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Matt110



Member Since: 29 Jun 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 670

United Kingdom 
My solution to the heater duct not fitting
Thought I'd share how I fixed mine.

I initially thought I'd try the twin foam gasket approach but I had too much gap at the bottom and too little gap at the top for that, I ended up with a gasket pushed into the duct at the top and only just touching at the bottom.

Next line of thought was a steel bar and some drilled holes. Not bad but didn't want to drill the fan unit.

So I thought I'd try this.....

Step 1...
4 of these with the foam sticky pads removed from the back with nail varnish remover (I was in a zoom call and it was available, meths would work too).



Click image to enlarge


Ordered some of this...





I chose this because I've used normal super glue products on thermoplastics before and they've failed due to no primer.

I cleaned the area properly, then roughed the surface very lightly, then you apply primer which goes white and then stick on the black tie wrap tabs.



Click image to enlarge


Some half decent tie wraps and do this on each side of the duct. You can just about find positions where the heater recirc bar doesn't hit the tie wraps etc.

Works absolutely fine. Very cheap. Very quick to do. No air coming in from the bay and the wing vent sucks for the first time ever.

I'll keep an eye on it to see if the tabs stay attached. Can't see why they wouldn't as the strength reported on the back of the card for adhesion limit far outweighs the force of the tie wrap, especially as they're in shear not direct pull.

See what you reckon.
Post #870889 2nd Dec 2020 11:47am
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Bluest



Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 3993

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Java Black
That looks good, I might give it a go myself. I get horrendous fumey smells in the cabin on cold days which K think must be drawn from the engine bay.

The only thing to to bear in mind is that I was told that cyano acrilate adhesives weaken over time in wet environments. Does sit say any thing on the pack about that? 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
Post #870896 2nd Dec 2020 12:43pm
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Matt110



Member Since: 29 Jun 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 670

United Kingdom 
That's interesting. I've definitely used it on plastic before that's been wet and had failures.

Maybe that's why. Hopefully the primer aspect helps.

I had a check of the packet but can't see anything obviously anti-wet environment.

Will shout if it fails. I did think about using araldite or similar but that appears to not adhere to plastic very well again without some kind of primer as a base.
Post #870908 2nd Dec 2020 2:36pm
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Supacat



Member Since: 16 Oct 2012
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 11018

United Kingdom 2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS DCPU Keswick Green
Excellent thinking, I applaud you. Thumbs Up
Post #870939 2nd Dec 2020 5:31pm
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Ianh



Member Since: 17 Sep 2018
Location: Essex
Posts: 1695

United Kingdom 
Re: My solution to the heater duct not fitting
Matt110 wrote:
Thought I'd share how I fixed mine.

I initially thought I'd try the twin foam gasket approach but I had too much gap at the bottom and too little gap at the top for that, I ended up with a gasket pushed into the duct at the top and only just touching at the bottom.

Next line of thought was a steel bar and some drilled holes. Not bad but didn't want to drill the fan unit.

So I thought I'd try this.....

Step 1...
4 of these with the foam sticky pads removed from the back with nail varnish remover (I was in a zoom call and it was available, meths would work too).



Click image to enlarge


Ordered some of this...





I chose this because I've used normal super glue products on thermoplastics before and they've failed due to no primer.

I cleaned the area properly, then roughed the surface very lightly, then you apply primer which goes white and then stick on the black tie wrap tabs.



Click image to enlarge


Some half decent tie wraps and do this on each side of the duct. You can just about find positions where the heater recirc bar doesn't hit the tie wraps etc.

Works absolutely fine. Very cheap. Very quick to do. No air coming in from the bay and the wing vent sucks for the first time ever.

I'll keep an eye on it to see if the tabs stay attached. Can't see why they wouldn't as the strength reported on the back of the card for adhesion limit far outweighs the force of the tie wrap, especially as they're in shear not direct pull.

See what you reckon.


This looks a great solution Matt110. How well is it performing to date?

Also how easy was it to get access to both sides of the duct and heater motor to affix the cable tie mounts and then cable ties?

As an alternative adhesive i was thinking of 3m VHB tape.
Post #896063 5th Apr 2021 7:48pm
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Matt110



Member Since: 29 Jun 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 670

United Kingdom 
It's been fine to be honest. It's still sealed, and I've been driving normally, through water and cold weather. No issues yet all attached.

I did think about the 3m pads, and that's similar in logic to what I used, but in my experience, whilst the adhesion of the 3m adhesive is excellent, what end up failing is the foam between plastic and that adhesive. I've used those 3M pads for a lot of wiring routing, and they're all slowly failing... Not because the adhesive fails, but because the foam tears down the middle between the two. You end up with a robustly adhered bit of sticky and thin foam, and a bit of thin foam and a backing plate both separate!

Am now going round glueing them back in place having scratched off the adhesive and foam.

