| C6owners :: Forums :: C6 Support :: The Garage |
<< Previous thread | Next thread >>
|
Scuttle Panel (fresh air intake) Drainage |
    Please Register to enjoy additional Member Benefits |
| Author | Post | ||
robingc33
 
|
|
||
   Member No: #2303
Location: NW Essex |
I don't know how many of you will have had cause to check out how the scuttle drainage system works but, having by chance had my attention drawn to it today, I'd suggest it's a potential area for concern and deserves some attention at regular intervals. I was removing the wheels, basically just as a routine check that all looked OK in the wheelarchs, no leaks, etc. when I noticed that the rear half of the front wheelarch liner was soaking wet (and growing green moss in places!). Since I rarely take the car out in the rain, and hadn't recently, this seemed very odd! I removed the rear half of the liner (retained by one Torx screw at the bottom [rusted onto it's retainer clip], two nuts and two plastic expanding plug-type clips) and as soon as I started trying to manouver the liner out of the wheelarch a great mass of old leaves and vegetation fell out from behind it - probably 2-3 litres in volume! I found a strange shaped black rubber block/flap in the upper area of the wheelarch, partially closing a large-ish drain hole for the scuttle panel at that side of the windscreen. When I felt up into the scuttle box it was pretty choked with a mass of more leaves, etc. and I cleared out as much as I could reach. The wierd thing about all this is that the wheelarch liner is made of a compressed felt-like material which absorbs water - and the strange rubber flap/block below the scuttle drain hole into the upper wheelarch seemed to be like a sponge (i.e. you can squeeze water out of it!). Also - the liners have insulation strips (sound proofing?) stuck to them which also absorb water. So potentially most of the area behind the rear part of the wheelarch liner can be stuffed full of soaking wet material - and presumably remain so for some extended period of time  I checked both sides of the car and on mine the nearside was really badly blocked, the offside less so, but not good. Thankfully, even on my 2006 car there was no sign of rust in the parts I could see, so I removed the liners and hosed them clean - and hosed through the two scuttle vents from above, which flushed out more leaves, etc. This seems a desperate design - I know drain "pipes" can block, but to let it all drain down the gap between wheelarch and liner seems a bit doomed to start corrosion in the longer run. I asked my regular Citroen garage about this and they said that's how it is - and they flush the scuttle systems when appropriate. But when I first saw it all, I assumed I was missing some ducting - couldn't believe this was "it"! To reduce moisture retention maybe I could spray the liners with a water-repellent (Scotchguard or similar?) or fix a plastic lining sheet over the rear surface of the liner? I'd be interested to know what others have experienced? Robin |
||
|
|
|||
|
Hattershaun
|
|
||
  Member No: #320
Location: Bedfordshire, UK |
A good bit of detective work there Robin. I'll have to go and look at my car. Nice to see you at the Citroen rally on Sunday too. |
||
|
|
|
||
|
e3steve
|
|
||
 Member No: #1163
Location: Warsash, Hants & Palma de Mallorca, Spain |
This area is a 'classic' for encouraging water into the footwells of many cars, and well worth a check, so thanks for the heads-up! Example: Renault Scenic, mid-noughties era; there's an ECU under a plastic cover in the left-hand footwell. I mean, under the carpet. On the floor. At the lowest point! Electrolysis ensues, causing all manner of issues. Well thought out, Renault... |
||
|
|
|
||
|
C6Dave
|
|
||
  Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
e3steve wrote ... This area is a 'classic' for encouraging water into the footwells of many cars, and well worth a check, so thanks for the heads-up! Very common problem on the Citroen C4 range, especially Picasso's as the water builds up and then comes back into the cabin soaking the carpets..... |
||
|
|
|
||
Tjensen
|
|
||
 Member No: #954
Location: Bergen |
No problems with mine. But : A Swedish analysis of the C6 pointed it out as extremely prone to rust due to the material and construction in this area. I just had another rutproofing of my C6 with the lanolin "Fluid Film" treatment that included this area, they took off the covers in the wheelarcs, cleaned and treated with their sheep-smelling non-drying lanolin stuff. |
||
|
|
|
||
321dave
|
|
||
|
Member No: #614
Location: Dublin |
Tjensen wrote ... No problems with mine. But : A Swedish analysis of the C6 pointed it out as extremely prone to rust due to the material and construction in this area. I just had another rutproofing of my C6 with the lanolin "Fluid Film" treatment that included this area, they took off the covers in the wheelarcs, cleaned and treated with their sheep-smelling non-drying lanolin stuff. Unfortunately, the C6 has some sensors for the airbags very low near the floor next to the seat belt anchoring points. |
||
|
|
|
||
gmerry
|
|
||
 Member No: #21
Location: Scotland |
Easiest way to keep on top of this is to occasionally open the bonnet, and pick out any leaf debris that has collected in the corners, on top of the plastic grills, before it has the chance to drop into the scuttle drains. Of course if one parks under a tree, do it often. There is another area around the boot aperture, which needs to be flushed through to ensure no leaf litter is causing a problem. regards |
||
|
|
|
||
 User Colour Key:Head Administrator, Administrator, C6 owner, Technical Expert, C6 Premier Discount Club |
|
Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Site Disclaimer | Contact Details | Warranty | Sitemap | C6 Insurance | Quick Facts | Re Call Info | Downloads | Error Codes
| Site and Graphics created by: C6Dave Forum Icons by Axialis Emotes by Seb |  |
