Engine bay cleanup - some input please
 

Hey gang! While waiting for a big box of parts for my gearbox rebuild I've started the grungy job of cleaning the engine bay.

A couple questions. Between the crossmember at the front of the bay and the firewall there were some bits of gooey black foam. I assume that from the factory there must have been a whole strip of this stuff to seal the gap and keep dust out of the bay. What is the common replacement?

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Then there are the heater boxes. Looking pretty trashed, but they do work fine. Is it worth having these media blasted and powder coated, or should I just buy a couple new ones? Dansk replacements are $120 each from our host.


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And finally: any tips for removing the sound pad glue?

The foam pieces are easily replaced with new part 911 504 930 00 referred to as a 'strap' or "foam block"
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Search for heater boxes as many have shown what a restored heater valve looks like.
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As far as the heater pad good 'ol elbow grease" and some sort of solvent to break down the glue

Thanks Stevie!

The glue is a nightmare... heat gun and scraper was most effective. Thinner, brake cleaner and citrus cleaner wouldn't touch it. Next stop, scotch brite.

So here is an idea: thinking of hitting the firewall with textured paint, rubberized or otherwise, that will tolerate engine bay temps. Then paint. With some texture, it won't matter if I remove every last speck of glue.

I know someone who did this with good results. Any thoughts?

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Perhaps some citrus based stuff might help with your glue residue.

See above, citrus cleaner doesn't help. Well, unless I use it with a scotch bite pad. Even so that takes forever. Elbow grease. :-)

I have found that Wirth Brake and Parts cleaner is the best stuff. Gentle on paint. Here in Canada you can only buy directly from Wirth. The large container is about$90 on sale. The great spray bottle is about $25. So useful for ongoing DIY jobs.
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Johan

I had the same problem but for the interior, all the conventional solvents wouldn't touch the glue. I ended up using xylene. Horrible stuff and you need to ventilate and wear a solvent mask. Good luck....

Or clean them up... http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/589980-cleaning-flapper-boxes.html#post5829425

I've had good luck with a product called "Goo Gone" for removing glue residue. Brush it on, wait, scrape, repeat as needed. Not fast, but gets it done.

I am considering the same thing. I dont really want to put another sound pad back there. Besides, every mm of extra clearance behind the intake system counts right?

Glue removal
 

Try 3M Adhesive remover, I have found it works great. It is available at any auto parts store.

I would have the heater boxes blasted and powder coated, the new ones come painted and will rust just like those did IMO.

The 3M adhesive remover worked for me. Spray and let soak, repeat several times until it scrubs off without excessive effort. I think I used a scotch brite pad.

Cerakote is great for parts with close tolerances that may slide against each other. Powder coat will just chip.

I just went through all of this while my engine was out. I cleaned up the bay and installed new foam insulation including those foam blocks. I also replaced one of the heat boxes which was rusted out.

Since I was replacing the insulation I did not have to remove all the old glue only the loose parts, making sure I had a solid and smooth surface to apply the glue to. I used a stiff plastic brush to do it. My old residue was kind of powdery not really sticky mind you.

You can just press in the foam blocks from below the car. They come with a self adhesive surface on one side, which makes it a bit of a pain to put in place since you have to squish it in there. I found the best way to do this was only start to peel off the plastic over the adhesive then squish it in place and peel the whole film off after you positioned it where you wanted it. When you have the blocks in place there is no gap to look up into the engine bay from below. If I remember correctly these are behind the shocks and the shape of the frame to the firewall creates the gaps.

I don't think I have a picture of the blocks, but I have one showing the firewall. See below.

For the rest of the engine bay I just used a citrus based degreaser. You can check out my thread for the whole engine rebuild and install here: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/911-engine-rebuilding-forum/934725-another-first-engine-drop-progress-follow.html

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Thanks everyone! Great input!

I've made some good progress on the glue, once all the majority is gone I'll do a good clean and degreasing on the engine bay. Then the plan is to spray the firewall with bodyschutz (the textured undercoating that can be painted) followed by body color. zK: great tip on putting in the foam blocks before pulling the backing strip off!

Updates to come!

When I removed the sound pad from my car, the glue was just awful to remove. I wound up letting it soak with a rag that was saturated adhesive remover. I taped the rag in place, put plastic behind (to keep it from just drying out in a few hours). Came back the next day and was able to get the rest of the glue off.

I wanted a textured material to replace it. I used a bed-liner material that was tinted to match the car. The material is Raptor U-Pol. It comes in a black, a couple of colors and tintable white (which I had tinted to match the bamboo beige).

Works great - and looks exactly like the day I put it on some 6 or 7 years ago. I left the folding metal clips in place just in case I changed my mind and wanted the cover back in. Obviously, I haven't changed my mind!

angela

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I need to remove the adhesive off mine this week.


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A trick I've seen on the boards here is to put magnets on the back of new foam insulation/padding. Then you can easily reposition or remove the padding without any mess.

Great tip, I’ll give that a whirl!


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