Rear end cap seperation June 06, 2009, 11:10:05 am Yahoo Message Number: 103014I have an 04 rearbath and the plastic end caps (end cap - correct me if this in not the right lingo for this piece) at the rear corners are starting to separate where it elbows down. In the heat of the day there was a 1/4 inch gap and when it cools down the gap closes. It looks like the end cap is two pieces top and bottom with a retainer in the middle with screws. At the bottom are three screws. I am making an educated guess that they used double sided tape to hold the rest of the cap down. My question has any one taken these caps off and reattached them with success? What tape did you use. How do you get the end caps off where the tape is holding fast? Does the end product look factory or is this best left to the factory?
Re: Rear end cap separation Reply #1 – June 06, 2009, 11:36:47 am Yahoo Message Number: 103015Quote "I have an 04 rearbath and the plastic end caps (end cap - correct me if this in not the right lingo for this piece) at the rear corners are starting to separate where it elbows down. In the heat of the day there was a 1/4 inch gap and when it cools down the gap closes. It looks like the end cap is two pieces top and bottom with a retainer in the middle with screws. At the bottom are three screws. I am making an educated guess that they used double sided tape to hold the rest of the cap down. My question has any one taken these caps off and reattached them with success? What tape did you use. How do you get the end caps off where the tape is holding fast? Does the end product look factory or is this best left to the factory?" Dear iamcrow; you can start with message 82702 and also do searches on this site and the searchable archive referenced on the home page for "end cap" "endcaps" "end cap sealing" and you will find many posts about this problem/issue.Chris
Re: Rear end cap separation Reply #2 – June 06, 2009, 12:43:42 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103018wrote: I have an 04 rearbath and the plastic end caps (end cap - correct me if this in not the right lingo for this piece) at the rear corners are starting to separate where it elbows down. In the heat of the day there was a 1/4 inch gap and when it cools down the gap closes. --- As Chris points out, this topic has generated many past posts, and searching through "Art's Archives" (the link is on the home page of the message board in the site introductory paragrah) will bring up a great deal of information. I'll add my recent end cap sealing experience: The end caps on my 2003 TK had "varying degrees of separation"; two curved sections on one side also would separate with any heat and "close" again when cool. Other sections of the end caps would simply pull away slightly and stay that way. I (prepped, cleaned) re-sealed the end caps three times with the factory-recommended polyurethane sealant and also with "Lexel"; I did not use "Big Stretch". The end caps would re-separate from the body a short time after each re-seal. I wasn't concerned about leakage; Steve insists that there is enough caulk on the seams underneath the end caps to prevent any entry of water into the framing, and, from the amount of caulk that I've seen in just about every other place on an LD, I have no reason to disbelieve this. But, separated end caps are not particularly attractive, so, in April, I finally opted for a factory-done re-seal using the VHB tape used to seal the end caps to the body on current LD models. So far, the VHB tape appears to be working; there has been no re-separation. Having this service done at the factory is not cheap; the tape itself is expensive and tricky to work with -- it's meant to stick, and it does; no "do-overs" -- and the labor to remove the end caps, clean and prep the surfaces, stick everything back together, and re-touch the paint are pricey services. I suggest getting an estimate before committing to the work. I don't have enough information to comment on how feasible it would be to try to do the job oneself; I live only about 400 miles from the factory, so I chose to have the re-seal done there. YMMV.Joan
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Topic: Rear end cap seperation (Read 24 times)
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