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Thanks to all the ground work laid by the previous members of this thread, I was able to slice off my duckbill with ease. It was less than an hour total from the time I pulled the car in the garage to the time I took it back outside for testing. I'm lucky enough to have long skinny fingers, and after removing the engine cover was able to find the duckbill in just a few seconds with my middle finger. As soon as I touched it, I felt it open up and water run down my hands. My next goal was to find a way to attach a razor to my finger so that I wouldn't have to deal with making a funny shaped bar and spend hours hoping to bullseye the duckbill blindly. A little rummaging through the drawers turned up a ferrule for my TIG gun that held the blade perfectly. I then took a small hose clamp and a zip tie to secure the blade to my finger. Back in the hole and less than 2 minutes later the duckbill was gone. I wasn't able to find it after it fell down on top of the trans and then into the chassis, but I can feel for sure it is gone, and I let the ACE run on max for an hour in 101 degree / 85% humidity and didn't get a single drop in the car, and a huge puddle underneath.
That is BRILLIANCE!!! You are now blessed with a finger as sharp as your mind. I hope you frame that duck bill piece in with the picture of your Spear Finger. Amazing use of zip ties & hose clamp! 2 years ago I went the "Forged in Fire" route and used bent flat steel, exacto knife blade, nail as a rivet, and epoxy glue; as well as using the bore scope. No problems since.
GREAT WORK!
Thanks to all the ground work laid by the previous members of this thread, I was able to slice off my duckbill with ease. It was less than an hour total from the time I pulled the car in the garage to the time I took it back outside for testing. I'm lucky enough to have long skinny fingers, and after removing the engine cover was able to find the duckbill in just a few seconds with my middle finger. As soon as I touched it, I felt it open up and water run down my hands. My next goal was to find a way to attach a razor to my finger so that I wouldn't have to deal with making a funny shaped bar and spend hours hoping to bullseye the duckbill blindly. A little rummaging through the drawers turned up a ferrule for my TIG gun that held the blade perfectly. I then took a small hose clamp and a zip tie to secure the blade to my finger. Back in the hole and less than 2 minutes later the duckbill was gone. I wasn't able to find it after it fell down on top of the trans and then into the chassis, but I can feel for sure it is gone, and I let the ACE run on max for an hour in 101 degree / 85% humidity and didn't get a single drop in the car, and a huge puddle underneath.
Great job !!
I'm sure you could loan that nifty tool out to a bunch of x150 owner's for a shipping & handling fee
Thanks to all the ground work laid by the previous members of this thread, I was able to slice off my duckbill with ease. ...
What year and model is your X150? Your Public Profile doesn't show it and you don't have a signature with it. Ease of access differs for XK and XKR. Please provide more details about how you found the duckbill after you removed the engine cover. Thanks.
What year and model is your X150? Your Public Profile doesn't show it and you don't have a signature with it. Ease of access differs for XK and XKR. Please provide more details about how you found the duckbill after you removed the engine cover. Thanks.
After reviewing threads on the topic of the duck and trying a few, IMO the only real solution is to either cut or replace the duck bill.
I was looking for a way to do the first rather than the later. I've attached a pdf with my solution which did the trick for me. Hardest thing is to find the duck bill as it is not visible and I purchased a inspection camera from home depot for $79.00 to do the trick(this is a must have).
I haven't completed it yet as I'm attempting to remove half of the duck bill but was able to open the duck bill.
so far so good and can be done fairly easily (patience is a virtue) and for little cost.
I will also attach some videos for reference.
Dangit... They went up $20 over the past two years. Now they are $99. This thread is going to be a life-saver.
I see this from Amazon. Less than $60.
Depstech 1200P Semi-rigid Wireless Endoscope, 2.0 MP HD WiFi Borescope Inspection Camera,16 inch Focal Distance & 1800mAh Battery Snake Camera for Android & IOS Smartphone Tablet - Blue 33FT
I ALSO have a Depstech!
I'v had an old Milwaukee Flex Scope for a decade and paid a mint for it. The scope is 3/8 inch diameter, 34 inches long, and the resolution on the tiny screen is abysmal. It comes inside a carrying case that is 18" x 13" x 5". Depstech fits in a pocket! Resolution is great, and is brighter than my old Milwaukee monstrosity. The picture below is the Updated, smaller and more compact version of the old one I have:
Not sure why but I bought one of these a few months ago. It is surprisingly good quality, has a wi-fi adaptor and has adjustable LEDs as a light source:
I have not tried to work on this since last year and I don't remember exactly the orientation of the duckbill. From what I remember it pointed down (6 o'clock). Looking at the orientation you have the blade secured to your finger, it looks like you were slicing it north/south (toward the top of the car) rather than sawing it east/west (side to side). I hope that makes sense. Am I misremembering the orientation or where you able to turn your hand to saw it off?
The downward pointing duckbill is probably the newer design.
Mine pointed forward, towards the front of the car, so sawing vertically cut the bugger off.
The downward pointing duckbill is probably the newer design.
Mine pointed forward, towards the front of the car, so sawing vertically cut the bugger off.
Thanks!! I guess I am going to tackle this problem again, since you have inspired me.
Interesting...I found the hole seen in the photo posted by timbob; the one between the two plastic bolt things. However, while I located the hole with a borescope, there was nothing protruding from it. While I couldn't angle the borescope to see inside the hole, being somewhat long-fingered I could reach nearly an inch inside, yet didn't feel anything in there.
Perhaps it has been removed before I got the car, or maybe this pre-production car never got the duckbill in the first place.
Mine is built 2006 and I found the hole but no duckbill to be seen!? I started the car and with the borescope in under I could see it drop from the hole so either it's cut off or there is a shorter version inside the hole. I could't reach in with my fingers to feel inside the hole.
07-02-2018, 07:49 PM
Edward Scissor Hands Takes on the Duckbill
