Soundproofing and Heatproofing the Transmission

Last time we took Katy for a ride the overriding feeling of joy was slightly marred by the sound and warmth coming up from the transmission tunnel

So today';s project was to heatproof and soundproof the transmission tunnel. The starting point was a real old mix of  rubber mats carpet and plastic trim (presumably from the Discovery donor vehicle that provided the original replacement gearbox. It was all a right mess and needed to come out and be cleaned and replaced where possible

Then it was out with all the old and in with a load of sealant over all the gaps where panels were not fastened together well. Then, as with all jobs on Katy so far, nothing is entirely straightforward and the passenger side of the transmission tunnel was not fitted well to the foot well plates so the first thing we had to do was fix a strengthening plate across the screw fittings and seal up all the holes that could let water in.

l and then this shiny new heatproof and soundproof foam which we got of eBay.
 

The description that came with it was: -

1) Light Weight

2) Heat Insulation ( helps to keep the vehicle warm inside - thanks to the foil membrane ).
3) Sound Insulation ( Ideal to limit engine and road noise )
4) Waterproof ( The rubber is closed cell and so does not absorb water like a sponge - I think this is really important as we still have a lot of leaks)
5) Flame retardant
6) Interior or Exterior use ( Can be used in under bonnet applications )
7) Odor Free ( no horrible rubbery smell )
8) Self adhesive ( peel off backing sheet )
9) Easy to cut and form
10) 10mm thick

If you are interested click here  it was very easy to work with so I'm happy to give it a plug

And then over it all went some tidy carpet to finish the look and make the cabin a whole lot nicer place to be.

This should probably be specialist car carpet, but it's an off cut from the local carpet store which cost less than £5.00 and I still have enough to replace it a dozen times if I need to

I cut down the plastic surrounds as much as I could. I may look for a better solution, but probably need to see a few people's work to get some ideas

We did have to make some adjustments to the bulkhead rubber matting to get it to fit back in place properly because the new foam and carpet mix is about 10mm thicker than the old matting we took up, it took about 5 minutes with a Stanley Knife to get it fitting right.

The job isn't quite finished as we could only get brown foam to seal the gear lever plate so we need to get some coloured foam or plastic to complete the job (or find a proper new replacement part), and the foot wells need doing (but there's a leak to find and plug before I want to put carpet on the floor, even if the foam is closed cell) but it's another step towards having our adventures in comfort