Large opening to road behind engine?

[dsmyth]

I was about to replace the rubber gaskets around the engine when I noticed a one inch opening across the back. There are two pieces of rubber on each side that look like part of a seal. Is something missing? The engine heat pad only fills about one third of the crack leaving lots of space for road dust to enter. thanks

[dsmyth]

This picture is standing in an empty engine compartment looking up. The one inch crack at my left finger goes across the back of the engine, partly filled by the bottom of the heat shield ( in this case it is new). As far as I can tell it would let lots of road dust to enter up the front of the heat shield reducing the benefit of a properly sealed engine compartment???

[sc_rufctr]

There was a dense black foam sealing this area from the factory.

It disintegrates and falls out over time.

I replaced mine with a similar foam I found at the hardware store.
It's a black strip and it's impregnated with some sort of tar... Used for sealing roofs.

[Peter Zimmermann]

Doug: That crack (opening) is there by design, and, as Peter posted, it's supposed to have a foam insert. You might want to check with a couple of body shops tp see what they use. I'll bet my buddy Brace (Brace's Auto Body) would talk to you... (310) 823-2474. If the factory foam blocks are NLA ask Brace - that's what I do!

[Gunter]

Originally Posted by dsmyth

This picture is standing in an empty engine compartment looking up. The one inch crack at my left finger goes across the back of the engine, partly filled by the bottom of the heat shield ( in this case it is new). As far as I can tell it would let lots of road dust to enter up the front of the heat shield reducing the benefit of a properly sealed engine compartment???

Exactly. When the original seal desintegrated over time, the opening allowed too much dust in. I removed all of the old seal and cut a strip of 3-4 inch thick foam and stuffed it in there.

[dsmyth]

Thanks Gents, I thought that hole should be plugged with something, I guess foam in that area would not have lasted to long even with a coating. I wonder how many cars are driving around without it. It sure lets the dust in. Ah ..the benefits of a hoist. Doug

[joefrantz]

The factory foam blocks are PN 911 504 930 00. I bought 2 a couple of years ago, so at least they were available at that time.

Follow-up question:

If you look closely, the gap in question is wider on the ends (roughly opposite the shock mounts) but it narrows quite a bit in the center. The foam blocks are sized for the wider end gaps. Doug's index finger is pointing to one of the foam blocks in the wider section of the gap.

PET doesn't show a seal for the narrow mid-section of the gap, and it calls for only 2 blocks per car.

Sooo -- what was in the narrow section of the gap originally?

Thanks

Joe