Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/594324
November / December 2015 18 TECHNICAL EDITOR By Karl Wilen I f you have ever owned an air-cooled 911, likely you have dealt with the sagging and crumbling insulation pad between the engine and the firewall. The insulation is there to provide heat protection to the cabin/ back seat area, as well as sound deadening. The problem is that after a number of years, the heat takes it's toll on the adhesive that holds the pad to the chassis, as well as the integrity of the pad itself. The first place to start sagging is right square on top of the engine, at the edge of the engine bay opening. If left unattended, eventually the pad will continue to sag more, rip out of it's mounting points, and crumble all over your engine bay. On some of the early cars you could lay a blanket on the engine, and have enough room to tear out the old pad, scrape off the remnants, then install a new insulation pad in place. As the cars got newer though, the amount of room in the engine bay definitely decreased, which makes the pad replacement much harder without a partial or full engine drop. Here is Valerie's 964. A great little car, but every time the engine bay is open the sagging pad was staring me in the face. Until the motor comes out to say, punch it out to a 4.0L, replacing the pad is more pain than I care to endure. As you can see it is starting to sag and come apart, but isn't too far gone yet. If you can catch it early enough, there is a new product on the market called the "911 Pad Keeper", and at less than $200, it is a great solution for the sagging edge near the engine bay where it all starts. The Pad Keeper is some sort of ABS type plastic (with a layer of insulation on the backside as well) that is wide enough and deep enough to provide great broad support to the OEM insulation pad. It installs quite easily, and will get rid of that sagging pad look until a future service that allows a full pad removal and replacement. It installs with minimal, if any, tools and by about anyone within minutes. The pad keeper is made by application as each model of air-cooled car is a little different for mounting and cutouts. For the 964, it came with 5 new screw in buttons to hold everything in place which are longer than the originals to allow for the extra thickness of the 911 Pad Keeper. 4 screws to use, and one for a spare. They have thought of those butterfingers out there who will inevitably drop one in the engine bay and be unable to find it during installation. Photos by Karl Wilen Keeping Your Engine Tidy THE 911 PAD KEEPER