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My 2004 XJR with SC has a small plastic bulkhead (It seems huge when you start to take it off; it’s embarrassing to see how small it is when it is removed.). This bulkhead attaches to the metal bulkhead between the engine compartment and the cabin. It is at the top, roughly 1’, of the engine compartment, right below the cowling where the windshield wipers connect.
I found it to be impossible to remove the insulation without tearing it up. As you see in the pictures, it is brownish on one side and brown on the back. It's a gnat’s hiney less than ¼” thick. And it is fabric-like.
I suspect it is for vibration & sound The lower insulation that I did not have to remove is foil-clad &, I suspect, is also for shielding heat.
While the picture of the plastic bulkhead is upside down & backwards, it gives a visual and the pictures of the front & back of the insulation are also shown.
After the pictures, I have link to the product I'm thinking about. Anyone with first-hand experience? Please let me know what you think.
Thanks & best,
Steve
This is what I am thinking of using because it is self-sticking, it is in 6" squares that will easily confirm to the plastic. It will make it easy to cut cocers to go over the fastening points
Hi Steve,
I have read the description of the material you are thinking to use and based on that, I do not think that it is 100% suitable.
The original material is soft and fabric like because it is designed to absorb acoustic waves, whereas the soundproofing of the link is for deadening sound caused by vibrations.
I was thinking that maybe you could search for other soundproofing materials used in the car audio industry. If I remember correctly, there are sound insulations that are made of foam, are self adhesive, as well and are also fire resistant.
Thanks, Thomas. A month ago, I had found something similar to what you suggest. This morning I was lazy & grabbed the 1st thing. I was going to examine thoroughly. My thinking was that someone may have just used something...
Just an alternative... I had to remove the insulation while changing spark plugs on the area to the right of where you are (it was decrepit and barely functional anyway, I hated the ratty look of it). I used Canopus black butyl sound deadener. it comes in both silver and black - I preferred the look of black.
You can find it on Amazon at "CANOPUS Car Sound Deadening Mat, 80 mil 10 sqft, Pack of 10 Sheets, Butyl Sound Deadener Mat, Audio Car Sound Dampening Material for Car Trunk, Door, Floor and Ceiling, Silver (or Black)
It conforms really well to compound curves, I'm pretty sure it will outlive the bulkhead, is really nice quality, and provides much better heat and sound insulation than the OEM imitation mouse fur.
RE:is it easily removable if there is a need to remove #8 spark plug again?
I don't think it will need to be removed to get to that dreaded last plug on left / drivers side. It's much thinner then the faux mouse fur, and won't get snagged by socket wrench extension. Just for fun, I "tested" that this am by removing coil pack and my multi-swivel slides in the recess just fine.
Oh, and as a side note / potential modifications while in there.... When I was changing my plugs @ 60k, I wondered a bit about several folks noting Coil Pack failure(s). My theory, utterly unfounded and without a stitch of evidence, is that the engine cover traps a lot of heat in that area in the attempt to reduce noise and/or make motor look prettier. So I took the time to drill out every dimple on the left and right hand side (see attached pics) of the engine cover. It's not difficult - once you locate proper bit size and a appropriate countersink, you can fly through drilling them out, then use countersink to make a clean chamfered hole free of stray stringers. Of Course, you would do this with engine cover on bench, not while on engine .
I noticed that the insulation is minuscule in thickness compared to the 1/4" of the original.
Since I was planning not to "layer" the fasteners, metal & plastic, I am concerned about vibration and sound being transmitted through the fasters. To negate that, I was going to cut a circle for each fastener. At first blush, it appears that your product could do this.
Because it is so thin, could it be applied in 2 coats for better insulation, staggering the joints.
The holes in the cover are just plain good looking! I may do that regardless of affect!
I noticed that the insulation is minuscule in thickness compared to the 1/4" of the original.
Since I was planning not to "layer" the fasteners, metal & plastic, I am concerned about vibration and sound being transmitted through the fasters. To negate that, I was going to cut a circle for each fastener. At first blush, it appears that your product could do this.
Because it is so thin, could it be applied in 2 coats for better insulation, staggering the joints.
The holes in the cover are just plain good looking! I may do that regardless of affect!
Yes, two layers works fine, I actually did just that where I had some excess material. One caution; it sticks like the devil, make sure your first "stick" is the one you were planning. Also, I always prep (wipe) area with 91 or 99% denatured alcohol before application. Windex works as well.
Oh, and as a side note / potential modifications while in there.... When I was changing my plugs @ 60k, I wondered a bit about several folks noting Coil Pack failure(s). My theory, utterly unfounded and without a stitch of evidence, is that the engine cover traps a lot of heat in that area in the attempt to reduce noise and/or make motor look prettier. So I took the time to drill out every dimple on the left and right hand side (see attached pics) of the engine cover. It's not difficult - once you locate proper bit size and a appropriate countersink, you can fly through drilling them out, then use countersink to make a clean chamfered hole free of stray stringers. Of Course, you would do this with engine cover on bench, not while on engine .
@ctsemicon THAT LOOKS SEXY!
Pretty evenly spaced, did you just drilled those holes with a handrill or mark centers using some kind template or, may be used, a perforated piece of sheet metal or something?
Well, I can tell you it wasn't cause I possess any superior form of eye-hand coordination. Seriously, the 4.2 NA has dimples; I simply found a drill bit that centered nicely in the dimple and had at it. And, by using a countersink that fit the hole once drilled, it even improved the self-centering. Afraid to say I am not a human powered CNC machine, but this one was easy cause dimples did all the work. All I used was a 12 volt cordless drill, sharp bit, and my innate fear of damaging expensive part.
I kinda wondered if the dimples were always meant to be holes and someone in accounting nixed them cause cost-benefit calculation was a fail....
Hmmmm...Not gonna say its good or bad. I think intent on engine side is to reflect heat as well as sound. Mounting on firewall side would reduce effectiveness of heat reflection capability. Also, plastic not renowned for its long term stability to UV and heat; Mounting insulation on back side will not protect plastic.
HeeHeeHee..do both. Seriously, I think it your choice.
Chris, we came to somewhat the same conclusion. Initially, I assumed that since there's plastic all over the place around the engine, it wouldn't matter. Then, I thought, but maybe it is a different "alloy" of plastic... Yesterday, I posed the question via email to the manufacturer. If there is one, I will post the response.
Take what the manufacturer tells you with a grain of salt. Very few, if any, manufacturers test plastics and rubber beyond a "accelerated" age test (not really years, its usually months at higher temp, UV, etc). Plastics have a remarkable way of being very sensitive to the plasticizers and accelerants used during compounding. Witness the ridiculous short lifetime of Jaguar's rubber suspension boots . Had they added carbon black to the original translucent boots, they might have lasted as long as the car. I have a deep distrust of some of the some of the places I see plastics being used vehicles that are 2010+ underhood where cars are set up to run very hot coolant temps (BMW, looking at you).
Wonderful material; thanks, Chris. Utility knife, tin snips, marking pen. A little tedious, but not hard. The material seems heavy & I can see if I were designing for weight, I might pick something else.
05-04-2024, 08:35 AM
Insulation Expert Needed: Engine Compartment
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. Seriously, the 4.2 NA has dimples; I simply found a drill bit that centered nicely in the dimple and had at it. And, by using a countersink that fit the hole once drilled, it even improved the self-centering. Afraid to say I am not a human powered CNC machine, but this one was easy cause dimples did all the work. All I used was a 12 volt cordless drill, sharp bit, and my innate fear of damaging expensive part.
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