Gas tank seal rubber.

[John_Progess]

The rubber seal under the gas tank is, as far as I can tell, 3/8" thick rubber. Moss has it for $16 which is a joke for a few feet of rubber. I assume that this is to keep water out of the trunk and maybe act as a cushion for the tank. Obviously the seal must not absorb water. Is there any reason that close cell foam wouldn't work as well? Thanks and have a good day!

John

 

[John Turney]

I recall the rubber is about 1" wide by 3/8". Closed cell foam strips should be fine as long as the ends are butted up tight. I recall the Moss rubber is a one-piece rectangle, which explains the cost.

 

[GregW]

Hi John,
Don't know if you need this, but I have dimensions of that gasket.

 

[John_Progess]

Greg,
Thanks that helps alot. I have some 1/2" thick close celled foam I am planning to use. With this information I can cut it out in one piece. I assume that all four sides are 1.38" wide. On three sides the gasket will rest on the frame but on the forth side the lip on the trunk back wall is only a little over 1/2" wide. Is this normal? Thanks again and have a good day!

John

 

[GregW]

Hi John,
Yeah, all 4 sides are 1 3/8", not really sure why my program rounded .375 to .38, but there ya go. As far as the ½" lip at the front, I have that too. Seems like the foam would be overkill, but more surface area will help the glue hold the foam in place.

 

[Cutlass]

When removing my tank this past weekend, the Moss seal tore, so I need a new one. $16.00 did seem a lot to me, so I started looking for a suitable substitute. The only thing I found close was weatherstripping at Home Depot. Dimensions were very close. I chose the least compressable type, which did seem pretty stout. But when arriving home, I took a piece of the old seal, and with a same size piece of the new weatherstripping, performed a crude experiment. I placed a piece of 1/4 inch thick steel bar atop both, then placed a 5 pound or so weight equidistant between the two pieces. The compression difference was dramatic. There was hardly any compression of the Moss product, while the weatherstrip compressed almost to nothing. Needless to say, I ordered the Moss replacement.

 

[GregW]

Here in the Los Angeles area, you can get your hands on just about anything you could dream up. There is a store 'bout half hour drive called Foam Mart. A lot of my interior padding is from there, also the memory foam for my motorcycle seat.

 

[healeynut]

this is the stuff you want. It will last forever:

Aircraft Cowl Seal

Impervious to fuel.

Alternatively you want to buy silicon or neoprene "Camper Seal" which is usually pretty cheap and one inch wide. Any decent car parts place or a camper shell retailer will have this.

 

[Ed_K]

And both the cowl seal and wide " camper seal " sold in auto parts stores works very well to seal the transmission tunnel to the floor and firewall of the car.
Ed