The other day I discover that my shabby under hood insulation is crumbling and is now occasionally depositing bits onto the engine. So I need to take action on this right away. My research starts, as usual, with Clark’s Garage where we are advised to remove the hood and proceed. I’m not keen on removing the hood right now, so I am more inclined to take the approach shown by Dave at 944Foot2TheFloor.
But there are some other questions I need to resolve first: What is the actual material I am dealing with here (I do intend to use a mask and work outside with good ventilation, but what is this stuff)? Can I replace the insulation with Dynamat or the like with good results? (I note that factory and OEM replacement insulation will approach or exceed $100, but it is going to be my labor that is crucial here.) Does it make sense to replace the insulation only after I have sanded and refinished my hood, which has its own rather obvious needs, but I was going to wait on that for awhile? What if I just remove the existing crap and crud for now and run sans heat and sound insulation until later? No, I probably won’t just shovel it out like these guys did.
Whatever I do, it smells like an all-day job, maybe more, to me. And I will need to recover a bit from my currently-ailing back and knee first. Hmm … wonder if my daughter and/or son — both adults with agenda of their own, of course — might see this as an opportunity for family bonding?!