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Expander Foam ......

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 8:36 pm
by V8Patrol
Ok so i've heard of this before and to date have never seen it actually in place....... I'll explain ......

A faimily friend ( Mark ) has just purchased a brand new SS Holden ute ( V8 Naturally :armsup: ), he was advised to get some expander foam and fill up the sub chassis' with it .............

Mark works in the shyte ...... alot of cow shyte infact !!!! ..... He works as a concreter and is always layin concrete on farms for the cow yards, naturally this means driving down cow shyte covered driveways/tracks to get to the yards or wherever the concrete is being laid....

Now the dealer suggested that expander foam would keep the shyte out of the chassis and therefore prevent rust from getting an early start on the new ute.........

Buggar me dead but then at the father inlaws I hear the exact same recemendation, now I've heard of this idea years ago and never really gave it a second thought but the therory seems to be quite sound.

I guess my real question is should we be filling up the chassis rails on our 4x4's with expander foam ????

If it actually does what it is supposed to do then dust/mud/water would never get in and cause the rust we see in some rigs .....


any thoughts ???

Kingy

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:01 pm
by RUFF
As far as im aware Expander foam is not Waterproof so would do more bad than good.

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:02 pm
by the_smoo
i only know that the stuff is a pain in the ass to remove once you fill something up with it.

we filled our bosses motorbike helmet up with it once while he was at lunch. he was still picking bits out of cracks 6 months later.... :lol:

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:04 pm
by Tazz
RUFF wrote:As far as im aware Expander foam is not Waterproof so would do more bad than good.


I was thinking that exact thing??

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:06 pm
by RUFF
Its defianatly not a sealant so i wouldnt put it in my Chassie as its only going to trap water and dirt in there.

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:10 pm
by Fieldsy
RUFF wrote:Its defianatly not a sealant so i wouldnt put it in my Chassie as its only going to trap water and dirt in there.


Totaly agree, even if it was brand new and had some kind of coating like paint the flex in the chassis would make tiny cracks and the foam would hold moister like a bee-hutch

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:11 pm
by the_smoo
have a ganders at this

http://www.foamseal.com/auto_aftermarket.htm

wouldnt know if its tits on a bull but :roll:

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:14 pm
by Tojo
your chassis will rust out a lot quicker with the foam in it. As already said it is not sealed and will allow water in and the water will be trapped and rust. The best place to use it is in the apprentice's toolbox!!

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 10:01 pm
by murcod
I think you'll that stuff doesn't dry if it isn't exposed to air completely. So it could stay in a semi liquid state inside the chassis.

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 6:02 pm
by ozy1
okay, i work in the air cond industry, we use this stuff to seasl up around holes made for pipe entries, this stuff will stop airflow, but i cant see it stopping moisture, it will mostlikely absorb it, i will see if we have a spare can at work and test it out to see if it is waterproof.

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:02 am
by V8Patrol
Good idea Ozy, only real way to find out I guess !!!

The new SS ute has had the sub chassis' filled and I must admitt it looks like it's fully sealed up. Anywhere that the foam contacted the air it "skinned over". I think for this application ie; to stop the cow shyte , it should work a treat ....... time will tell tho

Kingy

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 11:59 am
by grumpy221
I used to work in rust proofing (years ago) 1 guy tried the filler in his chas but first we gave them a GOOD coat of rust preventive inside (in fact we just about filled the things up with that) after 2 weeks (to allow the rustproofing to dry) we filled the chas with the filler then coated the whole thing in "bottom side" (bituman based) ......seemed to work but I dont know how long it lasted...(he got fired not long after)

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 1:57 pm
by Area54
The aerosol can foam is basically a one part poly-urethane foam, it will absorb moisture, as it cures in an 'open cell' structure, as opposed to a closed cell structure that is water resistant, as in poly-styrene foam. Poly-urethane foam is the same foam that is used for surfboard construction (among other products) and is resistant to most commonly used solvents. Urethane foam is from a similar chemial recipe, and is the foam that most mattresses and car wash sponges are made from (among other things), the extra cross links in the chemical makeup of poly-urethane foam is what gives the product it's rigidity.