Not a mechanical question but I’m at a dead end with what to do. I bought my truck used four years ago in prestige condition. She (I named her Latrice) only had 80K miles on her. Well taken care of. But the hood scoop (she’s a Hemi) had a large fade spot that came from sun damage I’m assuming. I have looked at that ugly white and gray spot for long enough and decided to paint the hood scoop. After deep consideration, I decide on red because the sport package on the truck has red accents and my wheels had red in them. I remove the hood scoop and took all the right steps (sanding, priming, wet sanding). The paint job is great. Now here’s my problem. When I removed the scoop, it had started to get dark and I never saw the gasket. I painted it in my garage and a couple days later, when it’s time to put it back on the hood, it begins to rain. So I’m delayed on my installation. I needed to use the truck that day and I just drive it without the hood scoop. As I’m driving on the road I see something slip up my windshield and onto the street and I keep driving thinking that it was from a vehicle in front of me or something. I only found out later that day that what I saw was the gasket for the heads scoop. I cannot find a gasket for sale anywhere online the only place I even came close was the factory handbook for a Chrysler online and it was way more expensive than I thought. Almost $100. Before I shell out that kind of money which is way over my budget considering that I painted it myself, is there an alternative method? Can I make one myself? What is it actually supposed to be made of? How important is it? I’ve seen her the scoop videos where they make their own hood scoops on YouTube and none of these guys even use a gasket before they install it onto the hood. Please help me. Thanks! Nick
RTV sealant. The famous silicone goo that rubberizes. You should not have a problem.
I would also use RTV Black.
First; wipe the area on the hood with a rag with mineral oil. This will keep the RTV that may ooze out from sticking to the hood surface. You may also want to apply the oil to any part of the hood scoop that the oozing RTV may run out on.
Apply a even coat to the underside of the scoop and carefully install it. Do not overtighten the fasteners
Let everything dry for 24 hours and then you should be able to peal the excess that oozed out right off.
You may also need to use a razor blade to coax the stuff to peal cleanly.
Yosemite
Thank you!
Nick
I would go with the tape, or cut my own gasket from cork or something. It doesn’t really need to be sticky, does it, as long as it seals?
You need to have a gasket, otherwise rain water will leak on the engine parts. Making your own gasket using one of the methods above, or invent your own method, is the way to go. If you could find a big enough sheet of rubber-like or cork material , just trace the outline out with a pencil, then cut it with scissors. If it leaks a little afterward, a dab of rtv along the seam would fix that.
The primary purpose of the gasket is to protect the paint on the hood and scoop from cracking or rubbing though, there are rubber or plastic gaskets under door handles and roof rack mounts and they are not water proof. RVT sealers won’t protect the paint like a gasket will.
I went with the rtv. It’s drying now. It’s messier than I expected but I hope it works. Thanks for all the suggestions, y’all.
Nick