Cleaning rear - beware of weatherstripping vent collection.

[ohmman]

Let's say you stop at a store and pick up a 6 pack of Dos Equis Amber.. for instance. And maybe you didn't bring a bag into the store and the clerk asks if you need one and you say, "of course not, it comes with a handle," and smugly go on your way thinking how clever your response is. Then, because someone is in the front seat of the car, you reach behind you and sit the 6er on the floor while you drive.

It's possible that you might turn a corner and the 6-pack of beer might tip over, especially since it's not in a bag. One of those bottles may roll and smash against another one, exploding and spilling beer all over your floor mat, floor, seat mechanism, and falcon wing door. Theoretically. If that happens, you may want to pay attention to the weatherstripping in the falcon wing door, because this little hole can capture about a quarter bottle of beer. A good way to clean it, if I were to guess, would be to use your thumbs to squeeze out the offending liquid by sliding from each side. But you'll want to be careful because it'll flow out like a geyser. I would imagine. Then, you can flush it with fresh water repeatedly to ensure there is no leftover fermented liquid.

Just a thought experiment. Oh, my vehicle is all wet in the photo for unrelated reasons.

 

[ohmman]

Follow-up - I used the Oxiclean trick and the car only smells mildly of a fraternity basement now. I made up a bucket of Oxiclean/water mix and another bucket of plain water. I took a cup and poured the Oxi mixture onto the area and shop-vac'ed it up. Then followed with plain water, back and forth repeating. It was a decent way to do it but not the way I'd planned to spend nearly two hours yesterday.

 

[dmurphy]

Follow-up - I used the Oxiclean trick and the car only smells mildly of a fraternity basement now. I made up a bucket of Oxiclean/water mix and another bucket of plain water. I took a cup and poured the Oxi mixture onto the area and shop-vac'ed it up. Then followed with plain water, back and forth repeating. It was a decent way to do it but not the way I'd planned to spend nearly two hours yesterday.

Yikes! What a colossal mess - if that happened, in theory. Glad to hear the oxiclean supposedly works!

Could be worse - my brother was once pulled over by a state trooper for speeding, and whilst the officer was talking to him, the growler of home-brewed beer on the rear floor decided to blow its cork, soaking himself and splashing said trooper. Thankfully, said trooper reached for his gun but didn't draw it at the initial "pop". Even more thankfully, he also was a home brewer and so was familiar with said issue. Told my brother to go play the lottery that day.

Now, back to the issue at hand ... I'm going to ask a tough question. The seam in your rocker panel -- have you done anything with it? Mine (both sides) has cracked the paint. I know it's a flexible compound, so not really concerned from a structure POV, but hate the way the cracked paint looks. Yours is significantly better.

Have you done anything to it, or is that "au naturel?"

 

[Solarman004]

This story, I believe, is the next "Most Interesting Man in the World" commercial.

 

[ohmman]

Now, back to the issue at hand ... I'm going to ask a tough question. The seam in your rocker panel -- have you done anything with it?

I have not touched it. That's as it came and as it has aged. Interesting we have different experiences, maybe climate/garage/etc?

 

[mbp11]

I just checked my FWD and I have the same rubber gasket with the holes.. there are also some to the right and the left of the center hole. Now I am starting to freak out, I am going to put a bunch of boxes in the back trunks to hold beer and other spillable items. This could happen to me!