Follow their instructions for a oxidizing pass of a propane torch and a quick wipe with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol. (Iso-Heet gas line dryer) for best adhesion on difficult to bond plastics.

http://www.epoxyworks.com/26/pdf/glu...stic_gflex.pdf

http://www.nrs.com/global/repair/227..._repairkit.pdf

 

Jim - Will do. Thanks.

Luke - Thanks for the suggestion on the HVAC ducting for scrap. I have plenty of spare ducting so have a good source. Also, what did you use to cut the plastic?

Guys - Is my approach of gluing strips of the same plastic inside one side of the split adapter, letting that set, and then gluing the other side to the strips a reasonable plan? Is there something better?

 

Sure.
By making a splint on the inside you are greatly increasing the surface area and turning the bond from tension into shear.

 

That should provide a good, strong bond as well as be relatively unobtrusive. I thought about using aluminum strips on the inside and pop-riveting the plastic to them, but that means two rows of rivets showing and I think it would look like Frankenstein.

So, I need to make the cut somewhere that allows splints on the inside. I'm lucky in that I have a spare adapter.

 

One other thing you could do is mix a little lamp black (atomized carbon) into the epoxy so any squeeze out would be unobtrusive.

This has worked well for me in the past.

 

True, but I plan to paint them with SEM, so if that'll adhere to the glue that wouldn't be needed. Right?

 

It should adhere nicely.

I didn't realize you intended to paint plastic in the engine compartment.

 

I don't know what specific level of vacuum any given device requires to be fully activated, but I must assume most vacuum accessories in a vehicle (distributor advance, air cleaner actuators) all require something fairly low that a typical engine manifold would produce, otherwise these actuators would never reach full on or off positions.

Delay valves are often used with air cleaner actuators, if maybe not by Ford in this model year (this Jeep site indicates as much). I shouldn't think the delay valve will have any effect on the total amount of vacuum seen by the device, just how long it takes for that vacuum to present. I doubt the specs would be critical, so long as it slowed down the door by a few seconds. In that case, if you stomp on the gas real hard and the engine loses vacuum, it will still take a few seconds for the door to open and let in cold air, by which time you will probably have let off the gas, and vacuum will be restored. In other words, I think a delay valve would work to introduce some hysteresis in the air cleaner door actuation.

It might be just as unnecessary as the CWM, and in your case, if you are going for a secret hidden actuation system, not really practical. I'm just considering all the pieces and deciding what to include.

 

If you cut and flip the adapter on the driver's side for symmetry, the little plastic accordion piece will not work on the driver's side because you can't bend it the other way.

 

Almost missed this one - I used a cheap Japanese saw I got from Home Despot. I taped a straight-edge (small pieces of aluminum) to each side for a straight line, then tried to follow that with the saw. It came out pretty even, but I got it perfect aferwards by rubbing them on a sheet of sandpaper attached to my workbench.

 

Jim - You think I'd leave the heater box, fender liners, etc un painted? No way, Jose!

Luke - the oriface or delay doesn't change the amount of vacuum that reaches the device. It is like a resistor and reduces the flow. So it takes longer to reach full vacuum or zero vacuum, whichever way it is going. And, the length of time it takes depends on the size of the reservoir on the device. So if a vacuum advance has half the volume of another device the delay will be half as long on the other device.

And, thanks for the tip on the saw. I'll try that approach.

Fonzie - The thought was to leave the accordion in the same orientation. But, I'll check it out before I cut the adaptor. Thanks for the tip.

 

Well, the Fonz is right. On the driver's side the accordion piece has to go in flipped from the passenger's side orientation. And when you do its mouth opens up, and the only way to make the adapter match that is to use it as it is, but flipped from the passenger's side. IOW, flip both pieces and it works.

Thanks for pointing this out, Fonzie. I'd rep you but can't in spite of my recent spate of promiscuity.

 

I got him for you Gary.

 

Thanks, Jim. I'm trying to spread the love, I really am.

 

Well, Fonzie came through for me. Thanks, Fonz! Now I have a pair of the elusive bellows that connect the air cleaner to the adaptor on the radiator support.