I guess however you were saying tape rather than the tie wrap method. May work, but I had to tighten progressively over about ten minutes to make it all slowly go tight, so you might need a few applies.

It's fairly easy on the nearside of the heater duct access wise, but the engine side is hard work. Not sure how you'd get hands in there to get tape in.
Post #896067 5th Apr 2021 8:10pm
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Ianh



Member Since: 17 Sep 2018
Location: Essex
Posts: 1695

United Kingdom 
Thanks Matt, I was thinking of doing the same as you, just using the 3m vhb double sided tape as the adhesive instead of the primer / superglue to stick the cable tie mounts to the heater and duct. Potentially augmenting with a few short stainless steel self tapping screws. But if the glue you show seems to work fine then that’s what’s I will go for. Just need to find the best strongest cable tie mounts now.

Ps what size are the mounts you used ?
Post #896071 5th Apr 2021 8:23pm
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Matt110



Member Since: 29 Jun 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 670

United Kingdom 
Aaaah sorry yep with you now. Give it a shot. I was actively trying to avoid putting holes in the duct, not really for any reason it just felt wrong lol.

But give it a try definitely. If it comes off the worst you can do is bung some of the glue on it. The mounts I used are about 20mm square. I used the last of them up on it or I'd go measure exactly but there's plenty of space to get fairly big ones in. Using long tie wraps better than what I did using 2...!
Post #896081 5th Apr 2021 8:56pm
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nitram17



Member Since: 08 Jun 2014
Location: newcastle
Posts: 2260

Just looking at this today how is it going?I was thinking you could use rubber rivnuts (a n adjustable pull strap) .. as they are unlikely to break or come loose and i doubt they will effect the airflow that much.




Post #966956 6th Oct 2022 10:17pm
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Matt110



Member Since: 29 Jun 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 670

United Kingdom 
They've not failed yet. It's done plenty of off-road trips and been pressure washed numerous times too.
Post #966957 6th Oct 2022 10:40pm
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nitram17



Member Since: 08 Jun 2014
Location: newcastle
Posts: 2260

Thumbs Up
Post #966963 7th Oct 2022 12:44am
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Ianh



Member Since: 17 Sep 2018
Location: Essex
Posts: 1695

United Kingdom 
nitram17 wrote:
Just looking at this today how is it going?I was thinking you could use rubber rivnuts (a n adjustable pull strap) .. as they are unlikely to break or come loose and i doubt they will effect the airflow that much.






If you look at this picture of the heater blower https://www.roversnorth.com/parts/lr076707...ender_puma you can see the flap right at the point where it joins the ducting. Therefor anything like a screw or rivnut in the casing behind that flap will likely inhibit it’s movement and operation. Obviously no such problems exist in the ducting, so screws , rivnuts etc could be used there.
Post #967020 7th Oct 2022 4:51pm
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Joolroper



Member Since: 02 Oct 2022
Location: Bristol
Posts: 21

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 X-Tech LE Orkney Grey
Stumbled upon this thread when having another search to find where the small drip leak in passenger footwell is coming from. Sure enough when checking ducting fit I could get my fingers in the gap from duct to airbox on my 2012 Xtech.
I had an inspirational moment for an easy fix as being in the house build trade we use an expanding foam strip to fill gaps on timber frame houses that allows for settlement. This has proved a perfect solution, I was able to release the airbox duct from the wing and wriggle it forward allowing enough space to adhere the foam strip to the face of the airbox duct. I was also able to first clear 12 years of grit from the drain holes in base of duct which may help.
The USP of the foam is that it expands from a compressed size over about 20 mins, so plenty of time to stick it on and then re-assemble. It then expanded to fill what is a random gap from duct to airbox.
Time will tell if this fixes the leak, but clearly better not to be drawing in air from the engine bay.

Here is a link to the type of product used, I have seen some on Ebay. Once the roll is opened don't let it unwind as once expanded that's it!

https://www.affixit.co.uk/expanding-foam-tape-5-12mm-joints.html
Post #1018562 17th Dec 2023 6:27am
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Ianh



Member Since: 17 Sep 2018
Location: Essex
Posts: 1695

United Kingdom 
Thank for the info on the expanding foam strip Joolroper. Thumbs Up

Re your leak in passenger footwell. Water can flow from above the heater blower and get into the footwell that way, ensuring the rubber seal is in place on the wing near the bulk head helps to prevent this, there are a few topics on here on the issue and how to rectify it. If I can find one I will edit this post with the link (s)

Ps to stop water ingress into the heater duct you can fit a snow cowl on the wing, I have a powder coated stainless steel one, but plastic ones are also available. It does mean you need to have the fan speed on 1 to get warm or cold air in the cabin, but does stop leaves, detritus and water getting into the ducting.
Post #1018580 17th Dec 2023 2:02pm
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