[MAZINGER]

I am going to replace the front door brake very soon, however, in order to do this repair, I have to lift up the vapor / sound barrier behind the door panel in order to remove and replace the door brake.

The replacement for the door brake should be very straight forward, however, to reattach the vapor barrier and the door frame seems to be tricky.

Anyone has experience reattached the vapor barrier and the door frame? What do you use? Black RTV adhesive silicon sealant or butyl tape? As I know, if the vapor barrier does not seal properly, there will be water leakage from the door to the vehicle inside, therefore, the vour barrier must be sealed tight.

Please advice.

[mike-y]

When you pull off the vapor barrier, be very careful not to tear it, and do it slowly. the RTV adhesive will stay on the door (and partially on the vapor barrier).

You will be able to reattach it to the old RTV when your done.

[MAZINGER]

Originally Posted by mike-y

When you pull off the vapor barrier, be very careful not to tear it, and do it slowly. the RTV adhesive will stay on the door (and partially on the vapor barrier).

You will be able to reattach it to the old RTV when your done.

Is the sealant like "gummy"? So you are saying I should use my hands pull out the vapor barrier slowly and re-attach by pressing the vapor barrier back to the door frame?

In case if the sealant cannot be re-used, what is the alternative? Any suggestions? I just searched the Internet, some people are using the 3M windo-weld ribbon sealant but I am not sure this sealant can seal tight between the door frame and vapor barrier.

[MiniXP]

I believe Butyl is what the sticky material is called. You can find it at most autopart stores labeled as a windshield sealant. I bought a roll made by 3M at advanced auto to to the vapor barriers on my e46. Very sticky stuff.

[MAZINGER]

Originally Posted by MiniXP

I believe Butyl is what the sticky material is called. You can find it at most autopart stores labeled as a windshield sealant. I bought a roll made by 3M at advanced auto to to the vapor barriers on my e46. Very sticky stuff.

The one that you bought should be 3m windo-weld rolling sealant. It is hard to buy in a regular retail store here Canada. I phoned a couple of Napa stores and they did not have the sealant. Maybe, I should call 3m Canada tomorrow.

One quick question, will this butyl tape can stand for cold and hot temperatures? I am afraid the butyl tape will be very messy and dripped under the hot weather.

[mike3000fl]

well the X1 was rocket powered and didnt really need a sealant. With the introduction of the sr71, the sound barrier was broken several times over. The solution they went with was no sealant at all. The SR71 actually leaked fuel on the the taxiway, until the airframe was airborne and reached operating skin temps, then the fuel tanks sealed, due to expansion. So drive that bitch as fast as you can and you will not need a sealant as you approach the sound barrier

[MAZINGER]

Your explanation is very technical, can you make it a little simple to understand?

[mike3000fl]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird

The high temperatures generated inflight required special design and operating techniques. Major portions of the skin of the inboard wings were corrugated, not smooth. Aerodynamicists initially opposed the concept, disparagingly referring to the aircraft as a Mach 3 variant of the 1920s-era Ford Trimotor, known for its corrugated aluminum skin.[27] The heat would have caused a smooth skin to split or curl, whereas the corrugated skin could expand vertically and horizontally and increased longitudinal strength.

Fuselage panels were manufactured to only loosely fit on the ground. Proper alignment was achieved as the airframe heated up and expanded several inches.[28] Because of this, and the lack of a fuel sealing system that could handle the airframe's expansion at extreme temperatures, the aircraft leaked JP-7 fuel on the ground prior to takeoff.[29]