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Heat resistance of foam engine compartment seal?
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deafen
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 4:58 pm    Post subject: Heat resistance of foam engine compartment seal? Reply with quote

Hey, all. Long time no post. My '74 has sat in the garage for the past several years, mostly because it was overheating, and with two new kids there was no way I was going to have the time to dig in to it.

So I finally took bit the bullet and took it in to a local shop (Village Motor Werks, highly recommended) and said, "Fix it." Turns out the overheat was caused by my shroud and cooling tin being packed tight with fibers that mice had used to build what must have been a very luxurious nest. Of course, while he had the motor out, we did a new clutch/pressure plate/release spring, transmission mounts, flywheel seal, oil cooler seals, all the stuff you're supposed to do when the motor's out.

Due to some issues with the C-channel, the mechanic was unable to install a new stock engine compartment seal. He rigged up a fix using pieces of the seal and some foam pipe insulation, which worked great ... until I got out on the highway for a few minutes. At that point, the heat from the exhaust melted the pipe insulation, which left me overheating again because, well, you know.

Due to a minor push-in on the rear end, the motor is a stone cold &*^* to get out, even after stripping it down, so I'm not interested in doing that to install a new seal. Instead, I ordered the late Bay bus seal that's made of foam and designed to be installed with the motor in. (Several sources, including Rob & Dave, suggest this as a workaround.)

Okay, all that leadup, and here's the question: Can I assume that this foam is heat-resistant enough to survive being just a couple inches from the muffler? (It's a stock-style '74 exhaust.) If there is any risk here, how can I best protect it - high temp silicone? Some other coating?

Thanks!
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guppysoup
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I´ve been using the late bus foam seal for years with no issues.
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74 Thing
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Post a photo when you are done.

Not sure if your seal channels are smashed, but I ran across this tool if you decide to fix it

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1273083
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deafen
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 8:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, that looks like a very cool (albeit incredibly specific!) tool.

We had a couple issues. First, the rearmost piece of the engine bay (TS calls it the "rear engine cover plate") was welded on slightly crooked by the factory, which leaves an offset of about 1/4" between it and the piece it mates to. Sliding the seal around it is impossible as a result. But also, the channel on that piece is too wide, and the T section of the seal just fell right out. (Why the mechanic didn't just compress it with visegrips, I don't understand, but whatever - he did a lot of other really great work, so I'll cut a little slack on this.)

So since i can't fix the channel without dropping the engine again, I'll do the foam seal and see how that goes. I also bought the temp sensor dipstick from savemybug so I'll get a little warning before things get out of hand next time.

I will definitely post pictures. I'm out of town this weekend, but I'll have it put back together early next week.
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deafen
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Happy to report that the seal is in and working perfectly! Ran on surface streets, 10 minutes on the highway at 60-65, then back to surface streets, and the engine ran smoothly with no signs of overheating. Temp dipstick did not flicker, and the foam held up just fine.

I'll take a picture tomorrow. It actually looks pretty good, although obviously not stock/correct. I don't much care about that, though.

Now to deal with the serious oil leak that has developed ... but that's another thread.
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deafen
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


If anyone else tries to do this, a couple notes:

1 - The seal is too long, so you'll need to cut it to size. But don't do it right away - get it mostly installed first so you don't end up too short.

2 - Start with the hardest part, under the air cleaner on the right side. That will make cutting it to size a LOT easier when you get done on the left.
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superblue72
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Where can you get this seal?
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

superblue72 wrote:
Where can you get this seal?
Most any place that sells VW Transporter parts. Bus Boys, Bus Depot, your local VW FLAPS, etc.
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doublecanister
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

deafen wrote:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


If anyone else tries to do this, a couple notes:

1 - The seal is too long, so you'll need to cut it to size. But don't do it right away - get it mostly installed first so you don't end up too short.

2 - Start with the hardest part, under the air cleaner on the right side. That will make cutting it to size a LOT easier when you get done on the left.


yeah it does look like it covers the gaps better than the stock one would.
I need to do the same as my old gasket is beyond brittle and have had to patch with other foam in sections.

AND you can do with the engine in? awesome! Thanks for sharing!
looks like ya did a fine job too.

T
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doublecanister
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 10:23 am    Post subject: seal Reply with quote

I went looking for this seal today at lunch,

I checked bus boys but no luck, being new to their site, not finding it easily, but tripped up on somthing from Rob and Daves Vw page which led me to Aircooled.net.

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Engine-Compartment-Se...11-225.htm
they have it the "H" seal if anyones interested.

may not be a bad idea to do esp if you're not pulling the engine.

has anyone else had any luck/experience with this and better engine temps?
just curious
Thanks
T
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 1:37 pm    Post subject: Re: seal Reply with quote

doublecanister wrote:
I checked bus boys but no luck, being new to their site, not finding it easily, but tripped up on somthing from Rob and Daves Vw page which led me to Aircooled.net.


Doesn't anyone think to make phone calls anymore? Bus Boy, Bus Depot, my local VW parts house are all a phone call away. No wasting precious time searching high and low on the internet when a 5 minute phone call will both find and order the part for you and make a personal connection to the vendor.
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