If your Westfalia is anywhere near 20 years of age, I recommend you have a look at the insulation above the transmission in the "transmission tunnel", for lack of better words. You may find something like this: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/misterpolak/WBX_transplant/Trans_insulation_old_1.jpg http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/misterpolak/WBX_transplant/Trans_insulation_old_2.jpg That is a sagging mess of old, cracked backing and disintegrating foam which has lost much of its usefulness. When you pull it out it will look like this: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/misterpolak/WBX_transplant/Trans_insulation_old_3.jpg Next time you do a clutch or job where the trans or the engine has to come out, you may want to consider to replace that mess with something a little more effective. I chose aluminized Refletix 25'' x 16' "bubble" insulation that comes in rolls. After I pulled out the old insulation in pieces I put the puzzle back together to get a good idea of the size I needed to fit: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/misterpolak/WBX_transplant/Trans_insulation_new_1.jpg I used aluminium tape to seal the folds and to give it a finished look. I also cleaned the transmission tunnel area. It was remarkably clean with only some glue residue and minor dust. When I finished it looked like this: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/misterpolak/WBX_transplant/Trans_insulation_new_2.jpg I also added a few patches of sound insulating material behind Reflectix. This should do a better job of keeping the heat from the transmission away from the passenger compartment, and do a decent job of suppressing the noise. Coming soon: The Amazing Enigmatic DJ-code WBX in an '84 Westfalia. Thanks, Chris S. |
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