Custom Gaskets for HVAC

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

Made these at work today, going to test fit them once I get home. Will let y'all know how they do!

[AZJeff]

I am interested in how these pan out.  What technology did you use to cut the foam?

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

52 minutes ago, AZJeff said:

I am interested in how these pan out.  What technology did you use to cut the foam?

I used a crayon to trace the openings onto a sheet of paper, scanned that to the computer, then traced the scan in CorelDraw. From there, I made an outline in the thickness I needed for each gasket (also on CorelDraw) and sent it over to our laser cutter to cut.

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

The blower motor gasket may need a bit of a touch up. It was an interesting one being 1" thick in some places and 2" in others.

[eaglescout526]

You’ll have one hell of a market if you produce these. 

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

35 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said:

You’ll have one hell of a market if you produce these. 

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

Tested them, will need to make some adjustments for a better fit. They seat really well, I just made a few too wide. Hopefully I can cut them out tomorrow and try again!

[AZJeff]

20 hours ago, H3ADBANG4L1F3 said:

I used a crayon to trace the openings onto a sheet of paper, scanned that to the computer, then traced the scan in CorelDraw. From there, I made an outline in the thickness I needed for each gasket (also on CorelDraw) and sent it over to our laser cutter to cut.

The laser cutter is the part I am most interested in.   Is this a tool you own?

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

1 hour ago, AZJeff said:

The laser cutter is the part I am most interested in.   Is this a tool you own?

Unfortunately I don't own it, they're quite expensive! It's at the library where I work.

[AZJeff]

12 minutes ago, H3ADBANG4L1F3 said:

Unfortunately I don't own it, they're quite expensive! It's at the library where I work.

That's too bad, because those samples you showed looked to be of OEM quality.

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

55 minutes ago, AZJeff said:

That's too bad, because those samples you showed looked to be of OEM quality.

Don't get me wrong - I can use the machine whenever I so choose. I'm the head of our "MakerSpace" which has the laser etcher among other things. And thanks! I used 1" and 1/8" microcell polyethylene foam to make them. I'll be making some more (likely today) with improvements. It's rare to get it exactly right on the first attempt!

[ghetdjc320]

Have you tried reassembling the hvac to the firewall yet? 1" was too thick for the cowl opening for mine so i ended up with 3/4. "Minicell L200" foam is what I used and seemed to be identical to the oem stuff. Made some nice kneeling pads for working under the truck with the extra. That stuff also cuts excellent with an electric turkey carver.

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

22 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Have you tried reassembling the hvac to the firewall yet? 1" was too thick for the cowl opening for mine so i ended up with 3/4. "Minicell L200" foam is what I used and seemed to be identical to the oem stuff. Made some nice kneeling pads for working under the truck with the extra. That stuff also cuts excellent with an electric turkey carver.

Not yet! That won't come until after I finish sealing up the leaks and sound deadening the firewall. The tricky part is getting an exact replica of the OEM gaskets. After that I can easily cut them out in whatever thickness I need.

[ghetdjc320]

18 minutes ago, H3ADBANG4L1F3 said:

Not yet! That won't come until after I finish sealing up the leaks and sound deadening the firewall. The tricky part is getting an exact replica of the OEM gaskets. After that I can easily cut them out in whatever thickness I need.

Any chance you have access to a water jet cutter? That would probably work well too. 

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

1 minute ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Any chance you have access to a water jet cutter? That would probably work well too. 

I wish! About 15 minutes away is another MakerSpace with a $60/yr fee. They have one, along with all sorts of other neat tools.

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

Improvements!

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

Success! Never mind the mess in the garage lol

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

Comparison of the originals to mine.

[eaglescout526]

God. just looking at your old ones makes me wonder how much cold air flow I am losing to the dash.

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

26 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said:

God. just looking at your old ones makes me wonder how much cold air flow I am losing to the dash.

Lmao. Once I put the heater box back in and make sure everything fits I may gauge interest to see how many would purchase them. I think they'll fit all (or at least most) 96 or below Cherokees/Comanches.

[Duncan Moody]

Nice work! I improvised with weather stripping, doublesided tape adhesive, and gardening kneeling pads! Not going to open it up and try again though. Hopefully never have to do that again.

[eaglescout526]

The foam for the evap and core would be a best seller too. Sad that theres at least 3 different variants of that foam.

[Brewinghokie]

14 hours ago, H3ADBANG4L1F3 said:

Lmao. Once I put the heater box back in and make sure everything fits I may gauge interest to see how many would purchase them. I think they'll fit all (or at least most) 96 or below Cherokees/Comanches.

I'd definitely be interested. They look awesome! 

[Pete M]

the cowl opening is a real bear to reproduce.  the old one is crazy flexy and the new foam has to be practically the exact right height to fit in there.  and it was still a real pain in the butt.  

[H3ADBANG4L1F3]

5 hours ago, Brewinghokie said:

I'd definitely be interested. They look awesome! 

Thanks! Once I get the final fit I'll definitely post them up for others.

5 hours ago, Pete M said:

the cowl opening is a real bare to reproduce.  the old one is crazy flexy and the new foam has to be practically the exact right height to fit in there.  and it was still a real pain in the butt.  

I'm definitely anticipating a Mk. 3. Lol. We'll see how it pans out when I try to put everything back in the truck!

  

19 hours ago, Duncan Moody said:

Nice work! I improvised with weather stripping, doublesided tape adhesive, and gardening kneeling pads! Not going to open it up and try again though. Hopefully never have to do that again.

Thanks! It's a huge pain to get off - I wrestled with the nuts and studs in the engine bay for about 10 hours!