A question mark in the title because I haven’t tested it out, though I’m convinced it will work swimmingly.
I replaced my oil soaked and disintegrating gearbox lid foam with a slab of stuff I bought from one of the usuals. It was much too thick and required shaping with an electric knife, and even then the result was less than optimum.
I came across this vendor at a recent auto flea market
and bought two for $10, thinking they’d be an ideal replacement foam. Unlike the originals they’re black but like the originals they’re heavy and dense closed cell foam that won’t absorb liquids. They measure 15"x25"x1-1/2". They’re also fireproof - I tried igniting the stuff with a torch and it won’t support a flame.
Great idea Nick. I bought one of those when we were at Hershey last year. It’s a great knee saver. I wish I’d bought two or three. I think the foam would also be perfect for the center console pad.
The product is called a kneeling pad. I’ve seen them at Home Depot though those were thinner and smaller than the one above. Several on offer on Amazon.
Just a theoretical question. Is it really advantageous to have this foam pad over the transmission, or might it be better to just use thin heat and sound shielding on the transmission side of the tunnel allowing for air circulation and cooling? This is what most car manufacturers seem to do. Does the pad offer a significant advantage? It seems like just a dirt and oil trap to me.
The thick foam pad serves two purposes far as I can tell, Geoff, as you surmise. It insulates against heat and deadens the whine of the gearbox, the latter being more important. I expect since the foam is in direct contact with the gearbox that it does a superior job of sound damping.
