What's it called?

[foxxxtman]

Just got a 2006 mustang and I'm going through the TSB to find/mitigate a water leak. I gutted the car and tore out the old carpet since it was wet and stunk. There's some foam stuff under the dash that was under the carpet and also waterlogged, what the heck is it called and is it just to dampen sound?

Thinking of getting some sound deadener and cutting the stuff that's been holding water so long. I got it dried out but not sure if it'll stink like the carpet did. It hangs down on both the passenger and drivers side and there's a hard foam panel that fits underneath to give it shape to the left of the clutch and under the pedals. Stuff goes all the way up in behind the dash but was only interested in removing the lower portion. .

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Its a sound deadener. As for the water leak remove the cowl drain plugs, just pull them out. They clog and cause all kinds of issues.

 

[foxxxtman]

Already complety cleaned those out and the entire cowl area, I'm hoping that fixes it but also found a TSB that mentions cowl grommets, inspecting seam sealer, and a few other things. I want to make 100% sure I've corrected the problem before adding any carpet or anything back in.

So sounds like no harm in cutting that out a and replacing it then with some stick down sound deadener then, that's good.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

In my 12 its some white polyfill crap. I removed it all and used kilmat from amazon.

 

[foxxxtman]

Side note, I read somewhere that just removing the cowl drains isn't recommended because they help prevent fumes from the engine bay entering through the cabin filter. Any truth to that? This thing stays parked in the garage and not normally driven in the rain, so should be able to keep the cowl vents clear I'd think.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Its up to you, my 08 had them removed for years and never smelled anything. My 12 same thing.

 

[foxxxtman]

Appreciate it brother, might pull them and and test it, easy enough to slap them back in if needed. Thanks again for all the responses.

 

[DieHarder]

Already complety cleaned those out and the entire cowl area, I'm hoping that fixes it but also found a TSB that mentions cowl grommets, inspecting seam sealer, and a few other things. I want to make 100% sure I've corrected the problem before adding any carpet or anything back in.

So sounds like no harm in cutting that out a and replacing it then with some stick down sound deadener then, that's good.

Check for rust in the floors (both sides) and under those thick beads of sound deadener. If present you'll need to remediate it (depending on how bad it is). I used a wire brush/carbide disks on a drill to get the surface rust off and then laid down a couple of layers of fiberglass cloth. Completely sealed it; guarantee it'll never rust again and strong to boot. Do a search on floor repairs/rust.

 

[Ret]

Fortunately, my 2008 had the leak issue corrected, by Ford I assume when it was manufactured. I've never had any leaks or mildew and I have driven in several downpours. This has been discussed a number of times and how it was fixed. Information should still be available.

 

[AnthonyBirge07]

Seal the tops of cowl with window adhesive, also the drain grommets can in fact allow for exhaust to come into cabin but you'd have to have exhaust leak before the cats and would definitely know because your engine will run like shit
. Other than that get a 1 Gallon ziploc back and wrap your sjb and all is well.

 

[foxxxtman]

Check for rust in the floors (both sides) and under those thick beads of sound deadener. If present you'll need to remediate it (depending on how bad it is). I used a wire brush/carbide disks on a drill to get the surface rust off and then laid down a couple of layers of fiberglass cloth. Completely sealed it; guarantee it'll never rust again and strong to boot. Do a search on floor repairs/rust.

I've definitely ground all the surface rust out of there, luckily it wasn't too deep. I was curious what all those beads of hard stuff is that sits on top of the floor pan and on the center though. You're saying all those hard beads of stuff is just sound deadener? I figured maybe it was there for some structural rigidity or to seal seams or something. No harm in grinding it right out? I obviously ground it out where I saw rust around it.

Plan was to prime with rustoleum rust stop and then top coat it. You're saying i should also fiberglass it before I paint it?

 

[foxxxtman]

Seal the tops of cowl with window adhesive, also the drain grommets can in fact allow for exhaust to come into cabin but you'd have to have exhaust leak before the cats and would definitely know because your engine will run like shit
. Other than that get a 1 Gallon ziploc back and wrap your sjb and all is well.

Tops of the cowl, you're talking the metal lip under the cowl vents correct? I got some seamsealer and was planning on inspecting that area to see if I had any leaks on the seam. I plan to run the pressurized cabin test. I did order the left and right cowl vents since I snapped a tab and mine were pretty faded and in rough shape, along with new heat seal grommets to replace the old ones. I know prior to 2008 heat seal wasn't used and they can be faulty.

 

[DieHarder]

I've definitely ground all the surface rust out of there, luckily it wasn't too deep. I was curious what all those beads of hard stuff is that sits on top of the floor pan and on the center though. You're saying all those hard beads of stuff is just sound deadener? I figured maybe it was there for some structural rigidity or to seal seams or something. No harm in grinding it right out? I obviously ground it out where I saw rust around it.

Plan was to prime with rustoleum rust stop and then top coat it. You're saying i should also fiberglass it before I paint it?

If it doesn't come off easily (with a hammer/chisel) leave it alone; it's not rusted badly. If it does come off easily keep chipping until it's all off or up to the point where it's still good. You'll be able to tell. No need to grind it off if it's good unless you want to anyway. Up to you.

Do the rustoleum; paint; then fiberglass for the strongest repair. Adding fiberglass will also add rigidity. Completely up to you of course. However, if you go that route you'll never need to worry about the floor again. Besides, it's cheap. You can get a quart kit and enough fiberglass cloth to do both floor pans for ~$20. Just do it in layers (3 is enough) and don't mix up too much at once. Lay it down quickly as the resin sets up pretty quickly depending on how much hardener you add. Once it drys (overnight) it'll be rock solid and you can than add any mat/foam/sound deadener you like.