access port for brake fluid reservoir

[willyjp]

I posted this in the thread titled, "Trackers....guess what!", but I thought I'd make a topic titled thread out of it since it may be of interest to many and will be easier to find later. I haven't done this yet (on my car!), but I've put a number of these into plastic sailboats that I've owned, and they ARE available in BLACK (or clear in some cases), contrary to the opinion expressed in the above mentioned thread; they are plenty strong and flexible and, if you do a neat job of the cut-out, the flanged construction will produce a workman-like result:

this is a common boat problem with several common off-the-shelf
solutions available; West Marine ( www.westmarine.com) stocks a variety of screw-in or latch-in "deck plates" or "inspection ports" in 4", 6", 8" and 10" sizes and in white or black abs and also white rim with clear hatch for see-through w/o opening. They all require a cut-out 1/2" bigger than the nominal size. If you don't like the white, you can get black abs w/o having to paint it.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...SiteSearchView

[harrison]

Thanks Willy !!

[willyjp]

OOPS! Sorry!
that link to the catalog page doesn't seem to have survived the transfer, but here's another try:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...SiteSearchView

[desperado]

Swansailor already installed a boat hand access cover. He posted pictures in another thread, somewhere.

[mngolfer]

If I would have known it was this simple I would not have waited for Audi to make me a plenum with brake fluid access.

[swansailor]

Swansailor already installed a boat hand access cover. He posted pictures in another thread, somewhere.

Here you go

http://www.r8talk.com/forums/showthr...atch#post47037

[willyjp]

Here you go

http://www.r8talk.com/forums/showthr...atch#post47037

I should apologize for not making it clear that I did indeed see swansailor's post....and I should absolutely give him credit for originating this idea. I posted this in a response post to the thread where he posted his suggestion, which is why I didn't clearly attribute the credit to him...where it belongs.

The only thing I really had to add was that they ARE AVAILABLE IN BLACK, since he mentioned that white was his only choice. You will rarely find the black ones in the store, but I have ordered and installed one (in a boat) in black, so I knew that was an option. The reason I also posted it as this new thread was to make it more widely noticed and more searchable (topic in the title).

But full credit for this idea is due swansailor, and I never intended to make it look otherwise....sorry if it did

[harrison]

A white access port would have to be the most noticeable FLAW on such a beutifull car !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Black, even with out the correct plastic grain surface would be far superior. This car is not a boat. 3800 lbs might be getting close though.

[swansailor]

I should apologize for not making it clear that I did indeed see swansailor's post....and I should absolutely give him credit for originating this idea. I posted this in a response post to the thread where he posted his suggestion, which is why I didn't clearly attribute the credit to him...where it belongs.

The only thing I really had to add was that they ARE AVAILABLE IN BLACK, since he mentioned that white was his only choice. You will rarely find the black ones in the store, but I have ordered and installed one (in a boat) in black, so I knew that was an option. The reason I also posted it as this new thread was to make it more widely noticed and more searchable (topic in the title).

But full credit for this idea is due swansailor, and I never intended to make it look otherwise....sorry if it did

No offense taken ... I just posted it again to make it easier for people to find. Fact is that I was inspired by another forum member who cut a similar hole and used some other solution to plug it (can't recall who that was).

Since it is only visible when the hood is open I wasn't too bothered by the aesthetics of the color but, had I been able to find a black one I would have got that instead.

[smoothy]

Swansailor, what size was that inspection hatch you used?