I found a small shrub in my door jamb😯

[Eldorado2k]

I’m not kidding... Earlier today while I was in the process of fully cleaning the weatherstripping, I couldn’t help but do a little poking around inside the door jamb while I had my vacuum on. I’m usually pretty OCD when it comes to the air intake on the windshield cowl, it bugs the heck out of me whenever I see a cowl with any amount of leaves or debris, and if it’s my own vehicle then it’s held to an even higher standard, meaning my windshield cowl/air intake vents need to remain 100% clear of even a single twig before I allow any kind of wash process begin...

Same rules apply to certain door jambs, specifically the ones inside some Cadillacs, because they sometimes come with this thick felt lining inside of them, and every once in while it’s a good idea to stick your crevice tool inside and vacuum out any dirt/debris that may be inside the bottom corner of the jambs.

Well today when I stuck my crevice tool inside the drivers side door jamb I was surprised to find some resistance behind the felt lining... The resistance turned out to be a solid wall of leaves/dirt/rocks/twigs/etc.

So I probed around in there for a bit, the whole time my vacuum hose was grumbling as if I was vacuuming up gravel and dry leaves. I figured ok good thing I got that out... But just when I thought I was done, suddenly more crap appeared out of nowhere.

This is the 1st pic I took. I thought I was nearly all done with that...

But then suddenly this appeared out of nowhere.

Well it didn’t just “appear” it dropped down like a bomb!

And once that pack was vacuumed out... More dropped down.

And more... Huge chunks.

....And more!

I ended up having to grab a super long metal spoon from the kitchen and bent it in order to pry free a condensed brick of debis that went up nearly a foot high inside the doorjamb! I spent nearly a half hour vacuuming before it was all finally cleared out. It was incredible!

I guess I wasn’t as done as I thought I was after the 1st quik cleaning I gave that jamb a few days ago. I swear that doorjamb “looked” clean. Turns out this little bit slipped by me... Honest mistake. I mean this could’ve been overlooked by any of us, right?

That’s how much came out of that 1 single doorjamb.
The other doorjamb was completely clean!
Apparently the previous owner parked this car under the same treeand that tree was somehow on the drivers side, even though when I went to look at the car it was parked on a busy residential street with the only trees on the right side of the car... It makes no sense! This whole thing is crazy. Lol. How in the world was that much foliage hiding inside that doorjamb?

Correction: That debris made it in there through the bottom of the car/through the wheel well. It couldn’t have dropped from above, or at the least it’s a very slim chance it came from above because I can’t vacuum in there from above nor reach in there from the engine compartment... But who knows for sure.. It seems like it had to take many years for that much to accumulate.

I had to share that with someone. Lol. Thanks for reading.

 

[BadgerRivFan]

Or, it may have been critter “bedding.”

 

[showbbq]

Yikes. I thought the same, maybe a little mouse decided to hang out for the winter.

 

[itsgn]

I never park my car under a tree, always remove all the leaves from it by hand before entering it, and still, in just a few months time, my cabin filter gets essentially clogged up by remnants of leaves. Which tells me that whenever there's a way or opening, no matter how convoluted or small, dirt and debris will get through and into every place where it can. Especially stuff like leaves which are very light, but have a large surface, and so can be pushed easily around and into crevices by the wind.

 

[Paul A.]

That's wild! Important things are a.) You actually found that mess and b.) Removed it. I would hate to think what that mulch would've done longer term.

And I've also been known to "borrow" some things from the kitchen! When Mrs. Puckman sees me head to the garage with whatever i have its a quick "where're you going with THAT?"

Just gonna detail it, mum.

 

[SWETM]

Are that the wheel well felt lining? If so, look so it's not out of it's place. If you where living in an environment that has a lot of rain. That could cause rust where the leaf gunk was building up. Be glad that the previous owner maybe did not wash the car so much. And when you are now takeing care of the car. That could easly be a problem down the road when you wet it when rinsing and cleaning the wheel wells. So great that you catched it now and look how it is from time to time.

That was alot of build up gunk there LOL

/Tony

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Maybe someone was raking the forest and it wound up in your car.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Yikes. I thought the same, maybe a little mouse decided to hang out for the winter.

The mice better find themselves a new hangout... Because if they think of hanging out near my car from now on they’ll wind up catching the wrath! Lol.

That's wild! Important things are a.) You actually found that mess and b.) Removed it. I would hate to think what that mulch would've done longer term.

And I've also been known to "borrow" some things from the kitchen! When Mrs. Puckman sees me head to the garage with whatever i have its a quick "where're you going with THAT?"

Just gonna detail it, mum.

Yea you know the drill.. Just walk in without causing any attention to yourself, go straight for what you need, and make a quik exit doing your best to shield the object from view. And if you hear the words “what are doing”? Immediately reply “NOTHING”! Lol.

