Hello All,
I tidied up the trunk / boot at the weekend and noticed:

a) I'm missing a tow hook, so need to source a replacement
b) there is a big hole to the top right of the toolkit. Should there be a rubber stopper or similar there? I guess its a drain hole, but the size surprised me.


Thanks in advance!

 

The Hole is questionable, could it be for access to Differential plug? I have not noticed one, but the Tow Hook for the 2001 XK8 is 20mmX2.5mm RHT. Ck E-Bay and there are also some inexpensive China made Mazda tow hooks that are same thread size. You may have to be creative in the search terms, but there are a few threads regarding the early hooks. Later 2003 and up use a different size with LHT.

 

Is that the ground underneath the car I can see?



There are some odd plugs in large holes in the luggage compartment. They're not the usual rubber plug - more like a metal disc with rubber round the edge. Always painted body colour so they must be fitted early in the build process.

Graham

 

Unfortunately yes! When I bought her earlier in the year I checked the spare & tool kit were in place, but it was only recently when I lifted the spare out I noticed the hole...

 

My 2000 xkr had the same issue with an unplugged body hole. There are several in the floor of the boot, inserted from inside. The plugs are simple metal rounds with four lip wings that fold under the edges of the hole, from underneath, after being placed. They are put in place at the factory and are set with very heavy duty sealant.

I found a replacement in a parts yard...very cheaply. The poor young fellow who cut the plug out from the donor car had to work hard to get through the factory sealant.

Pull the spare out, look around and you will see several others of like configuration.

My guess for why mine was missing was that a previous owner wanted access to the battery for a trickle charger, but didn't want the boot open all the time. Maybe so, maybe not...just a guess. But it had clearly been cut free and removed on purpose.

If you can't find a replacement, I'd just use the lid of a frozen orange juice container and some good epoxy or some such to seal it tight. For sure, you don't want an easy opening for rodents or road spray inside the boot.

 

That's a lot better than my description!

Thinking more about these holes later yesterday, they must be for locating the sub-panels accurately on the jigs as the body shell is built and once completed, the holes are then plugged prior to painting.

Graham

 

Thanks - I think in the picture you can actually see another one to the left under the sound deadening material that has not been removed.

I'm going to check for large rubber grommets to do the trick - I may make use of the hole for charging myself.