What's with the Swiss-cheese chassis-rails? Why are there so many unplugged holes? (1 Viewer)

[cnd]

I've just spent a day flushing about about 1 bucketful of mud out of my new (to me) LC200 which once lived on a farm. I assumed that some part of my car must be missing, since an abundance of holes in the wheel arches make no sense.

I've just taken a stroll around a holiday park, looking at several dozen different LC200's - pretty much all of them as the same - piles of holes almost deliberately placed to slurp in debris while driving?

Anyone know why those are all there, and none are ever plugged up? I notice, when sticking the hose in there (and watching the water come out), that there's loads more holes on the other side and below as well - most being clogged with stones or plant matter.

I assume there must be a reason, and that they're probably not plugged up for some important purpose? It's just too crazy for there not to *be* a reason, right?

I'm about to do a load of coastal and sand/beach driving... should I plug these up to help prevent the salt/sand slurry from ingres???

Has anyone suffered problems (many years later) from having salt/sand accumulate in there over time?

Rust killed my 100-series, so I'm kinda extra-sensitive to "doing something" to try and better protect my 200 now! Any other rust-beating suggestions?

 

[stonepa]

Fluid film or Wool Wax or other lanolin and oil based product in every frame hole, then covering every square inch of the frame, chassis, inside of every body panel. It won’t rust.

The holes are there for the manufacturing process, indexing points, accessories or options, etc. if they were sealed, water would collect and quickly destroy the frame. Unsealed they allow ventilation.

 

[cnd]

Fluid film or Wool Wax or other lanolin and oil based product in every frame hole, then covering every square inch of the frame, chassis, inside of every body panel. It won’t rust.

The holes are there for the manufacturing process, indexing points, accessories or options, etc. if they were sealed, water would collect and quickly destroy the frame. Unsealed they allow ventilation.

manufacturing! Now it makes some sense. I was wondering about the lanoline idea: I might drown it all in that, and 3D print some vent-caps for all the holes, so they're not blocked, but random road debris can no longer just fly on in either.

Talking of 3D printing - if anyone wants a gadget that plugs on the end of your hose for flushing out all the crap in your rails, this works great:

Fusion

Share 2D and 3D design files and project files with anyone.

a360.co

(prints in 2 halves - glue them together, and borrow an O-Ring from some other garden plug)

 

[stonepa]

I would not plug the holes. Your caps will not be water tight, will trap humidity and salt, and will accelerate rusting. Use the oil treatment and go have fun.

 

[gasman4u]

manufacturing! Now it makes some sense. I was wondering about the lanoline idea: I might drown it all in that, and 3D print some vent-caps for all the holes, so they're not blocked, but random road debris can no longer just fly on in either.

Talking of 3D printing - if anyone wants a gadget that plugs on the end of your hose for flushing out all the crap in your rails, this works great:

Fusion

Share 2D and 3D design files and project files with anyone.

a360.co

(prints in 2 halves - glue them together, and borrow an O-Ring from some other garden plug)

Thanks for the 3D printing plans! I'm always a fan of being able to make whatever widget on my own!

I too wouldn't plug the holes. No matter how good you think you've done, odds are debris/moisture/salt/etc will still get in there and without ability to evaporate, it will make the issue MUCH worse.