bcameron59

When you installed the fender(s), did you use the terostat ribbon (part #000 043 129 00, aka sealing strap) in the location shown (position 2) below?

I am reinstalling body panels after a full respray. I see the ribbon in the Katalog / PET diagram, but there is no sign it was used at the factory when my 96 C4 was built.

Seems this was commonly used on the earlier 911's but now I'm not sure if this was still the case on the 993's. Maybe the diagram is a holdover from the earler years that didn't get updated?

Wondering what others have seen / done on their own 993 fenders, thanks in advance.

k722070

when you pulled the fender it should have been stuck to the tub rail with a strip of the terostat.
once the fender was removed you need a sharp putty knife to scrape the terostat off the tub.
I don't remember any terostat in position 2 which looks like the fender support. on my car it was only on the tub rail to fender connection.

the part number you listed looks easy to apply, hankel sells terostat as a seam sealer in tube or gun form.

bcameron59

Thanks for the reply. When I pulled off the fender there was indeed a very thin line of what looked like seam sealer, but definitely no "ribbon" of terostat.

I'm a bit leery of applying the ribbon form (although I have about 20 feet of it) since it looks to have quite a bit of gripping power and if the fender has to come off later down the road it would be a difficult job. I had a heck of a time pulling the rear window trim off (it was affixed with the ribbon).

Instead maybe I will just run a bead of seam sealer along the bottom of the fender/body joint before I bolt the fender on, and once it's in place I'll run a second bead along the top. That should thwart any moisture from entering.

Unless it gets in at the speed nuts... Maybe I should go with the ribbon after all. Decisions, decisions.

k722070

my guess is the factory used a gun because the seam wasn't smooth or ribbon like, kind of a big glob all near the wheel well. after removing the screws it took me another hour of prying and carefully spreading the fender from the tub to get them apart, so they did use the sealer/adhesive version of terostat.
I didn't apply sealer because fiberglass was used. but if the metal panels go back on I would use some sort of sealer or gooey spacer to keep water from getting between the tub/fender and rust developing where metal rubs metal.
the big issue is being able to adjust the fender, if that ribbon you have is too tacky or grips right away that will cause serious alignment issues.
I spent hours getting the fenders aligned perfectly with the tub, then days later when fitting the hood I had to move the fenders to match the curve. terostat would have caused trouble.

bcameron59

The good news is that the special speed nuts for the fenders have a plastic protector thingie to prevent metal on metal contact between the hood and fenders. However, still need to seal out water so have decided to go with the terostat ribbon.

I have the fenders test-mounted with a few bolts to work on aligning panels. Spent much of the evening trying to figure out the hood alignment, what a PITA. Have reached the conclusion that I will sort out the final hood left/right alignment once the fenders are fully bolted on.

So tomorrow the terostat ribbon goes on the fenders and then they'll get fully bolted on. I'll focus on aligning fender height only to match the height of the hood. Once the fenders are in place - then the black art of aligning the hood will commence.

Now I am fortifying myself with scotch to prepare for the work ahead. Wish me luck..

k722070

that's interesting, did you buy new speed nuts?
the old speed nuts still in place on my fenders are flush with the edge and will contact the tub. but that was how it was installed, then just a gooey mess of seam sealer above and below the seam.
if you have protection against metal to metal contact you could just use a tube of 3m seam sealer to keep water out.

bcameron59

Too late, I went ahead with the terostate tape. It did make it pretty difficult (but not impossible) to adjust the fender heights but hopefully I got them dialled in ok now. Took a few hours to get it figured out yesterday.

I set up the fenders to be slightly higher than the hood when closed, WITHOUT the adjustable rubber bumpers at left & right side of the frunk, and without the trunk seal. Had a scary moment when the hood wouldn't pop open when the release handle was pulled. Turned out it just needed the upward pressure that the rubber bumpers provide in order for the hood to pop up - a helper can just pull up on the hood while the other person pulls the release.

Then I put the seal and bumpers in place and as expected they pushed the hood a bit higher so it matches nicely with the fenders now. Squared the hood left & right and adjusted the latch and all is good now. Bumper goes on next.

I did buy all new speed nuts which came with the plastic protectors (they were also on the originals). Maybe this started on MY96, is yours a 95?