JCsTruck
Well-known member
- First Name
- John
- Joined
- May 26, 2024
- Threads
- 17
- Messages
- 881
- Reaction score
- 883
- Location
- Worcester MA
- Vehicles
- 2025 Reg Cab 2WD Work Truck XL with 2.7 + 2024 Supercab XL 4x4 with 5.0 V8
- Occupation
- Project Manager, formerly Construction Superintendent, formerly ASE A1-A8 Tech.
- Thread starter
- #1
I’m not sure how many of you have the poor fitting aero tabs located on the rear wheel wells, but this has been bothering me since I got the truck a few months ago. It has been just too cold, or I have been too busy. Today the high temperature was over 50-degrees so I opened my garage door and went to work. These are obviouly plastic, although I’m not sure which type but I know I can shape plastic with a heat gun so that was my plan. I have a car wash subscription and every time I bring the truck to the car wash a piece of the blue cloth from the spinning brush would get wedged in the space between the plastic aero tab and the body panel and break off leaving a blue cloth piece wedged in that crevice.
Here is what they looked like before.
There are three 7mm hex screw that you need a 7mm socket to remove them with and then there is one body clip that I used a pair of pliers to squeeze the tabs to pop it out of the body panel carefully.
I removed the aero tabs and put them in my bench vice so I could use my heat gun very carefully while putting pressure on them in the direction I wanted them to go. While doing so the plastic will stop resisting once it reaches the yield temperature (made that up ?) at which point you want to back off on the heat gun so you don't melt the plastic. I did this in a couple of directions until I got it to the shape that I wanted. You then just hold that shape and blow cold air and the plastic takes a set and doesn't have anymore memory after that.
Before
After
I took the opportunity to clean the areas and add some CRC SP-400 Corrosion Inhibitor and silicone grease to the retainers, screws, and holes in the body to help prevent corrosion from taking hold on the metal. I like the CRC SP-400 because it dries to a wax like consistency and doesn‘t attack dirt like oil, grease, or Fluid film does.
Here is what they looked like after the fix. No more car wash cloth getting stuck in that ugly gap. ?
Then I took the opportunity to wash the outside and inside of both my new 2024 and my trusty old 2014 RCLB with 222,000 miles on it.
Here is what they looked like before.
There are three 7mm hex screw that you need a 7mm socket to remove them with and then there is one body clip that I used a pair of pliers to squeeze the tabs to pop it out of the body panel carefully.
I removed the aero tabs and put them in my bench vice so I could use my heat gun very carefully while putting pressure on them in the direction I wanted them to go. While doing so the plastic will stop resisting once it reaches the yield temperature (made that up ?) at which point you want to back off on the heat gun so you don't melt the plastic. I did this in a couple of directions until I got it to the shape that I wanted. You then just hold that shape and blow cold air and the plastic takes a set and doesn't have anymore memory after that.
Before
After
I took the opportunity to clean the areas and add some CRC SP-400 Corrosion Inhibitor and silicone grease to the retainers, screws, and holes in the body to help prevent corrosion from taking hold on the metal. I like the CRC SP-400 because it dries to a wax like consistency and doesn‘t attack dirt like oil, grease, or Fluid film does.
Here is what they looked like after the fix. No more car wash cloth getting stuck in that ugly gap. ?
Then I took the opportunity to wash the outside and inside of both my new 2024 and my trusty old 2014 RCLB with 222,000 miles on it.
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