Plastic vents on the clam shell....

[ROCMAN]

I'm not worried about anyone leaning on my car, cuz nobody goes near my car.:biggrin

I always pop it open, and guess what, my clam shell vents look brand spankin' new!

Popping them just to where it catches may do the trick, but I prefer a sure fire method.:banana

 

[kosupply]

I have 6800 miles with the IDA exhaust. They still warped...I will keep you posted. I thought aluminum would be the way to go also. The tech at Champion Ford thought SS would be cool...

 

[N303CB]

Clamshell Vents and Muffler

I just bought a 2006 Red and suspect a lot of repainting including the clamshell. If you have removed your vents, would you mind posting a picture of the paint under the vents. It looks repainted under mine. Also, the top of my muffler has a lot of scratches all over it. If you would also post a pic of yours.

Thanks

 

[SuperB]

Mine have been warped for a while and now are loose. I need to get the dealer to get new ones, but I expect those will warp too.

I've kinda been waiting for someone to come up with some Aluminium or carbon fiber.

 

[MWG]

Part numbers for the replacement vents are:
Top: 5G7Z-403F18-AAPTM
Side: 5G7Z-63403F23-AAA (left), 5G7Z-63403F22 (right)

The larger vents on the top will require paint.
Bought the set myself as a backup.

 

[Gulf GT]

I've kinda been waiting for someone to come up with some Aluminium or carbon fiber.

Yeah Kip???? Do it!!!!

 

[usmcfred]

I believe sooner or later, all rear painted vent grills on driven cars will warp. This is because Ford, or its plastic molding vendor, did not spec a plastic resin that can withstand the heat sink of being located directly above the muffler and other heat producing components within the clamshell. Why haven't they all warped by now? Simply due to variations in the exposed temperature based on location (Phoenix vs. Boston for example), miles driven, whether clamshells are opened immediately after a run to allow trapped heat to escape and the type of exhaust system fitted ... OEM vs. aftermarket.

It is likely Ford continues to supply these same composition vents when replacing warped pieces, so it is also likely they will eventually warp again unless a change is made in resin/composition of the molded part. Ford or its molding vendor should consider a new run of vents with a resin able to sustain exposure without warping to an empirically determined highest under panel temp. Candidates include glass filled Nylons, flouropolymers such as "Peek", or in the extreme, GE's "Extem".

Once the appropriate resin is selected, the same molds could likely be used for a new run of clamshell vents. Completed vents could be sent to Saleen for painting in batches for each stripe and body color, then released into the FoMoCo parts system (with new part numbers) for use as replacements. All original composition vents should be purged from the system. Alternatively, these vents could be manufactured in die cast Zinc alloy or other white metal, however that would be much more expensive and would also add weight.

usmcfred

 

[Empty Pockets]

Chip's idea (I think it was his) was pbly the way to go - just make 'em outta aluminum & be dunn with it.

The resulting extra weight just simply isn't worth thinking about(!) and could easily be offset by downing a few less "Big Mac's" anyway...

 

[AZGT]

I'm working on the aluminum idea.

 

[GToy]

Vent heat

No heat no problem.

 

[Silverbullitt]

I believe sooner or later, all rear painted vent grills on driven cars will warp. This is because Ford, or its plastic molding vendor, did not spec a plastic resin that can withstand the heat sink of being located directly above the muffler and other heat producing components within the clamshell. Why haven't they all warped by now? Simply due to variations in the exposed temperature based on location (Phoenix vs. Boston for example), miles driven, whether clamshells are opened immediately after a run to allow trapped heat to escape and the type of exhaust system fitted ... OEM vs. aftermarket.

It is likely Ford continues to supply these same composition vents when replacing warped pieces, so it is also likely they will eventually warp again unless a change is made in resin/composition of the molded part. Ford or its molding vendor should consider a new run of vents with a resin able to sustain exposure without warping to an empirically determined highest under panel temp. Candidates include glass filled Nylons, flouropolymers such as "Peek", or in the extreme, GE's "Extem".

Once the appropriate resin is selected, the same molds could likely be used for a new run of clamshell vents. Completed vents could be sent to Saleen for painting in batches for each stripe and body color, then released into the FoMoCo parts system (with new part numbers) for use as replacements. All original composition vents should be purged from the system. Alternatively, these vents could be manufactured in die cast Zinc alloy or other white metal, however that would be much more expensive and would also add weight.

usmcfred

Spirit it is time for you to get into the GT parts biz.

 

[Spirit]

For What It’s Worth

I feel that Chip Beck is correct in that aluminum or stainless steel vents would be a solution, but I am afraid that die-cast would be way too expensive to build the tooling for such low volumes. Stainless steel or aluminum fabrication would also have a high unit cost in the fabrication process.

