We're on Boost
15+ Year Contributor
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- Aug 25, 2007
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Seattle area,
Washington
Late last summer I started working on a heat shield for the alternator in stock position. (1990 Talon)
At the moment, it fits and doesn’t seem to be causing any new problems. So here are pics and design notes for it.
Aluminum reflects somewhere around 90% of infrared radiation hitting it, and absorbs the rest. Some of the absorbed heat would be re-radiated from the side facing the alternator unless you put a layer of something there that is a bad conductor of heat.
Aluminum alloys like 5052 and 6061 are fairly strong and are really easy to work with.
So:
I built it from .063” thick aluminum sheet (5052 with H32 temper) and coated the side facing the alternator with red silicone RTV high temperature sealant/adhesive made by ASI Sealants. I have .008” thick fiberglass cloth embedded in the silicone sealant.
The silicone/fiberglass is a bad conductor of heat, and it is also a good electrical insulator. That is important because the electrical terminals on the back of the alternator are very close. It is very tough, and it adheres really well to bare aluminum (which I did a bunch of testing on before deciding to use this stuff).
At the moment, it fits and doesn’t seem to be causing any new problems. So here are pics and design notes for it.
Aluminum reflects somewhere around 90% of infrared radiation hitting it, and absorbs the rest. Some of the absorbed heat would be re-radiated from the side facing the alternator unless you put a layer of something there that is a bad conductor of heat.
Aluminum alloys like 5052 and 6061 are fairly strong and are really easy to work with.
So:
I built it from .063” thick aluminum sheet (5052 with H32 temper) and coated the side facing the alternator with red silicone RTV high temperature sealant/adhesive made by ASI Sealants. I have .008” thick fiberglass cloth embedded in the silicone sealant.
The silicone/fiberglass is a bad conductor of heat, and it is also a good electrical insulator. That is important because the electrical terminals on the back of the alternator are very close. It is very tough, and it adheres really well to bare aluminum (which I did a bunch of testing on before deciding to use this stuff).
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