Clearing Debris

[nikki]

Hi,

My car is now stored outside. It is regularly covered in pollen and leaves. Are there areas I should routinely check to prevent future issues with convertable top drainage or other problems. My local dealer mentioned a service they provide to prevent problems, but if possible I'd prefer to handle myself.

N.

[jim_hoyland]

I found the cowling where the windshield meets the front hood lets a lot of debris in. Soon as it clogs the drain holes, you could end up with water inside.

I had the car on a lift and blew compressed air up from the bottom. More junk came out than I thought was possible.

I check that area regularly now and pick bits of leaves out regularly. There are copper-screen socks that might work. The 914 fuel tank uses one and might be a solution

[Overdrive]

I store my car outside as well, and I highly recommend cleaning and covering the car whenever possible, because the area under the front trunk lid is more accessible than one would think. The gap where the lid meets the lower windshield edge is huge, which is great for getting water to drain off the hood, but I once found a piece of a pizza crust that some critter must have dragged in there with it one day, sitting right on the plastic cover to the right (car's right) of the battery. I can't tell you how long it had been there...I may have even driven around with it there.

Clean her up, keep her covered whenever you can, and you'll get a lot less junk near the drain holes.

[nieuwhzn]

Use a quality car cover. A fitted Noah one is nice, but can cost you $200 or more and will start falling apart after 3 years of continuous use. After mine rotted away I opted for a non-fitted one for $30 at Costco, still Noah as far as I can figure out.
The cover also keeps the bird **************** off your top, pretty nasty to clean off.
Keep your car nicely waxed with some hard wax. This keeps rubbing damage from the cover to a minimum. Also makes sure that your car is reasonable clean before putting the cover on. Especially sand and other gritty stuff will embed itself in the soft inside of your cover and will turn it into sandpaper.
Anyone has some good advice on cleaning car covers?

[Overdrive]

I think a laundromat with a giant machine used to clean comforters (usually a 4-load or larger machine) will do the trick along with some mild soap...