| Author | Message | ||
     Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 834 Registered: 6-2009 |
Hello All, I will say at the outset that I'm a big "reduce, reuse, recycle" person and that's how this idea came to me after Geoff Wootton had mentioned that Flying Spares was selling rubber equivalents of the original duct securing straps. I always hated the material the originals were made of and really wanted something that could withstand the conditions in the engine bay and yet retain elasticity and tension for a long period. While thinking upon this I recalled having worked with inner tube rubber from commercial truck inner tube and thought that the properties of that material would be ideal. Since I've got a tire retailer down the street from me who always has a scrap pile of truck tire inner tubes I thought I'd do a "proof of concept" set, and they work. It is a simple matter to cut the rubber material with a sharp box cutter and a straight edge. The length for the straps, before stretching and with both end clips attached, is 12 inches. You simply cut a strip of the correct width (approx. 3/4-inch | 1.9mm) and around 13 inches/33 cm long. You will polish up your original end clips for reuse. You will also need Shoe Goo glue or whatever equivalent is available where you live and a standard stapler. Obviously, one could also reuse the original staple and bar from the straps that were on the car. Were I to do that I would definitely have a large pin handy to make the holes where the original staple will be inserted. Slide the clip on to one end of the strip and fold about 1/2 inch or so of the end over the one side of the clip. Apply the Shoe Goo, affix that half inch to the rest of the strap such that a loop is now holding the clip. Staple that loop and flatten staples with a hammer on the non-visible side of the strap. Perform the same actions on the opposite end of the strap, making sure that you're folding it such that the same sides of the loop are exposed and hidden. Yes, when doing one I did a fold in the wrong direction. Here is what the strap looks like before being put into place:   . . . and holding the duct in place:  The tension provided holds the wide end of the duct in to the foam gasket quite nicely. You can also make replacement sealing straps for the small end of the duct. These are about 1 7/8 inches | 5 cm wide and 13 inches | 33 cm long. Just cut the length long enough to allow an overlap for the glue and staples. There's almost no elasticity in the originals that were on SRH33576. I think the lack of tight seal on both sides of the ducts may be the biggest part of the "heat leak" I've been experiencing when the climate control system is off. I think that engine bay air has been making its way in to the gaps on both ends of each duct. Brian | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 839 Registered: 6-2009 |
Strap & replacement sealing strap on the small end of the duct on the left side while the wiper motor & rack are out:  |
