Write Up: How to Remove your Rain Gutter - Honda Prelude Forum

natcc99 · 11-04-2003, 01:47 PM

Once again, I'm working on fixing the water leak. I thought the leak was under the rain gutter, but I was wrong. DOH!

However, I took some pictures during my process and I thought I would post it up in case anyone was interested.

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HOW TO REMOVE THE RAIN GUTTER or ROOF MOLDING
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**STEP ONE**

Use some tape to cover the working area to prevent paint damage. I suggest using BLUE Painter's Tape since it leaves no residue. (I couldn't find mine at the time.)

With a small flat head, CAREFULLY dig under the rubber molding and pop it upwards as shown in the picture.

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**STEP TWO**

Grab hold of the rubber molding and pull it back away from the windshield. When you cannot pull any further, pull it upwards and the bracket should come loose of the pin.

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**STEP THREE**
Do the same for the rear of the car.

Grab the rubber molding and pull it away from the glass (or towards the center of the car.)
Then pull upwards to unlock it from the pin.

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And you're done!!! Easy huh?
I'm not sure useful this write up is, but at least now you can clean that molding really well since it's off the car.

B0b · 11-04-2003, 02:16 PM

natcc is king

-=][ShAdoW][=- · 11-04-2003, 02:39 PM

hahaha, do you just love taking apart the lude? I've seen so many write ups of how to take the lude apart from you. VERY helpful =D keep up the good work

natcc99 · 11-04-2003, 02:48 PM

haha....I DO take apart my prelude a lot don't I??

Actually, it's because I bought my car used and its been in an accident. There are some minor problems here and there that I'm trying to fix. I'm about 90% done with my repairs.
It's a good fun project car....with a H22a, what more can I ask for?

When I'm finished with my repairs, I will start with the ...oh ever so fun...modifications!! (now you know why my car still looks stock)

***
I just hope the write up is helpful to people.

From my experience, it's really clean under the rain gutter. Little dirt and junk, but if you're picky, you could take it out and give it a good cleaning.

MugenPoweredLude · 11-04-2003, 04:11 PM

good writeup

FAQ this biatch

pretty soon we'll have our own PO Helms Manual in the FAQ section

Ludecy · 11-04-2003, 08:02 PM

natcc99- where is your leak coming from? I have a leak on my passenger side coming from the pilar along the windshield, I think. It drips onto the carpet from behind the plastic shield on the passenger floor. I still havn't been able to locate the leak and I have took pretty much every interior part out on that side of the car. Also removed the fender and I can't find where it's coming from. Sun roof drain is clean, I think it might be the windshield. It's next on the list of replacment.

sandiegan · 11-04-2003, 08:20 PM

diy car dismemberment king award goes to natc99

natcc99 · 11-04-2003, 09:31 PM

"dismemberment king" HAHAHA!!!

Ludecy
My leak is coming from the back, not the front.

Here is how I located my leak.

I took out my headliner so the bare metal was showing.
Then I sprayed down my car with water using a gental shower NOT a high pressure jet style. (to simulate rain).
After that, I got into the car and looked for water drops.

For mine, I noticed it was along the edges of the back window.
I used ATV Silicon to cover up the crack where the window and body meet up inside the car. (I'll take a picture if you want.)

That worked well for awhile, but I think there is still a leak from the outside. That is why I was checking the gutter to see if there was a flaw in the welds for the roof and side pillars.
But after inspecting the gutter, it looks clean.
So I just applied more ATV Silicon on the outside of the car...between the cracks of the window and body.
Hopefully that will solve it.

Good luck with your leaking problem.

RPerro · 11-05-2003, 01:26 PM

I keep finding my trunk full of water. Like, a LOT of water! Down in the spare tire well. Can't figure out where the hell this water is coming from! Anyone have any ideas?

natcc99 · 11-06-2003, 11:17 AM

RPerro

Water leaks are hard to fix because it can be entering from anywhere and travel a long distance from the trouble spot.

Check you weather stripping along the opening of the trunk. That would be the first thing I would check considering all the water from you roof and rear window will run into the trunk's crack.

