Date:         Tue, 3 Aug 2004 17:31:04 -0700
Reply-To:     Craig Oda <craigoda@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Craig Oda <craigoda@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Use this for fire saftey... AND eliminate the fire hazzard...
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Is Sonic-X better than reflect-a-cloth?

A 4' x 5' piece of Sonic-X is $54
http://www.speedmachineperformance.com/sonic_x?b=1

A 3' x 4 1/2' piece of Reflect-a-Cloth is $99
http://www.speedmachineperformance.com/reflect_a_cloth?b=1

I've got my transmission out of the van right now and there is a lot
of this old padding that is falling out on my driveway floor, face and
into my hair.  It is above the trans, on the firewall.  I'm thinking
of ripping this out and putting new stuff in there.  It already has a
big junk of padding missing.

Should I investigate Sonic-X, or is there a pre-formed piece of
padding that I can buy for this?

Cost is an issue.  I have to buy a drive plate and got machine work
done to my torque converter.  I may have to buy a torque converter
from Jeff at vanagonparts.com if I find out that my current torque
converter failed.  (I didn't know about the availability of a used
torque converter before I had the machine work done.)

I might be willing to drop another $60 into the project to fix that
padding.  Or, I may put the trans back up there and wait for another
few months.  I think it's a little hotter and noisier with that big
hole in the padding above the trans.  Dropping the trans was pretty
straightforward, so I don't mind taking it out again to put new
padding up there at a later date.  This assumes I can get the trans up
onto the engine studs as easily as it came off, which might not be the
case.

Anybody change the padding up there recently and has advice?


On Tue, 3 Aug 2004 12:59:07 -0700, Robert Lilley <rclilleyjr@cox.net> wrote:
> http://www.heatshieldproducts.com/sonic-x.htm
>
> This is a mat that does not burn.  You can put it over the engine hatch,
> under the carpet, to prevent fires from getting into the interior.
>
> You can also take the material off the engine hatch and put the mat on the
> engine hatch, then add a layer of heat reflective on top to block engine
> heat from entering into the interior from the engine hatch.  The burn proof
> material will keep the hatch from burning and fueling the fire.  Adding a
> fuel shut off switch tied into a heat sensor would keep the fuel from being
> added to the fire.
>
> You could also use a fuel line covering to protect the fuel line from an
> actual fire.
>
> http://www.heatshieldproducts.com/red-hot_sleeving.htm
>
> When I had my 73 T4 2.0L engine drop a valve while doing 70, it caught the
> fire wall foam engine seal on fire.  I had put the fuel line in a plastic
> covering.  The covering burned and started to burn the cloth covering off
> the fuel line buy the time I put the fire out.
>
> I am currently looking for a fuel line that does not rot as the rubber ones
> do over time. Therefore, the fuel lines would not be a problem and a future
> hazardous candidate for fueling a fire.
>
>
> Robert
>