[rcowan]

Well, my heater is blowing foam out the vents. I've seen a couple "how to" pages online to fix this problem. This one is probably the best: http://1705.net/archives/1085. I believe the person who wrote it up is even on here. I was going to do a basic copy/paste on our van. I started by ordering up the foam from McMaster Carr but when I saw the total I hesitated. A little over $200 in FOAM!

I'm looking for a little feedback from those that have been there/done that. Some of the other write ups suggest an aluminum tape. How's that holding up? How about the originator of the 1705 post, how's that foam holding up? I don't mind paying if that's the best option. I just want to look at my options first. If there is a cheaper, quality way to do it, I'm all ears. However, I rather pay $200, than do it again next year. 

[David - dsh1705]

I went through foam "sticker shock", as well - here was my reasoning (keeping in mind I am NOT a very reasonable guy! )

• Never wanted to do this again
• Did not want it to fail is extreme temps (desert travel)
• Did not want it to "whistle" (AKA not seal well)
• Wanted it to be easy to install

Did I get all 4 points? YEP!! Only one I have not confirmed is the extreme temp point, but if you look at the specs on the foam - OMG!!!

If you have ANY questions about the project, do not hesitate to ask - the post on my blog was NOT designed to be all the information I lgeaned from this job - just the highlights.

[rcowan]

Thank you for the reply David. I'm glad to hear it is still working well for you. That is one strong vote for paying a lot of money for..... foam. Still can't believe it. Did you go with soft, firm, extra firm foam?

[David - dsh1705]

Thanks for pointing out that the part numbers I listed on my post required you to select the firmness. I updated my post, and the answer is "soft" !

Hey - for $200 you also get the adhesive! 

[rcowan]

Any other experiences?

[Fresh]

I had the opposite experience as you did.  My heat wouldn't work in the winter.  When I took the dash off the blend box looked just like the blend box in the link that you posted.  I never considered using foam to cover up the holes.  I did't want to do this fix again, and I thought if foam didn't work the first time why use it again.  Instead I used adhesive metal tape to cover the holes, and put adhesive foam around the outside of the flaps to ensure a seal; something like this:  http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-E-O-3-8-in-x-17-ft-Closed-Cell-Weather-Seal-Tape-V443H/100205904

I didn't remove the blend box like the guy in the link did.  I probably would have had to if my wife wasn't around.  She's got a lot skinnier arms than I do, so it was much easier for her to reach down inside and put the metal tape were it needed to go.

After doing this fix the heat and A/C have been working great, no more foam blowing out of the vents.  All in all I did this over a couple of days.  I'm not a mechanic by any means, but I can figure things out.  I'll look and see if I have any pictures of the project.