Old foam insulation blowing from vents
#1
12-11-2007, 04:24 AM
Old foam insulation blowing from vents
For more than a year now, pieces of old disintegrating foam insulation sporadically blow out of the vents of my '97 Civic when I am running the A/C (possibly also the heater but I don't remember). Have others experienced a similar problem? If so, where is the insulation coming from and do I need to worry about it? Would it be straightforward to install new foam insulation in the system?
#2
12-11-2007, 08:41 AM
RE: Old foam insulation blowing from vents
I just get dust bombs when I havent fired my car in a while. Then again it's an 89, 8 years older than yours and may not have insulation, or it's already been blown out by the previous owner (weeeehehehe)..
#3
12-11-2007, 10:44 AM
RE: Old foam insulation blowing from vents
Are you sure it is foam? I cannot image they would put foam in cars becasue cars would crumble it over time. Maybe previous owner stuff something in it. Can you take a picture of it or something?
#4
12-11-2007, 11:25 AM
RE: Old foam insulation blowing from vents
ORIGINAL: ugh3012
Are you sure it is foam? I cannot image they would put foam in cars becasue cars would crumble it over time. Maybe previous owner stuff something in it. Can you take a picture of it or something?
Are you sure it is foam? I cannot image they would put foam in cars becasue cars would crumble it over time. Maybe previous owner stuff something in it. Can you take a picture of it or something?
#5
12-11-2007, 11:37 AM
Recognized HCF Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Brownsburg, IN 46112
Posts: 11,203
RE: Old foam insulation blowing from vents
ya it sounds like just the foam coming loose and blowing around....... only thing you can realy do is deal with it unfortunatly 
if its realy anoying then id say get some womens HOES and tape them over the vents openings behind the vent aiming things on the outside... works to hold back most the foam chunks.... and after awhile just take them off and turn the air up on FULL BLAST to blow the chunks out all at once....
its not realy insulation... just a foam like gasket that makes a tighter seal to seperate the HEAT and AC ducts... its in those flappers...
if its realy anoying then id say get some womens HOES and tape them over the vents openings behind the vent aiming things on the outside... works to hold back most the foam chunks.... and after awhile just take them off and turn the air up on FULL BLAST to blow the chunks out all at once.... its not realy insulation... just a foam like gasket that makes a tighter seal to seperate the HEAT and AC ducts... its in those flappers...
#6
12-11-2007, 11:51 AM
RE: Old foam insulation blowing from vents
ORIGINAL: addiction2bass
ya it sounds like just the foam coming loose and blowing around....... only thing you can realy do is deal with it unfortunatly if its realy anoying then id say get some womens HOES and tape them over the vents openings behind the vent aiming things on the outside... works to hold back most the foam chunks.... and after awhile just take them off and turn the air up on FULL BLAST to blow the chunks out all at once....
its not realy insulation... just a foam like gasket that makes a tighter seal to seperate the HEAT and AC ducts... its in those flappers...
ya it sounds like just the foam coming loose and blowing around....... only thing you can realy do is deal with it unfortunatly
if its realy anoying then id say get some womens HOES and tape them over the vents openings behind the vent aiming things on the outside... works to hold back most the foam chunks.... and after awhile just take them off and turn the air up on FULL BLAST to blow the chunks out all at once.... its not realy insulation... just a foam like gasket that makes a tighter seal to seperate the HEAT and AC ducts... its in those flappers...
#8
12-11-2007, 04:29 PM
RE: Old foam insulation blowing from vents
Well, if you wanted to do it properly, you would have to pull the dash and work with every section of duct work individually. I would think that the only purpose the foam served was to make sure there were no leaks at the duct joints.
So hypothetically, the only thing you have to worry about is less air power through the vents because it's leaking out of the joints under the dash? The only problem I could think of would be condensation under the dash due to air differences, but I doubt if it would be a huge deal.
Just my 2 cents. (Which is currently worth €0.01)
So hypothetically, the only thing you have to worry about is less air power through the vents because it's leaking out of the joints under the dash? The only problem I could think of would be condensation under the dash due to air differences, but I doubt if it would be a huge deal.
Just my 2 cents. (Which is currently worth €0.01)
#9
12-12-2007, 08:00 AM
RE: Old foam insulation blowing from vents
Thanks for all the helpful replies. Given the large amount of work involved in removing the dash, I think I'll just ignore the occasional gasket debris blowing from my vents. In the meantime, I noticed a whistling noise when my blower motor was running, so I popped out the blower motor from under the dash. To do this only required removal of three bolts. Pretty simple. The blower contained many leaves that I removed, and now it seems to run more quietly.
#10
12-12-2007, 09:45 AM
RE: Old foam insulation blowing from vents
Sounds like it is no big deal to ignore it until a large chunk of it comes out and hit you in the face while you are racing. LOL... I want a picture of that when it happens.