DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Had a peep under my 3.2 and it looks like the left hand kidney bowl has been replaced at some point, but not the right. My first though was, maybe they didn't fancy getting the oil pipe out of the way and all that entails.

There's no sign of any rust there, but plenty of underseal and you never know what horrors that might conceal, until you start removing it. There's a hint of corrosion to the wing so I'm inclined to cut away the rear quarter, clean it all back, replace the kidney bowl etc. Is this made particularly more difficult by the presence of the oil pipes? And does removal of the pipes typically lead to "scope creep"? As we all know, dismantling can often crystallise other defects due to corroded or worn parts giving up under the stress of removal.

If you unclip the lines the full length and move the front cooler off it's mounts there is enough flex for it lower out of the way to do the welding/repair work without undoing any pipe unions.

Though you might want to changed the front flexis and you'll also be able to check the state of the sill where the lines fix to.

Main thing to avoid upsetting or trying to remove the lines from is the thermostat. Leave that well alone unless you want to feel pain and angst.

on the scale of working on your car, moving the oil lines is no big deal compared to sorting the kidney bowl - can't see that on it's own would stop anyone from doing the kidney bowls. As Nige says you can get enough wiggle room by moving stuff. Before cutting your wing I would check that the kidney bowl *does* need replacing (though it probably does). There's plenty of threads on here showing pics of the work (Should be some on my thread if photobucket haven't finished messing with my pics).

If you do cut away the rear wing make up a measuring stick first measuring it's distance (at the bottom of the arch) from various parts of the body - when you come to put it back it's easier to have it incorrectly bending in or out

I think you should be able to get your fingers around the front of the kidney to get some idea whether it is crispy or solid. My leftie looked completely solid from the back, and was completely solid at the back, but I could put my fingers (inside) through the front of it... would be a shame to chop the wing if the kidney was solid....

Just The Kidney bowl...................

^ Don’t scratch the itch. We all know where it ends.

Drive and enjoy it

Thanks for all the useful advice.

IMHO:
to get this bee out of the bonnet, jet wash the area around the bowl esp the pocket that exists (and fills up) between the bowl, the inside face of the rear wing and the sill.
Get the crud out, get your hand in and feel it all.
If solid, sigh of relief, drown it in wax oil or similar.

Do both sides.

Or before wax oil, jet wash the 4 under wing areas totally esp around the lights, then oil.

Some photos here gives you an idea of the space you'll have
https://www.impactbumpers.com/forum/ind ... ent-437797