Thought i'd share the wing fix that i just did.
When i got the car i had also been given a replacement wing (previous owner had intended to sort this) although the wrong colour, the intent by him was to paint and get it fixed on.

Long story short, I didn't bother with getting that wing repainted (paint shop asking £200 plus paint) and instead I went and bought a 2nd hand pair locally and same colour @£60.
This last weekend i set about fitting the drivers unit and at the same time sorting the HID headlight issues that ive got with it.....I'll start another thread for that.
You will see from the picture the bubbling from underneath is not causing too much of an issue apart from it being unsightly and asking the question, where else is it rusting? I have had all the other covers off (sill covers/floor pan covers/inner wheel arch liners etc and apart from a small bit of surface rust all appears good. The spire clips and other fixings all got replaced with SS units where possible.

It seems the reason for the wing to rot through in the small area was largely down to the foam sound cushion between outer wing and inner wing. Looks to have been lapping up rain water that was finding its way in from the door pillar. There is little chance this can come from below as its too high up and protected by the inner wing liner. What was surprising is that it was totally saturated, even though it hadn't rained on the car for a least a week (garaged). For comparison, I looked at my newer model (06 plate) and that doesn't have one of those so i guess some one decided it was a bad idea for this reason. I don't even remember my 04 V6 model having one either when i changed out a crash damaged wing.




Culprit - Foam cushion



whilst bumper was off i got to work on Headlights

replacement wing

 

nice work! I love fixing things!

Whats wrong with the headlights?

 

Another area prone to rot is the sills behind the plastic body covers.

While you have the bumper off, it might be a good idea to inspect the wiring loom above the bumper support and any earthing points you can reach.

 

Cheers,
as for the headlights....erm...not too much but:
1. very dirty/dusty inside. couple of broken adjuster bits floating around too.
2. have no adjustment (adjusters broken as above) Brutal method has been applied. currently shining at ground 5 m from car.
3. do not do their self level check on start up
4. very dim indeed..someone compared them to that of a 1W candel.
5. one the side light bulbs detached itself from the socket and now sits inside the light rattling around all on its lonesome!
6. Yellow lenses need my attention to brighten them up.

 

Thanks NBCat, Yes had both sill covers off and its all good news with no rust at all. and I waxoiled inside whilst they were both off.
as for the bumper, i had a close look at the wiring harness and it seems to be in order with nothing rubbing.

 

the detached bulb is likely the result of someone changing the bulb WITHOUT removing the headlight assembly. The assenble must be outas theres no room to do the TWO STEP PROCESS.

2 step process is Insert Bulb and clip into place with spring clip.

Then push igniter onto the bulb and twist to lock into place.

Its impossible without removing the assembly. no room and no visual

 

agreed!... no room behind the beam. The side light bulb however, you can replace without taking the headlight out and that was where the issue began. Whilst updating to led's (you sometimes have to get them the right way round) you may have to take them out again and resite. In doing this my careful dexterity wasn't it's usual and I pulled at the long bulb stalk and it popped out and dropped in.