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I am getting ready to start the final push on my car in the next couple weeks, and part of that is replacing the kick panels with some that will house speakers. I have a pair of panels I restored to cut, and my originals will just be put away for now. My question is on sealing the panels to the car itself - the panels I refinished for the speakers had a HUGE amount of non-hardening caulking wrapped around the inner surface that pressed against the steel of the vent opening. The ones I'm removing from my car to put away have none at all. Somewhere in between is the right amount of material to use to seal up the vents and make them work as they should. Does anyone have a diagram or even a pic of what theirs looked like prior to installation? Which caulking/sealant did you use? Which surfaces get caulked? Thanks!
Mine is an a/c car, so maybe something is different, but there was absolutely NO caulk on my original kick panels when I removed them to install a new set that had the speakers built in. They had a few screws and that was it.
Mine is an a/c car, so maybe something is different, but there was absolutely NO caulk on my original kick panels when I removed them to install a new set that had the speakers built in. They had a few screws and that was it.
Well, at least I'm not the only one that found this lol... It seems there would be an area you would want to seal if just to make the vent air flow as good as possible, and maybe for keeping water out of the passenger compartment in the rain. But it also seems like the engineers would have made things a tighter fit and not required a rope of caulking over an inch in diameter to seal the edges...
Is this a AC or non AC? I have owned both, been awhile since I removed any. If I remember correct, AC has nothing, and the non AC does. I used the flat gray caulking, that comes in a roll, can get at auto paint store.
Is this a AC or non AC? I have owned both, been awhile since I removed any. If I remember correct, AC has nothing, and the non AC does. I used the flat gray caulking, that comes in a roll, can get at auto paint store.
It's non-AC, as were the replacement panels I got for the speakers. Both have the dual vent pulls. One had a monstrous amount of caulk and the other had none. There seems to be more than one place where the caulk should be applied, but I only found it around the outside, right behind the front panel piece, not further back along the short duct anywhere. I should post a picture.
This is where I found this mass of caulking (this isn’t quite all of it). It seems to me that the caulking should be more out towards the end, not all jammed up where you see it here.
I’d say it was the workers first day on that job!! I have never seen that much sealer on a kickpanel before. I’m guessing they were pretty inexperienced with the gun that applied that stuff
I’d say it was the workers first day on that job!! I have never seen that much sealer on a kickpanel before. I’m guessing they were pretty inexperienced with the gun that applied that stuff
Both sides were like that - and again, my car has none at all. Doesn’t it look like it’s in the wrong place anyway? Shouldn’t it be out near the end in the channel that’s formed around the vent door?
This is where I found this mass of caulking (this isn’t quite all of it). It seems to me that the caulking should be more out towards the end, not all jammed up where you see it here.
That is about the same way mine looked when I took it apart. Following.
Chaulk the contact surface that is under the chaulk shown in the pic.....why do it different from the factory? Sure, you may be able to get away with a bit less........or....
You might be able to fabricate (cut) a oval "donut" made from a foam sheet material. Something that has the consistency/density of the pipe insulation sleeve stuff you get at Home Depot, etc. Not super stiff or dense but not super/ultra soft. You're just trying to seal any potential gaps so the air flow all goes into the vent.
70Post is right about where the caulking should go - right on the flat area where the screws attach, and it should only take about a 1/4” bead. Why I had so much is beyond me. Here’s the pic of the area once I got the panel off - it seems weird that there is such a deep tunnel for the vent, plus I have a piece of insulation back against the fender - I haven’t seen this before. Is this right?
Who knows on the amount of chaulk....probably one of those things where they erred on the side of "use plenty" instead of "save some $ and barely use any". Too little chaulk/lack of sealing may have been a deal where noise or drafts occurred and then that resulted in a bunch of customer complaints. Or maybe fear of water finding its way onto the interior floor and all the problems associated with that.
I have found pieces of fiberglass type insulation in that area before. Probably a "noise" reduction deal. Seems like a great way to help trap condensation inside there.
to seal the kick panels to the cowl openings and replicate the "massive" amounts of caulk/sealant the factory used, try window glazing compound, available from any hardware store.
The closest thing to factory is what we used to call dum-dum, 3M strip caulk. It is black and does not harden. Aside from being black and coming in narrower strips it is identical.