It is likely Ford continues to supply these same composition vents when replacing warped pieces, so it is also likely they will eventually warp again unless a change is made in resin/composition of the molded part. Ford or its molding vendor should consider a new run of vents with a resin able to sustain exposure without warping to an empirically determined highest under panel temp. Candidates include glass filled Nylons, flouropolymers such as "Peek", or in the extreme, GE's "Extem".

Once the appropriate resin is selected, the same molds could likely be used for a new run of clamshell vents. Completed vents could be sent to Saleen for painting in batches for each stripe and body color, then released into the FoMoCo parts system (with new part numbers) for use as replacements. All original composition vents should be purged from the system. Alternatively, these vents could be manufactured in die cast Zinc alloy or other white metal, however that would be much more expensive and would also add weight.

usmcfred

In my opinion, USMCFRED is on the right track. The present vendor/vendors already have the tooling to produce these items. If someone at Ford contacted the vendor/vendors for the vents and find out specifically what plastic resins and grades they used in these vents, and find out what it would cost to set up and run them in a different material, there might be a relative quick and cost effective solution. The only issue I see would be if the existing tooling had to be adjusted to accommodate the shrink rate of the new material used, but even if that were necessary, this would be faster and more cost effective than the other solutions.

My initial thought, is also as Fred USMCFRED suggested, would be a Nylon 66 with a 33% glass fill [both PEEK and EXTEM would do the job, but are very expensive materials].

The specific material we run a lot of, that could possibly be a good selection, is a DuPont Zytel 70G33HS1L BK031, which is a heat stabilized polyamide 66. It is not too expensive yet offers, I believe, the heat resistance necessary to eliminate this warping problem [or at least greatly minimize it].

From the For What It's Worth Department

Fred

Spirit it is time for you to get into the GT parts biz.

Bullitt,

Am way to busy at the moment to get into the “GT Parts Biz”.

Am very busy making “body parts” for Dr. Frank's associates to practice on, and it is consuming just about all of my time since returning from Rally II.

See you soon.

Fred

 

[SuperB]

What about fiberglass?

Boats are subjected to tremendous forces, they sit in the sun all day, those diesels get pretty hot and the fiberglass holds up. Of course the paint gets spider cracks I guess. Would fiberglass be easier to use and better than the plastic? Aluminum would be best, but that would certainly require a LOT of work and cost. CF would look nice too.

Maybe a special GTForum custom vent with something other than fins. Camilo can design it for us :cheers (Bouncy comes to mind)

 

[GToy]

Vent heat

If you cover the muffler with insulation you will not have a heat problem. 1000deg f on the inside 208 deg f on the outside.

 

[timcantwell]

Anyone besides myself had problems with them warping? The Ford Dealer is installing the second set. They are going to take the warped ones to a fabricator to see if they can make some stainless ones. I wonder how they would look un painted?

I have the same problem on my new yellow car that spent a lot of time in the heat of the desert. I also have warping on the plastic side pieces (black) on either side of the rear window. No problem on my Ohio cars though.

 

[KJRGT]

My center (painted) vents and black plastic side vents are getting replaced today. I assume I'm free of the issue as I now run the Stillen exhaust with jet hot coating.
The underside of my clamshell has a couple very faint "rub marks" where I assume the stock exhaust box/muffler actually touched the clamshell.....that's a hot tamale!

 

[SuperB]

Can we get an official Ford or Borla insulation wrap kit. Of course we need the stripe delete option and a special heritage edition too.

 

[dbk]

I feel that Chip Beck is correct in that aluminum or stainless steel vents would be a solution, but I am afraid that die-cast would be way too expensive to build the tooling for such low volumes. Stainless steel or aluminum fabrication would also have a high unit cost in the fabrication process.

If it's the best, we'll get it done. I'm meeting my friend for cocktails tomorrow. He does things stuff as small as a one-off stainless steel roof for a Foose XLR, or as much as 1000 tons of stainless steel in various shapes for the exterior design element of the Motor City Casino.

He's a fellow GT owner, and I think based on the Motor City project, he has the leeway to be very, very flexible in what he chooses to invest his time and effort into.

 

[Spirit]

If it's the best, we'll get it done. I'm meeting my friend for cocktails tomorrow. He does things stuff as small as a one-off stainless steel roof for a Foose XLR, or as much as 1000 tons of stainless steel in various shapes for the exterior design element of the Motor City Casino.

He's a fellow GT owner, and I think based on the Motor City project, he has the leeway to be very, very flexible in what he chooses to invest his time and effort into.

Dave,

Looking forward to hearing the feedback from your meeting.

From their web site, it looks like they can do most anything in metal fabrication.

Thanks,

Fred

 

[GToy]

Muffler cover

If you will look at the pictures in post #30 you will see a custom muffler cover made for the Ford/Borla muffler. It works great! No more heat problems. If anyone wants more info PM me.