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bristolbaron

heater exchange box foam replacement and flap greasing?!

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i've taken the heater exchange box out of my VR to fit a new heater matrix, all going well so far.

however, anything foam i touch is crumbling in my hands! is it possible to buy a kit from the dealers with all the foam pieces needed or would these now be obsolite as they're perishable?

 

in which case what do people do about replacing the foam? buy from elsewhere?

i dont really want to put it back together as it is and cant see sourcing a second hand replacement would be any better.

 

also, my flaps need lubricating. :norty: whats the best thing to use for this?

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I bought some foam seal with a part number from VW for mine and it was just that foam stuff that is sticky one side, waited the 2-3days and drove to VW twice, once to order, once to pick up and i got a bit of that foam they had obviously just cut off a big roll, exactly the same stuff you can buy online or from most DIY shops. If i'd of known it was going to be that stuff i wouldn't of ordered from VW, felt proper ripped off, about £6-8 for less than a metre of one side sticky foam tape :lol:

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There are two elements to this...

 

* The foam gaskets which seal various bits of the heaterbox where it connects to the pipework, etc

* The foam covering on the flaps inside the heaterbox

 

The majority of the foam gaskets are still available from Volkswagen though I have no idea on the prices I'm afraid... the foam covering on the flaps is more problematic. When we did the heatermatrix on 2cc's car, the foam covering on the flaps in his heaterbox were toast... so we elected to clean what was left off completely and then bought some heat reflective matting from B&Q and cut to size. It can't be too thick as it won't seal / close properly so the sheets need to be mega thin. You also need to use something suitable to bond them onto the metal - we used copydex which has apparently held and doesn't vent horrendous fumes into the cabin.

 

Hope that's of some use :)

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I did this recently as the matrix went pop and destroyed the foam, i used some thick craft foam and some spray on glue, maybe a bit to much glue the smell of it is just going and the big grin i have driving round town.

The foam works fine just make sure the flaps can move freely after replacing the foam.

 

Going from what jim has just said when i say thick foam i meant about 4mm which is thicker than the standard stuff

Edited by captainredeye

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PTFE spray from toolstation worked well for lubricating mine, I'd go for draught excluder foam with adhesive backing for replacing the foam bits.

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