Are that the wheel well felt lining? If so, look so it's not out of it's place. If you where living in an environment that has a lot of rain. That could cause rust where the leaf gunk was building up. Be glad that the previous owner maybe did not wash the car so much. And when you are now takeing care of the car. That could easly be a problem down the road when you wet it when rinsing and cleaning the wheel wells. So great that you catched it now and look how it is from time to time.

That was alot of build up gunk there LOL

/Tony

The wheel wells are hard black plastic. Funny thing is it’s the passenger side that’s got the body kit that’s a bit loose in that corner... Come to think of it, I did spend alot of time clearing the debris from the passengers side a couple weeks ago but I did it from outside and underneath the car while pulling open the body panel to the point where I nearly pulled the clips out.. Luckily I didn’t break any of them past the 1 that was already half broken. I sealed it best I could and that’s why the passengers side was as clean as it was.

I did the same clearing out of debris along the exterior wheel wells and all along the body kit a couple weeks ago. There was quite a bit of mulch & gravel built up, especially in the rear wheel wells. Feels good to clean that out, satisfying like some people who claim they like watching pimple popping videos... Screw those videos, I get my satisfaction cleaning mulch out of air intakes and door jambs. Thats Real satisfaction! Lol.

Maybe someone was raking the forest and it wound up in your car.

If I ever found some tree hugger raking forest into my door jamb then we’d definitely be gettin into a good ole fashioned fisticuffs. “What do you think you’re doing you little tree hugger”?! *punch*lol.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

It is good you got that stuff out, maybe not so much in LA, but in parts of the country where it rains more, that stuff is rust waiting to happen. Speaking of that, I may need to probe my GM's a little more with the vacuum...

 

[hmardown]

good to see you got some security going on.
hmardown

 

[Eldorado2k]

It is good you got that stuff out, maybe not so much in LA, but in parts of the country where it rains more, that stuff is rust waiting to happen. Speaking of that, I may need to probe my GM's a little more with the vacuum...

The trunk in my SLS suffers from the notorious “leaky trunk” that GM vehicles are known to develop... Unfortunately for me the electric pulldown motor took a dump about a year ago so I haven’t opened my trunk since that time because I fear if I open it I may not be able to close it again. The trunk is completely empty and clean, it’s the underneath part where the tire compartment lies where the flooding occurs. [you probably know what I’m talking about]

There’s probably a gnarly mold situation going on inside the trunk now... I’m almost afraid to open it at this point. Lol

 

[Setec Astronomy]

The trunk in my SLS suffers from the notorious “leaky trunk” that GM vehicles are known to develop... Unfortunately for me the electric pulldown motor took a dump about a year ago so I haven’t opened my trunk since that time because I fear if I open it I may not be ablento close it again. The trunk is completely empty and clean, it’s the underneath part where the tire compartment lies where the flooding occurs. [you probably know what I’m talking about]

There’s probably a gnarly mold situation going on inside the trunk now... I’m almost afraid to open it at this point. Lol

Fortunately I'm not familiar with that, LOL...I just know that one of my GM's has, if not felt, some flexible stuff there at the front door jamb, and I know I've pulled leaves out from there...but I guess it never occurred to me that the whole fender could be full as in your case. I HAVE been there in the trunk though...what is it with the Asian cars where the taillight gaskets dry out and the water that runs down in the trunk jambs goes in the top of the taillight and out into the trunk?

I'll never forget that..."what is that sloshing sound coming from the back of the car?" "Oh, the spare tire is under water, that's all" But it was no big deal, I ONLY had to take the back bumper cover off in order to take the taillight out to replace the gasket...really??

Anyway, is the failure mode on that pulldown motor really that you can't close the trunk? How bad is it to change that motor? I looked on Rock Auto and it didn't seem to be an available part.

 

[KyleBis2]

I had this same situation when i bought my eclipse. Driver side door jamb corner was completely full of small sticks, dirt, and pine needles. I think the rain pulls the junk off the windshield, down the cowl and into the drain located at the corner of the windshield. I've seen video on how that clump of organic matter can withhold moisture and cause rust so its a good think you got it taken care of!

 

[LSNAutoDetailingLSNAutoDetailing is verified member.]

It's a good thing you got all that gunk out... as it starts to compost, that's when rot starts happening, and rust! I like the new security system...

 

[Eldorado2k]

I had this same situation when i bought my eclipse. Driver side door jamb corner was completely full of small sticks, dirt, and pine needles. I think the rain pulls the junk off the windshield, down the cowl and into the drain located at the corner of the windshield. I've seen video on how that clump of organic matter can withhold moisture and cause rust so its a good think you got it taken care of!

That all does makes sense... However can you imagine what a time lapse video of that actually happening would look like? I mean talk about footage that’s hard to capture Lol.

