... lets hope they work!!!
 

BillyB

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Like that ramp Niall , I was researching one off these recently maybe on the shopping list .
 

Nodzed

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Like that ramp Niall , I was researching one off these recently maybe on the shopping list .
Its absolutely brilliant TBH :thumbsup:
 

Nodzed

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Nodzed

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petecossie

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Looks like I'll be taking my sills off later in the year as the front and rear trailing edges are just starting to have a bit of rust forming. One thing I was thinking of doing after refurbing/replacing the sills was to seal off the gaps with a few layers of Denso tape. For those who haven't heard of it, its used in industry to protect carbon steel fittings in exposed/extreme condition locations. Back in the 70s we used it at ICI out on the chemical plants and more recently offshore on oil installations/platforms. It really does stick like s**t to the proverbial blanket.!!!
I have some rolls in the garage from way back which I'll be using, but I've just checked online and its still available see link below, there will be other locations to source it if you do a search to get the width you want. Its available in 50mm, 75mm,100mm & 150mm wide rolls x 10mts long, so one roll will go a long way. The advantage is it sticks really well to surfaces without any mechanical fixings just press it in places and remove any air bubbles towards the edge and it self seals. I suppose if you wanted you could apply a coat of underseal to blend the colour in with wing liners etc. Wear some disposable gloves to apply and don't get it on your clothes!!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Trade-...TF8&qid=1518430239&sr=8-7&keywords=denso+tape

This is Denso UK site for background information.
http://denso-tape.co.uk/
 

Jjim

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Nice write up and information :thumbsup:

I’m currently in the process of replacing the outer sills on my Blue 2.8 as the are badly rusted at the ends. Also a bit concerned about the condition of the inner sills as the jacking points are not looking good at all.

Once everything is hopefully sorted and put back together I’ll definitely be looking to seal the ends up, so your info is going to be very useful. Don’t suppose you kept any templates?
 
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