Radiator surround sealing foam: Alternatives?

[69427]

I just dropped in my new DeWitt radiator. Most of the old foam seals are lost somewhere. Outside of spending $50 for official Corvette foam, has anybody tried a generic product and cut it to fit?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[TimAT]

How about that stick on foam they use for either screen door seals or the wider stuff they use for camper shells on pickups? You can get a roll of that stuff for $10. Never tried it, just an idea.

 

[mrvette]

MAYbe not common in your section of Florida/south...but here in Jax, they sell pipe wrap, which I use for all sorts of rad/pipe sealing on the a/c etc.....

come think of it, they DO carry that for the chill/large return line on HVAC at Lowes Depot....various sizes and it works well, using it for years...

 

[MYBAD79]

HomeDepot or Lowes.....

 

[JPhil]

There's a sticky backed foam rubber strip used for chinking log homes. It's UV & weather resistant. I picked up a few rolls from a house we worked on ten years ago and have used it for weather stripping, noise & draft stop, and yes radiator seal. I have two sizes, one is about 3/8" thick by 3/8" wide, the other is about 5/8" thick by 3/4" wide.

(I just tried to do a google search & couldn't find it, but this was a machined log home: the logs were planed square on 3 sides with a lock groove and this stuff was put into the groove as each log was set in place.)

 

[big2bird]

Grainger's sells self adhesive foam in every density, dimension, and heat range you can imagine. I think they have 68 listings.

 

[saudivette]

I used some high density foam I found at work. I cut it into strips a bit bigger than the places I needed it then used contact cement to hold it all in place. I used it across the top of the rad support too. It's held up so far and hasn't moved or broken down at all :thumbs:

 

[DeeVeeEight]

MAYbe not common in your section of Florida/south...but here in Jax, they sell pipe wrap, which I use for all sorts of rad/pipe sealing on the a/c etc.....

come think of it, they DO carry that for the chill/large return line on HVAC at Lowes Depot....various sizes and it works well, using it for years...

I agree, for the low cost and ease of installation, use some soft foam rubber pipe insulation and glue it in place with 3M weatherstrip adhesive.
You can see it here on mine.

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[mdbelanger]

2x2 crushes to 1/4 inch.

Michael.