You could pull up on the weather stripping about half an inch all the way around, and then close your trunk.
This is will help you get temperary improved seal.

Another thing to check are your sunroof gutter tubes.
The sunroof has four tubes that run along each A and C pillar. They maybe a leak in one of the tubes, thus, causing your trunk to flood.

Good luck

Enhanced · 11-06-2003, 12:02 PM

Nice write up. I don't know if it is useful other than cleaning it but good none the less.

natcc99 · 11-06-2003, 12:50 PM

yeah, it's not really useful
but now this thread has become the "how do you fix a water leak"

HAHA

lildawgryan · 11-07-2003, 09:02 AM

all my weather stips like the ones in the picture have white spots all over them from sun damage prolly???got the car used like that....looks like mold sortof..anybody know a good product to use on these to get them back to black?

lildawgryan · 11-07-2003, 07:21 PM

ok...since nobody wanted to reply i went ahead and took off my weather strips without using a screw driver they pretty much came right off beside the metal clips at each end....well i soaked them in water for a while then scrubed them down to get off all the gunk and there was a nasty amount of it....7 years old i got off enough solid gunk to fill up a shotglass....well im in the process for testing three different products to bring back the natural shine of the rubber moldings. i am using turtle wax, meguiars, and stp sun of a gun

1st place meguiars dash and rubber spray
2nd place stp sun of a gun dash and rubber protectant spray
3rd turtle wax 2001 sun protectant rubber and dash spray

only problem is you can still see the white mold spots but not as worse as before....im still applying coats

natcc99 · 11-07-2003, 07:50 PM

hey there
cool, thanks for the heads up on your cleaning project

have you tried BlackMagic.
i use it on my dash and i'm very please with it.
however, i'm not sure if it will take out those white mold spots that you have.

if nothing you find works out, i guess you can cover them up
i suggest using black trim tape. it's sort of flexable, but very strong and has a black finish similar to electrical tape.
you could try to tape over the gutters to cover up the flaws.
just a suggestion

good luck!

azjs · 11-09-2003, 09:23 AM

When I used to hav ea CR-V, I took the strips off and sprayed them with gunmetal enamel, worked like a charm! Do so at your own risk though

-az

natcc99 · 11-09-2003, 12:20 PM

paint might be a bad idea since it won't flex with the rubber
but you can give it a shot
it seem to work for azjs

lildawgryan · 11-09-2003, 12:40 PM

yeah paints not really an opion for me...it prolly wouldnt match the other parts too well id rather buy new strips before i attemp that.....well so far my strips are really startin to look better.....i decided that using meguiars dash and rubber spray and leaveing it on over night then wiping it off in the morning it really works well then topping it off with a nice coat of Sun of a Gun rubber spray.....well they look pretty much new but for the water test im not so sure if it will stay like that. I plan to put then in my tub and soak them and rub them down to see if it stays the way it is now. If it fails i will order Black again...or mothers Black to Black product becuase ive heard that those do the trick its just no stores around here carry them actually i didnt try pepboys so ill let you all now how stuff goes in a while and post some pics also.

camarokiller · 11-09-2003, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RPerro
I keep finding my trunk full of water. Like, a LOT of water! Down in the spare tire well. Can't figure out where the hell this water is coming from! Anyone have any ideas?

Ya, this was happening to me for a while and I couldn't figure it out. I eventually realised it was happening when I was cleaning the rear bumber of the car. Water was shooting into the crack between the bottom of the trunk and the rear bumper, and making it's may past the weather stripping. I had created a gap between the weather stripping and the trunk when I raised the hood latch too much for the rear spoiler (too avoid rubbing, my mugen spolier needed more clearence).

Anyway, dry out the trunk first, then spray water at the bumber where it meets the trunk, then check for water in the trunk. I bet you find some!

lildawgryan · 11-09-2003, 09:21 PM

all three products i used that are listed in above posts are only good for cover ups. I soaked them in water and scrubbed them and they lost all of their black again. I have to admit it didnt look as bad as first but most of the color came off with just water. Well i went and found mothers black to black and im applying that now. So far it hasnt worked out perfect but i can see its getting much better with every new coat i think im on my 4th coat. PICS COMMING