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Tube from my ram air to my airbox is on its last legs.

riobison

Well Known Member
On my RV 4 with an o360 the tube from my ram air on the cowl to my airbox is on its last legs.

It appears to be a 1/8"+- sheet of silicone wrapped around into shape to fit and riveted into place on the airbox.

Would anyone have any idea on where to get this or other practical options? Would the one from a Citabria fit if cut to length?

Thanks

Tim
 
If you are ok with fiberglass work, you can do something like this. This uses a 3” SCAT hose between the airbox and the cowl engine air inlet. I suggest you figure out what size SCAT hose works best for your inlet and modify the airbox accordingly.

Carl
50582-EF7-5087-464-C-9-C68-2-EFBD89400-AC.jpg
 
On my RV 4 with an o360 the tube from my ram air on the cowl to my airbox is on its last legs.

It appears to be a 1/8"+- sheet of silicone wrapped around into shape to fit and riveted into place on the airbox.

Would anyone have any idea on where to get this or other practical options? Would the one from a Citabria fit if cut to length?

Thanks

Tim

The material is common baffle seal. Cut, roll, and rivet as necessary.

http://https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/siliconecowlseals5.php
 
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The material is common baffle seal. Cut, roll, and rivet as necessary.

http://https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/siliconecowlseals5.php

It may not be. I just built and installed a new 360 scoop and a new FAB for a 6A owner and the new FAB kits now include silicone (3/32 I think) for the seal around the cowl inlet. I believe it is an improvement over the rubber baffle seal, due to it's flexibility and ability to hold it's shape over time.

Larry
 
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1/8 strip of silicone

I've just looked again on Vans web site and not able to find that seal or hose for it. Looking further it does appear to be a 2" wide strip of maybe 1/8" silicone or use of baffle seal.

Thanks

Tim
 
I can't remember what Jack used in there. Maybe baffle material, maybe custom.
Either way, you could make the replacement by squeegeeing Permatex red silicone sealer into fiberglass cloth, trim it to your dimensions & attach it similar to the original.
 
My recent FAB kit for my RV6 included the silicone piece for the intake scoop. There was more material than I needed, but not enough to make it twice. I made the seal according to the plans. The first time I put my lower cowling on, the silicone seal tore in two places. It tears easily. It doesn’t seem like a good material to use for this application to me. I made a new seal out of regular baffle seal material, and it has performed just fine.
 
The filtered Airseal was not very clear nor is there a foto and another $50+ shipping so I dropped that idea.

Thanks for the offer Ralph.

I was able to procure a 12"*12"*1/8" neoprene here in Red Deer for under $5.00. Did a temp install last night to make sure it would work as the 1/8 is a little stiffer then the old existing piece. Everything seemed to fit on perfect so now I'm off to get some rivets. Seems like I have every sized rivet except the ones I need.

Thanks everyone

Tim
 
I can't remember what Jack used in there. Maybe baffle material, maybe custom.
Either way, you could make the replacement by squeegeeing Permatex red silicone sealer into fiberglass cloth, trim it to your dimensions & attach it similar to the original.


Custom hose not very hard to make. Didn’t have much luck trying to squeegee the silicone through the cloth. Have done a couple and this is what worked for me.

Wrap foam pool noodle with packing tape and wax throughly.

Dilute red silicone with MEK until it is just thin enough to brush.

Paint a heavy coat on the packing tape and lay on the cloth. I used 1 layer of 9 oz with edges overlapping about 1”. Brush another coat or two on top of the cloth. To make it look good wait for it to tack up a little, put on a rubber glove, spray on some alcohol and rub it down gently to smooth out the brush marks.

Mine took 2 to 4 days for the MEK to evaporate and feel cured. Until then they were soft and gooey.

Don Broussard
RV9 Rebuild in Progress
57 Pacer
 
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