Anyone replaced this foam seal - Inside F430 side vent

Mine is doing the same thing! I really notice it while driving as it vibrates when the wind hits it.

 

I imagine the rear wheel and fender liner have to come out to access that. Then remove the air tube. You can probably use some slightly thicker foam from the hardware store...they sell it in the heating/hvac area. Get closed cell foam that will not absorb moisture.

I am thinking the oem stuff is a little too thin, thus it worked itself loose. Or if it is held with adhesive, the adhesive let go.


You might be able to stuff it back up into position with a non marring tool, like a wooden chopstick or plastic tool.

 

Probably not...but I have never done it on my 430 Scuderia....but on the F355 I had it was pretty easy to get apart. I'd be surprised if they charge more than 1.5 hours labor...but you never know. There might be stuff in the way that is not readily apparent....which takes more time.

 

I repaired both the foam on both sides of a spider last week. Took three hours all in (with the stuck fasteners and a couple of tidying up jobs along the way).

Remove engine bay covers
Remove rubber neck between air filter housing and resonator tube (both sides)
Remove both rear wheels
Remove wheel splash guards (x4)
Remove 3x nuts that attach each resonator tube to the wing. They are quite fiddly to get to.

Once the nuts have been removed the resonator tube is free. On the side without the fuel filler it can be withdrawn from the car. On the fuel filler side you need to remove the filler neck to get it out. However, you can work the grill off the car and then access the gasket through the air intake with it still in the wing - this negates the need to mess around with the filler neck.

I glued the gaskets back in place with contact adhesive.

 

Foam gasket can easily be tucked back in with a thin flexible kitchen skewer.
I did mine.
Time:15 minutes
Cost: Nada

 

I'm sure that you can get a similar foam tape from B&Q for draught excluding. It's self adhesive, but I'd use glue to hold it in place. Just follow Voiceys guide.

 

As I previously stated in post #3, try a wooden chopstick or non marring tool...they are plastic ones made for taking apart interior pieces of the car...inexpensive at Harbor Freight tools and other discount tool supply houses.

 

The foam is supposed to be clamped between the body and the duct so, if it is installed correctly, you probably wont have enough room to tuck it back in. Worth trying though.

 

Its a much more simple process on a coupe than a spider. On a coupe all you need to do is remove the side panel in the engine bay