Elephant Skin: Tusks of a Dilemma

[JayWltrs]

Has anyone successfully used a rehydrating product or the like to give the skin more pliability allowing removal? Should I just bite the bullet and pull them, knowing they're a lost cause?

While struggling to remove & replace fuel sender seal, significant debris fell from behind elephant skins covering shock towers. It looks like a mix of decomposed dirt or insulation -- more like old seat stuffing than rust, but who knows. (I'll try to get a pic later when I get back to car.) Only way I'm really going to figure this out and check shock towers is to pull the elephant skin, which won't survive minimal disruption. (Should change name to pastry instead of elephant skin.)

I read through the first few pages of search results without much insight, but the posts on rear shock tower failures give me pause & I'm thinking an honest tower assessment is more important than saving the skin?

 

[eriknetherlands]

The original elefant skins were indeed covered on the backside with a PU foam. which is same type as usually used for seat foam, so your observation seems correct. It crumbles over time.

My rear shock tower skins actually held up well when I removed them without tearing further. I put some tape over them prior to lifting them and gently stuffed them in a box waiting on reinstallation after finishing my car (in 5 years or so...)

I think the consensus is that rear shock towers are likely to fail due to rust, or due to the (more aggressive ? ) Bilstein dampers. Mine proved to be ok, but I as i'm installing billsteins, who knows how they hold up once drive hard.

 

[JayWltrs]

Thanks, Erik. I also rally could have used the sender removal tool you created! Alas, I cannot weld. Pics:

 

[eriknetherlands]

Yup. That sure looks like PolyUrethane foam to me.

If you'd drop a magnet in the bits you will for sure identify it. Rust Fe2O3 is only very little magnetic compared to steel, but still it will cling to a magnet. Dark grey rust FE2O4 is very magnetic.
PU isn't at all magnetic.

 

[Stevehose]

I think it is remnants of the adhesive also. I used a plastic putty knife to slowly work the shock tower covers free from the metal.