Cause for concern?

[Mike SA27]

Hi guys,

Need your opinions here. Recently I've noticed tiny cracks appearing on my rear clam where those screws go in and where the spoiler is fastened. Should this be a cause for concern?! I'll keep an eye on them, will let you know if it gets bigger.

PS. It's not on both sides, it's the rear right screw behind the rear windshield. and the left side of the spoiler.

[pic]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a51/MikeS277/DSC02688.jpg[/pic]

[pic]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a51/MikeS277/DSC02685.jpg[/pic]

[Mr Noble]

Have you ever been mistaken for David Bailey?

Bloody awefull pictures Mike!! But, I have never noticed any cracks on mine. Are you talking on the end plate or on the spoiler itself?

Greg

[DanH]

Mine used to look like it was cracks there, but it always wiped off and I realised it was dirt.

How many miles on the car?

[Mike SA27]

mine are definately cracks, i've got 2500 miles on the car. btw sorry for the bad pix, i had to edit the contrast so you could see the cracks. took the photo really late and doesn't show nicely on the camera

[Mike SA27]

[quote]Have you ever been mistaken for David Bailey?

Bloody awefull pictures Mike!! But, I have never noticed any cracks on mine. Are you talking on the end plate or on the spoiler itself?

Greg[/quote]

it's where the spoiler attaches to the car

[robp]

Mike - if the car is new, take it back to the dealer. You should not have cracks appearing on your rear clam! Waiting won't help -in my experience bodywork tends not to heal intself. Maybe screws have been overtightened in production.

[Siban]

Mike,

Got exactly the same on mine. There havent got any worse since they first appeared so i'm not worrying about.

The only advice I did get was that if I ever get the rear clam resprayed (unlikely), that I should get a large washer fited to the underside of the clam fitting which will reduce the pressure on the area.

Don't think it's anything to worry about....they look like hairline fractures in the paint work.

[obes]

Yep, I've got a bit of that on mine too.

[AMG Merc]

Siban said:

...that I should get a large washer fited to the underside of the clam fitting which will reduce the pressure on the area.

This is advisible - I replaced the stock washers with large flat washers to spread the load - I also fit a large flat rubber washer between the underbody side and the steel washer first so as to reduce crushing to the clamshell on tightening.

Also check the four rubber boots fitted to the base of the uprights on the outside as these seem to have a life of under 2 years (inside a garage - so less outside in the open).

[joust]

They will polish out if you use G3 or similar, or you could just rub down and fill back in with something like this www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8986

I can never be arsed as it's just one of those things when you have GRP cars. Essentially it's the lacquer layer on the paint getting flexed - it's not at all flexible and so cracks. Spreading the load helps as others have said, or, you could just use a decent wax like Swissol / Zymol and it'll fill them in with wax and make them hardly noticable.

If you've got any real concerns about them, I'd speak to the supplying dealer.

J

[johnpest]

Mike

We recieved a letter from Neville Stating that these cracks would be covered under warranty
Giver him a call

My car Yellow has them on both rear fastenings

John

[Mike SA27]

[quote]Mike

We recieved a letter from Neville Stating that these cracks would be covered under warranty
Giver him a call

My car Yellow has them on both rear fastenings

John[/quote]

hey john! you've been very quiet lately! did this letter go out to all the owners or did just you get one? thanks for your reply!

Mike

>> Edited by Mike SA27 on Sunday 9th October 21:19

[jipsom]

I had the same stress marks on my rear clam, but they were quite apparent. I was advised that they were caused by an impact to the spoiler, and they were way too big to polish out. I've recently had the whole car resprayed, though, so let's see if they appear again.
Hope the polish works for you.

[Mike SA27]

i doubt polish will fix the problem here, polish is for scratches and not cracks but we will see how they go about fixing this, will keep you guys posted!

[joust]

G3 is a cutting compound and is used to sand down the paint layers when they originally painted the car.

I'm sure they will get it sorted if it's a problem for you.

J

[Mike SA27]

[quote]G3 is a cutting compound and is used to sand down the paint layers when they originally painted the car.

I'm sure they will get it sorted if it's a problem for you.

J[/quote]

the cracks do bug me a bit, but what i was more worried about was if maybe the stuff gets ripped out while i'm driving. but it sounds like it's no where near that stage so i'm all good, will just give them a call to get it sorted out

[broad]

Mike - Its 'only' cracks in the gelcoat, theres about 4mm of lamination under that. Gelcoat is typically less than a millimetre deep so nothing structurally to worry about.

Cosmetically it is another matter and the only way to cure it is to firstly address the issue of why it is cracking in the first place - i.e. bolt too tight, no load bearing washers, incorrect adjustment of fittings. Then sand the the gelcoat down mechanically in the area affected and a way beyond the crack. Refill with gelcoat, sand, level, prime, paint. Obviously a big pain in the ass ! For my money try and stop it getting worse by addressing the issue(s) causing it and keep the cracks well waxed to prevent water ingress and osmosis (probably wouldn't occur in your period of ownership however)

Seen it on plenty of cars at the recent Silverstone meet, mine had some 'spidery' cracks around one of the fasteners too I think it is very common.

HTH

Graham

>> Edited by broad on Monday 10th October 18:32

[Mike SA27]

thanks graham, at least i know i'm not the only one just wanted to know if it was safe structrally