Dumb Newb Question: Heat Gun (1 Viewer)

[willc]

I have a slight rub in my wheel well pictured. I bought the heat gun, fired it up, then got cold feet.

I thought man idk wtf I’m doing I’m going to accidentally warp my tire or there’s going to be something behind this that I fry or catch on fire haha!

So my new question… maybe more of confirmation, I can heat and massage this piece to not rub without ruining anything, correct?

Thank you and I know I know that my windshield wiper fluid is stored back behind there or my flux capacitor is behind there already. TIA!

 

[ericm979]

I can't answer about what's behind that as I did my heat gun work on a GX460. Don't aim it at the tire, aim it at the part of the liner you want to form. With my Harbor Fright gun on high it took a while to get it soft enough to form. I used the rounded end of a broom stick levered against the tire, and my hand with a thick leather glove, to push on the liner. You have to hold it in place for a while until it cools otherwise it may come back to the original shape.

It shouldn't be too hard to get under there to see what's behind the liner. But unless you're aiming the heat gun right at it and holding it there, it'll probably be fine. The liner is thin and softens at a fairly low temp so you're unlikely damage anything if you're being reasonably careful.

 

[GTV]

I'd highly recommend removing the lower fasteners that hold the liner in place, you'll be shocked at how much dirt and crud is trapped in behind there. I then heated mine up and placed a small block of wood on the back side for support and pressed the plastic flat against it until it cooled to the new shape. There isn't anything critical hiding back there.

 

[willc]

Got it done and it solved my rubbing issue! Thank y’all!