I basjoosed my headlights today (sealed the surrounding gap)

[khafra]

Just to check--after 3 years, nobody has had any engine bay fires, or burnt out headlights after sealing their headlight gaps?

Even so, I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing it--I recently got an OBD-II reader hooked up for the first time, and my coolant temps regularly hit 207 even on the freeway; destroying my dreams of partial grill blocks. Florida seems to tax a car's cooling capacity to the utmost.

[MetroMPG]

If I were in your situation, I'd investigate making the pathway for cooling air to the radiator more efficient (ie. ducting it so flow through the grille goes not then escape into other areas where it does not aid radiator cooling).

Some cars are better designed than others from the factory in this respect.

[Phantom]

On my GrandPrix I sealed the headlights with some thick foam tape by removing the light adding the tape then reinstalling the light I only did it one as I wanted fresh air to enter the intake. One bennifit though is that there is no bounce or shake in the light now as there was before.

A side note I also used foam that is placed around window ACs to seal the large gap in the channel the hood sits in.

[MileMonger]

Sorry to revive this thread but its the one that links from the 65+mods.

So I did a little bit of reading around about this and found some info. I did this because, like user khafra, I am concerned about engine fires and increasing engine temperatures.

It seems the best kind of foam to use is "Closed Cell Epichlorohydrin (ECH) Sponge Rubber" as it used for "under-the-hood applications:" Closed Cell Sponge Rubber, Expanded Rubber Stockwell Elastomerics , and resists up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

This however, isn't readily available in Home Depot or Auto Zone, so the next one up is PVC foam; the best against fires, (Weatherstripping & Weatherseal by Foamtapes.net | Open Cell and Closed Cell, Single Sided Weatherstrip Ether tape, Ester tape, Felt tape products for your weatherstripping needs) but unfortunately it apparently produces fumes at higher temperarures: Closed-cell PVC foamboard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (then again they all might.)

Finally we have foam made of "Closed Cell Neoprene." How to Choose the Right Weatherseal: A Guide to Selecting and Applying Weatherstripping Tape as it has high heat tolerance; about 150 degrees sustained/200 intermittently and is also fire-retardant. While I can't find any in stores by the "neoprene" name without having to buy over 100 feet of it, some websites use it interchangeably with the term "sponge rubber," something they sell at home depot. (Some sites call sponge rubber things that don't have neoprene anywhere in the description.)

It would be good to find out those specific temperatures, as well as the average-hot-day temperature under the hood, and whether or not these will affect the small quantity of PVC we need by much.

If anyone has this info please post it up, so we can make better choices.