Pine needles laying on windshield cowl.
It rains.
Pine needles somehow bend, curl, turn, shapeshift, do whatever they need to do in order to perfectly fit inside that hole 1 after the the other in a single file until they’re all tucked into the doorjamb where they wait for the next batch of pine needles when the next storm hits...

I think it’d be easier to hunt down a wild panda bear. Lol.

 

[rlmccarty2000]

I had a 93 Deville that had a similar, but lesser buildup up of leaves and twigs. I also had two of the trunk pull down motors go out on me. And yes it leaked, but I fixed it by removing a rubber strip off of a door sweep/guard and attaching it to the rear part of the trunk. Maintaining older cars can be challenging and you have to be resourceful.

Oh, I found a mechanic that “fixed” my trunk so I didn’t have to buy any more pull down motors. I just had to slam it hard for it to latch.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Fortunately I'm not familiar with that, LOL...I just know that one of my GM's has, if not felt, some flexible stuff there at the front door jamb, and I know I've pulled leaves out from there...but I guess it never occurred to me that the whole fender could be full as in your case. I HAVE been there in the trunk though...what is it with the Asian cars where the taillight gaskets dry out and the water that runs down in the trunk jambs goes in the top of the taillight and out into the trunk?

I'll never forget that..."what is that sloshing sound coming from the back of the car?" "Oh, the spare tire is under water, that's all" But it was no big deal, I ONLY had to take the back bumper cover off in order to take the taillight out to replace the gasket...really??

Anyway, is the failure mode on that pulldown motor really that you can't close the trunk? How bad is it to change that motor? I looked on Rock Auto and it didn't seem to be an available part.

Ahh man you made me go to the forum... And it’s not that I don’t like going over there, it’s just that it can be an information overload.

Funny thing, I put in the search for the trunk pulldown motor and the very 1st result was a huge thread about Sevilles with water leaks in the trunk. I went in that thread and there’s about a dozen sure shot causes... And I only made it to the 15th post. Lol.

As far as the trunk pulldown motor, it should be an easy fix, except I’m not mechanically inclined so I’m like the last person that’s about to take something apart and fix or replace it.

Plus I’m reading conflicting information [that’s nothing new on that forum, they give great info but it can be quite consuming sometimes]

There’s alot of threads, but I picked this 1 to show. This dude talks about what basically happened to my trunk motor.

Then his motor eventually did what mine did. It closed itself. Now the 2nd post on this screenshot says to pull the fuse to disable the motor and therefore leave it in the down position so you can open/close the trunk manually. Except the fuse box is inside the trunk! And there’s a chance the trunk motor might work and go up if I open the trunk which basically defeats the purpose of pulling the fuse because if you do you won’t be able to close it. I hope this makes sense.

Not to mention I’ve always been under the assumption that my trunk won’t close if that motor is in the down position like he’s saying it will. I’ve experienced times when it gets stuck in the down position and the trunk won’t close even if you try and slam it. Even my owners manual says it won’t close like that.

So I’ll probably just continue to leave it the way it is. Plus I’d need a hazmat suit if I ever opened it because there’s probably a mutant mold figure living in there by now. Lol.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

It's funny, when I was younger, and I saw that auto-pulldown feature in a parking lot, I thought that was the stupidest thing ever, who can't close their own trunk? Now that I've gotten older and mellowed a bit...yeah, auto trunk pulldown...whatever, there is auto everything else, why not? Now that I've read how many fail and what the failure mode is...I'm back to thinking it's the stupidest thing ever.

 

[Eldorado2k]

It's funny, when I was younger, and I saw that auto-pulldown feature in a parking lot, I thought that was the stupidest thing ever, who can't close their own trunk? Now that I've gotten older and mellowed a bit...yeah, auto trunk pulldown...whatever, there is auto everything else, why not? Now that I've read how many fail and what the failure mode is...I'm back to thinking it's the stupidest thing ever.

I’ve had 5 different Cadillacs with the automatic trunk pulldown and it’s the only 1 I ever had a problem with, so they’re not so bad at all.

This new Cadillac doesn’t have the trunk pulldown feature and it’s kind of weird to get used to.. The trunklid is big so you think you’d have to slam it, but it actually closes with very little force. I overthink it everytime I have to close the trunk. Having the automatic pulldown eliminates having to think about whether you’re going to slam it too hard.

I’m surprised they never offered a pulldown motor for the hood, I’ve always been iffy about the way hoods slam down. Especially with these plastic grills, it feels like it could easily break it everytime.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Ha ha, I think a lot of it is the fit is so good on the cars today that everything closes easier...maybe it's partly the latch designs and the consistency of manufacture today vs. the old days.

I used to have that problem with hoods too, but somewhere along the line I lost my fear...the ones without struts I just let drop from a few inches away and they latch every time...no worrying about handprints or hand dents from trying to seat it. Even the ones with struts usually drop from the same height...like a said, a good latch every time, IME.