Why all the Goop?

[FourLoti]

Hi:

Pretty sure this was not done on the assembly line   Or maybe it was?

Before I dig it out, is there a common reason why people wound need/want to seal up the top radiator hose bulkhead passage?  Should I leave it alone? (after excavating the wiring harness and WS washer tube!)

Thanks,

Ron

[4129R]

It looks like the same stuff that is painted on the cardboard wheel arch closers.

[Bainford]

Sealing any holes where air can escape is commonly done to improve cooling system efficiency. Blocking leaks ensures as much of the air as possible coming in through the grill, exits through the radiator. Of course, some of that air is also used for interior ventilation, and any leaks in the forward compartment will reduce efficiency there, too. The bonnet would have been factory sealed with a foam strip (on the underside of the bonnet) to the top edge of the plenum bulkhead, and sealed to the body around its lower edges, again to improve efficiency of this system.

Having said that, there are more elegant sealing solutions than the current tar job.

[dakazman]

Maybe he forgot to add the coolant tube rubber spacer and was getting vibrating noise.
 Just a thought
Dakazman

[FourLoti]

Thanks everyone. Now, to cover it correctly!

Ron

[Fotog]

I don't know what I'm looking at.  What am I seeing beneath the hose?

[FourLoti]

Nothing. Just the oversized hole going through to the front face of the chassis.

Ron

[4129R]

I have just made a metal plate in two halves, to close the hole around the bottom hose. I sprayed it matt black, and pop-riveted it in place.

Any leak other than through the radiator, will reduce the natural cooling of the radiator from air through the grill at speed.

As the car was made in Norfolk, here in Norfolk, we call that black stuff "gunge".

[Lotuswins]

I went through an apprinticeship as a marine electrician in a navy yard in my youth, and that stuff looks just like 'monkey shite' that we used to seal around cables to prevent damage due to vibration.  I believe my TCS had it around the wire only, not the coolant tube. 

3M makes similar material for sealing sheet metal or windshields (butyl rubber) if you wish to replace it.  Covering around the coolant tube will keep the air from escaping around the radiator, but the wiring hole leads directly into the cabin so that should be sealed up to prevent cool air from coming in during the winter.

Jerry Rude
4005R

[Pfreen]

I used a length of small diameter rubber tubing and slit it lengthwise.  Then, I used an appropriate
 length of slit tubing as a grommet to prevent shaffing of the rubber coolant hose. 

[FourLoti]

Thanks everyone. I plan to fabricate a two part plate as mentioned. Or, I may have some 1/16 plastic sheet that I can slip around.

I should have kept a photo of the heavy wad I removed. Don't think Chapman's quote was, "Simplify, and then add goop."

Ron

[Bryan Boyle]

Thanks everyone. Now, to cover it correctly!

Ron

While it was open...I'd snake an extra length of heavier gauge wire through there...just in case at some point you want to upgrade your headlight system to a relay-switched arrangement to take some of the load off the column high/low switch.  It's easier to do on the S2 (where the harness to the front goes through the front right wheelwell), but doable (with care) on the TC where the harness stays inside the body.

[Fotog]

My front plenum was very roughly cut.  Much larger holes than needed for the hoses.  I made these fiberglass pieces to cover the excess in an effort not to give up air through the radiator.  One on the left (notice the screw) is painted.  The on on the right is not.

Vince

[Mike Mileski]

Sealsit.com

A variety of firewall type seals.

Mike Mileski
Tucson, AZ