R1 Spoiler won't come apart
 

So my spoiler is leaking water into the hatch. Today I removed the interior hatch trim and now I can clearly see that the two nuts holding the inside supports of the spoiler are not tight.

I tried to remove the nuts on these studs but the studs rotate within the spoiler. In fact someone else already applied a bunch of silicone caulk in the gap between the nut and hatch trim and clearly it's not sealing anymore.

I'm not sure what to do - are the studs part of the spoiler, such that if I cut this nut/stud off, I won't be able to mount it again? I bought completely new mounting hardware for the spoiler but there aren't any studs like that.

The one on the left I can probably get apart destructively, but I doubt I can do anything with the one on the right. I'm looking for ideas.

Dave

If you get someone to apply pressure to the wing so the thread is being pushed against the boot/hood there will be more resistance against it for you to turn the nut without the thread turning inside + lube on the nut maybe even heat the nuts up, this type of thing has happened to me in the past and thats how i got over the problems.

This is the first advice i have ever given.

Did you try a small impact wrench?

The studs are the only part of the wing that doesn't come off.

I'm not sure if I can fit an impact in there (the trim is loosened but not removed) but I'll try it.

As for wedging against the nut, I've tried that. I may need to get more aggressive with it, but I'm not optimistic that more will solve it yet. There's that caulking on the threads that has about glued it all fast.

would it be a bad idea to cut the nuts off, then drill out the studs and replace them?

Not neccessarily a big impact but maybe something about this size.

>>>> http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...tterfly+impact

Well the impact didn't do anything, even with a lot of pressure against the nut. I cut one off with a dremel and drilled out the other. The studs rotate freely inside the spoiler, so unless I figure a way to install new blind studs the whole thing is trash.

It's now apparent that some 2 bit body shop repainted the rear hatch and spoiler. They dismounted the spoiler but didn't mask off the mounting studs and foam gasketing. So the studs were covered in paint and the gasketing was shriveled up from the paint solvent. The idiot then tried to tighten it and the nuts jammed halfway down the paint-covered studs. Said idiot caulked around the holes from the underside to stop water from coming in. The water was not stopped, and in fact 24/7 the area between the gasket and hatch was wet, causing some of the metal around those holes to rust. It also explains why the spoiler was never very snug to the hatch.

So now I need a new spoiler and maybe need to have the whole hatch and spoiler repainted. It seems like every part of this car I poke around at I find someone else's f-ups.

Dave

that is dang weak. i'd think there's gotta be some way to repair it. but then there's probably some used stock spoilers out there from people who went aftermarket. good luck, hope you find a bar of gold in a seat or something to even things out.

It's a poor design Dave. Those studs are held in place by weak plastic. It doesn't take much to rotate them inside the wing, then they are useless. The only thing I can think of would be to cut the stud out, and try to repair the damage. Then remount with a screw from the bottom to hold it in place.

I'll have to take a closer look at it. For now I'm running with the sleek duct tape spot look.

Maybe I can cut a slot where the stud goes in, sneak a flanged nut in there and JB weld the sucker in there. I'll just have to mess with it some more.

Dave

"So now I need a new spoiler and maybe need to have the whole hatch and spoiler repainted. It seems like every part of this car I poke around at I find someone else's f-ups."


This is why I always stress to do it right, use the manual and fix things the correct way. Too many folks get ahold of these cars and jakeleg the hell of them due to lack of experience and knowledge.

Dave - If you absolutely want to try and salvage that spoiler, then think about drilling out the stud holes to a 5/8" to 3/4" size and insert a "T" bolt with the correct 6MM thread ( I believe that is it ). You could make those T-bolts yourself with a welder. Insert them and either JB weld them in place or fiberglass resin. Personally I'd just toss it and go to the FS section and pick up a good one for @$100.


good luck, later

I sympathize but don't have any input other than to tell you that I will be removing my OEM R1 spoiler soon if you need one. It is a very faded VR but otherwise unmolested.

What's sad is that it's probably a body shop that screwed up and chose to hide the problem rather than fix it.

Dave

Maybe you can fiberglass in new studs?

Same thing happened to me... only on one though... I just got the drill and drilled it off.. got another stud and all good.

This may not work, but...

Try getting (or making) something like an eye-bolt ot "T"-bolt of an appropriate size and length. Then open up the hole in the spoiler so that you can insert the "eye" or "T" end in and epoxy it in place (fill the entire hole to "pot" it in there.

Maybe that will work. If not maybe something similar will.

Dave

I bought an R1 wing with no studs at all, just holes where they used to be. What I did was fill the holes with epoxy, drill them and tap them and thread in some correctly sized exhaust manifold studs in place. I also applied more epoxy into the holes before inserting the studs so they'd stay put. It's been fine for me this way for over a year now.

Dave, that was what I was thinking. But Matt has a really good idea too. It might be easier to epoxy one of those self-tapping threaded inserts in instead.

Thanks for the ideas, I think one of these will work really well.

Dave

I took my wing off for an Origin one last month. I had to cut thru the top of the wing and hold the top retangular nut with some pliers to stop it from rotating.

All of the above made me think of another idea that may work even better:

Get some aluminum-filled epoxy, and after digging the hole big enough, fill the hole with the AL-epoxy. Then, after it sets, drill and tap it for whatever you want.

Dave

I have an idea for a fix. Take a wing nut and a bolt. Screw the wing nut right up the bolt and weld it there to keep it in place. Use a dremel to cut a recess in the spoiler that fits the wings of the wing nuts, then use a 2 part quick setting epoxy to hold the bolt in there. the wing nut willl stop it turning and the epoxy will hold it in - that 2 part epoxy stuff is STRONG, i used it to fix my headlight mounting points...something like this:

http://www.redboxhardware.com.au/ind...cid=92&gid=492

go to your local hardware store, they will have something like that - comes in a 2 part syringe and basically says on the pack "dries in seconds and NEVER comes off!"

Be careful though, it really does set fast, and once its set it aint comin off.

I had to pull up on mine while turning it but even then it became a problem and had to cut the bolts. GL 2 U