Project: K.I.T.T.: Still Hot-Headed And Yet Spoiled With A Front Wheel Well Makeover

On Monday night July 13th, just before my latest parts purchasing binge, I pulled KARR's battery to see just how badly the battery tray was rusted. It's fairly rusted but still solid, so a treatment with POR-15 will save and protect it. I did however order some replacement battery tray related parts which I will highlight in an upcoming post.

On Friday July 17th, KARR overheated on my way home from work and then proceeded to piss all over the floor. 😡

To anyone considering sending me hate mail...this is what's left of the last person to challenge me. 😎

KARR doesn't take kindly to threats either...

To start on the front wheel wells KARR needed to get a lift. This is when I noticed that out of defiance...he was again pissing on the floor.

You can see where the coolant had leaked.

On Saturday, July 18th, we started looking for leaks, and all we could see was that it seemed to be coming from the water pump.

You can see that it is wet around the water pump.

In an effort to gain better access, and because I was pissed, I started ripping out the insulation along the passenger side wall of the engine bay.

I discovered that some of the bolts securing the water pump had backed off and were loose! How exactly does this happen?!

To gain better access I climbed in KARR's trunk. I could get to almost all of the bolts from this position.

With the bolts all tightened up, we added coolant and took KARR for a test drive. He didn't overheat at all, but when we got him home he decided to piss all over the driveway! I have to ask myself, why do I continue to spoil the shit out of him when he acts this way?

I jacked up the rear end and tried to once again figure out just what exactly was wrong. It was leaking from somewhere and after tightening the bolts it shouldn't have been the water pump, unless it was just plain bad. I was not able to see anything other than it looked like it was coming from the water pump, so I texted Troy to see if he could look at it on Monday. He said to drop it off Sunday night.

Not to be deterred, we started once again on the front wheel wells.

Starting with the passenger side...

The passenger side wheel well liner was in great shape with no breaks.

On to the driver side...

The driver side wheel well liner was not in as good of shape as the passenger side and was cracked in three places. These all appeared to be repairable and I started MacGyvering in my head...

We moved KARR outside so we could power wash and Marine Clean the wheel wells and frame.

Sara cleaned the wheel well liners and I tried to assist, and managed to break the tab off the passenger side wheel well liner...yes, the one that wasn't broken. 😬😫😡

I sprayed Metal Prep on both sides.

I found some more insulation to rip out...

Ready for POR-15!

On Sunday, July 19th, we started repairing the wheel well liners.

I used Gorilla Glue Super Glue Gel, which by the way if you have not used this stuff is simply the best! It sets in about 15 seconds and holds amazingly well. My idea here was to create a temporary bond that would hold well enough to allow me to make a more permanent and flexible repair using POR-Patch.

We set the passenger wheel well liner aside to dry.

I followed suit with the driver side wheel well liner repairs. The first was a broken mounting point on the top of the liner.

I held the piece in place and filled the cracks with the super glue from both sides.

The crack on the lower rear portion of the wheel well liner was the worst break, but we repaired it the same way. Setting the crack, and then filling with super glue from both sides.

On the passenger side wheel well liner tab that had broken I reinforced the back side of the tab with POR-Patch.

I did the same thing with the inner side of the driver side wheel well liner mounting hole.

I knew this needed to be strengthened more than just with POR-Patch, so on the back side I added PowerMesh over the area and saturated it with POR-Patch.

I did the same thing for the lower break.

With the liners repaired and curing, we started getting the front wheel wells prepped for POR-15.

Removed the clips and horns.

Ready for POR-15...

First coat...

Sara carefully moved the wheel well liners out into the sun in the hopes the repairs would cure faster.

Applying the second coat...

After 8 hours the wheel well liners had cured and could be undercoated.

There is a fibrous rubber flap attached to each of the wheel well liners. The driver side one was torn and I wanted to replace it but could not find a source. I had committed myself to live with it torn when Sara suggested I try the Gorilla Glue Super Glue Gel. I was highly skeptical that it would hold, but to my surprise it did! I decided to help strengthen this repair I would coat it with a thick coat of the undercoating on both sides.