Upper front strut bolt goo

[A horse with no name]

Hi, I've just had our 3.2 in for it's first alignment in which all of the very hard sealant? had to be chipped off. Does anyone know what the name of this sealant? is, including where to purchase it... Thanks

[steely]

Where was the sealant, on top of the towers?
Could it be this stuff:
what is the name for panel seal gunk?

[KTL]

A heat gun or hair dryer softens it up quite well to make removal easier. Cleanup of the thin residue is easy with mineral spirits or 3M adhesive remover or Eastwood PRE or other similar thinning solvent.

I agree something soft like dum dum is good for replacing the hardened gook. A material that doesn't harden like rope caulk for windows (you can get this at home improvement stores) is ideal for future alignments. Only downside to common rope caulk is its white.

[A horse with no name]

Originally Posted by steely

Where was the sealant, on top of the towers?
Could it be this stuff:
what is the name for panel seal gunk?

Hi, the use of this material was/is to make sure that the bolts would not move. It becomes very hard over the years. They start with a thin coat of about 1" on the fender well and then built it up over the 2 plates and to the very top of the 3 bolts.

The Porsche dealers parts book does not provide them any info on what it is.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by KTL

A heat gun or hair dryer softens it up quite well to make removal easier. Cleanup of the thin residue is easy with mineral spirits or 3M adhesive remover or Eastwood PRE or other similar thinning solvent.

I agree something soft like dum dum is good for replacing the hardened gook. A material that doesn't harden like rope caulk for windows (you can get this at home improvement stores) is ideal for future alignments. Only downside to common rope caulk is its white.

3M sells a black variant:

3M Strip Calk 08578

[KTL]

Originally Posted by A horse with no name

Hi, the use of this material was/is to make sure that the bolts would not move. It becomes very hard over the years. They start with a thin coat of about 1" on the fender well and then built it up over the 2 plates and to the very top of the 3 bolts.

The Porsche dealers parts book does not provide them any info on what it is.

That's not necessarily true about the goop being a cement to prevent bolt movement. The goop indirectly prevents movement because it's primary function is to seal the strut top plate from allowing water to leak into the trunk.

The bolts are torqued to 35 ft-lb and they've got serrated lock washers under the heads. They don't move if the hardened goop is not present.

Thanks for the pointer on the black caulk. I'd only seen the white stuff at Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, etc.

[A horse with no name]

Originally Posted by KTL

That's not necessarily true about the goop being a cement to prevent bolt movement. The goop indirectly prevents movement because it's primary function is to seal the strut top plate from allowing water to leak into the trunk.

The bolts are torqued to 35 ft-lb and they've got serrated lock washers under the heads. They don't move if the hardened goop is not present.

Thanks for the pointer on the black caulk. I'd only seen the white stuff at Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, etc.

Thanks for your info. A local person told me that I should speak to one of the auto body shops that specialize only in Porsche's as they may have some or possibly let me know what and where I could purchase it.
I also sent a message off to 3M and should get an answer tomorrow sometime. I do know of such a Porsche auto body shop locally, so I will give them a ring tomorrow. When I get the info I will post it.

[A horse with no name]

Hi, I haven't yet heard back from 3M yet but the body shop recommended 3M's windshield adhesive which I can see would work well.

3M™ Auto Glass Urethane Windshield Adhesive, 10.5 fluid ounce cartridge, 08693
Part Number: 08693
UPC: 00051131086937
Stock Number: 60980015451
Medium viscosity, one part moisture curing urethane adhesive designed for windshield bonding and stationary glass attachment. Exceeds OEM strengths.

There is also 3M™ Super Fast Urethane, Black, 10 fluid ounce cartridge, 08609 that has a 10-20 minute work time.
Product Description
A medium viscosity single component moisture curing urethane adhesive.
Bonds replacement auto glass to car bodies. Thick bondline may allow some non-structural body panel applications.

[KTL]

I don't think the windshield adhesive is a good choice. I've used 3M's urethane adhesive before and it works very well for its intended purpose. Its a rubber glue. So once you apply it, it's staying put and won't be workable. It cures to a stiff rubber- much stiffer than common silicone sealants.

Not too long ago I had a tube of this windshield urethane stuff which I had previously used and saved what was left. When I tried to get push out some sealant from it with the caulk gun, I realized it had cured and the end of the tube was clogged. I poked a thin screwdriver into the tube & found the whole thing had cured. So I cut open the cartridge and what I had was a nice cylinder of stiff rubber. My point of mentioning this is that I don't think you want a thick layer of rubber sealing this area, when you consider the work it'll take to remove it in preparation for an alignment.

I'm not trying to be picky or difficult here. Just thinking that you want the replacement material to of course stay in place but not necessarily be so permanent. The strip caulk is ideal for that. It's like using putty or modeling clay. It packs in place but also can be unpacked quite easily. So you unpack the putty, set your alignment, then pack it back into place. No messing with scraping away cured sealant.

[IMR-Merlin]

Some of the windshield adhesive needs to be heated also.