air box question

[Guest]

hi!

i took my airbox apart and cleaned it, created new seals for the sidecovers and the top of the air cleaner.. i was going to try to seal any cracks and such.. but there aren't any thankfully! however.. I found a ring between the upper and lower airbox assembly that is a hard rubber, it seems to be designed to seal the open area between the upper and lower.. it is NOT working. it's very hard, and does not even strech far enough to seal the box. i have a very nice adhesive backed 1/2 foam tape for sealing doors and was considering using it.. any reason not to?

[seuadr]

i heated this ring up and oiled it, and it made it much more flexable.. however, i still can't figure out how to mate the two peices together with the upper sealing properly in the center seam. i'm at a loss for what to do with the oem ring.. even after heating it it is still too small.

[BassCliff]

Mr. seuadr,

I'm sorry, I've forgotten which bike you have. May I suggest that you put it in your signature file? Thanks. :-D



Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[seuadr]

gs1100g 1982.. i keep forgetting that everyone else does not know what i do

[salty_monk]

Put some pics up so we can see what you're looking at.....

Dan

[seuadr]

that is the assembly, this is the gasket:



the gasket itself is very difficult the fit in there correctly, it has a slit in the middle for the airbox upper to mate with, but it's very difficult to actually mate it up. i think probably partially because it's pretty stiff rubber, even when heated. i thought i might just make a seal similar to the say i did for the side covers for the air box lower, as the foam in them had basically disentigrated. worked out well, in my opinion:

[seuadr]

air box afro engineering.

i decided to go ahead and use the sealing tape to make a seal, two single layers, one on each peice, and then a second raised layer where the gasket would normally have gone.

looks pretty well sealed, as far as i can tell:





almost looks like a new airbox now!

[mortation]

Well I am glad I saw this now rather than later :P I didnt know it came apart in half lol. i am gonna have to look into this myself for mine. Did you use weather stripping?

[seuadr]

Well I am glad I saw this now rather than later :P I didnt know it came apart in half lol. i am gonna have to look into this myself for mine. Did you use weather stripping?

yep, it's an 3M brand with some pretty great adhesive. i cleaned the entire area with rubbing alchol. be quick that adhesive works GOOD.. you only have a few seconds to move it if it's not in the right spot. also if it sticks to the foam, it's over. it'll tear the foam right up trying to peel it off.

i decided after i was going to clean my carbs to clean and seal my airbox, as well as replace the air filter. turns out the air filter was really clean, save for the top foam that seals it disentgrating. same with the foam in the side panels. i ended up replacing it all with weather stripping and a foam filter material i found for lawnmower carbs on clearance at the local hardware store. all in all, i spent about 2.50 on supplies, plus elbow grease, but the airbox is sealed nice, and looks almost new!

that gasket.. i dunno what the problem is, i suspect just being old, but it was a pita to mess with.. might consider just leaving it two peices if you don't have any problems currently.