RAM AIR HOOD SEAL, what's going on here...

[andy72]

My new seal came from Summit.

Yes, it the label seems to be a Scott Drake sticker on top of DC's  made in USA sticker.

No, neither included any info about turning it inside out.

My question:  If it is 1 piece glued together, why not package it in the correct direction?

Then it wouldn't look like crap when flipped inside out...

This one kinks up even more than the first one I returned when flipped inside out.

I will have to trust, as Rackerm stated, that it will settle in after install.

Lastly, my first seal had a very poorly glued seam that was already coming apart from the stress of being flipped inside out.

This new seal I receive has a much better looking seam.  Plenty of glue visible.  (picture)

I'll feel better when stretching this around the air cleaner.

I've purchased hundreds of parts during my now 3 year project 72 Mach.  Window gasket, door weatherstrips, everyone available, I replaced it.

This Ram Air seal was the first one I really questioned...

Thanks everyone!

 

[tony-muscle]

I reversed mine and looked better after a day (but still not acceptable), but the next issue is that the diameter is smaller than the OEM. Therefore, there has not been a way for me to install it around the filter. What a piece of junk! They charge so much for a strip of extruded rubber and they can't do a good job assembling it.

Here are the new (top) and old (bottom) one:

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I reversed mine and looked better after a day (but still not acceptable), but the next issue is that the diameter is smaller than the OEM. Therefore, there has not been a way for me to install it around the filter. What a piece of junk! They charge so much for a strip of extruded rubber and they can't do a good job assembling it.

Here are the new (top) and old (bottom) one:

I still suggest that you send Daniel Carpenter info and ask them WHY. If you do not go to the source nothing will ever happen. Try to get an email to his web site of actually call him.

 

[tony-muscle]

I reversed mine and looked better after a day (but still not acceptable), but the next issue is that the diameter is smaller than the OEM. Therefore, there has not been a way for me to install it around the filter. What a piece of junk! They charge so much for a strip of extruded rubber and they can't do a good job assembling it.

Here are the new (top) and old (bottom) one:

I still suggest that you send Daniel Carpenter info and ask them WHY. If you do not go to the source nothing will ever happen. Try to get an email to his web site of actually call him.

David, I found an email in their website and wrote them. I also linked this thread. Their website is not made to receive feedback from end users so let's see if they reply.

 

[tony-muscle]

I am happy to report that Daniel Carpenter responded right away. Thank you for the suggestion David.

I am very impressed with their customer service. 5-stars to them.

Edit: Change "Scott" to "Daniel". Just got confused.

Response from DC (to me):

I apologize.  We were unaware of the issue. It appears our supplier rolled them backward in error.  We will have them correct this.  It may be after the first of the year.

Please let NPD know that I asked that they give you credit and contact us and we will take care of them.......... 

Thank you and I apologize again.

 

[secluff]

tony-muscle, not surprised by their response. As David can testify, they are decent people to deal with and really do care about customer service. In the very crowded sea of aftermarket vendors, they have been around for a long time and still have a very strong customer base. Murphy's Law states that things can and will go wrong, but they have always been right there to fix the problem. I started dealing with them years ago when sourcing parts for our body shop managers 65 Galaxie XL which needed  EVERYTHING. They were always helpful no matter how many dozens of times I called them!

Glad to hear your problem is being taken care of.  

 

[OMS]

I am happy to report that Scott Carpenter responded right away. Thank you for the suggestion David.

I am very impressed with their customer service. 5-stars to them.

Response from SC (to me):

I apologize.  We were unaware of the issue. It appears our supplier rolled them backward in error.  We will have them correct this.  It may be after the first of the year.

Please let NPD know that I asked that they give you credit and contact us and we will take care of them.......... 

Thank you and I apologize again.

Tony

These seals have always been packaged inside out

You flip them around and fit it to your base - use soapy water to lube the seal if necessary.

They will look bad for awhile as the top diameter is smaller so it curves inward when the hood closes.

I have sold 75 - 100 of these with no issues. occasionally get a call and have to tell the customer they are packaged inside out.

Also can't figure who you contacted as there is no Scott Carpenter at Daniel Carpenter Mustang Reproductions

 

[tony-muscle]

I am happy to report that Scott Carpenter responded right away. Thank you for the suggestion David.

I am very impressed with their customer service. 5-stars to them.

Response from SC (to me):

I apologize.  We were unaware of the issue. It appears our supplier rolled them backward in error.  We will have them correct this.  It may be after the first of the year.

Please let NPD know that I asked that they give you credit and contact us and we will take care of them.......... 

Thank you and I apologize again.

Tony

These seals have always been packaged inside out

You flip them around and fit it to your base - use soapy water to lube the seal if necessary.

They will look bad for awhile as the top diameter is smaller so it curves inward when the hood closes.

I have sold 75 - 100 of these with no issues. occasionally get a call and have to tell the customer they are packaged inside out.

Also can't figure who you contacted as there is no Scott Carpenter at Daniel Carpenter Mustang Reproductions

Don,

Thank you for your input.

The "Scott" thing was a typo. It was meant to say "Daniel."

In regards to the seals I have couple reservations:

-Why do they need to provide them inside out? To me it doesn't make sense that it should be "normal." If that's considered "normal" then they should include some type of instructions. This is a strip of rubber/elastomer that is extruded, cut and then glued together. Why not glue it correctly at first?

-My seal is shorter than the OEM (smaller diameter) and I can't make it fit in the air cleaner. I tried to stretch it as much as I can reasonably without breaking it.

 

[OMS]

I am happy to report that Scott Carpenter responded right away. Thank you for the suggestion David.

I am very impressed with their customer service. 5-stars to them.

Response from SC (to me):

I apologize.  We were unaware of the issue. It appears our supplier rolled them backward in error.  We will have them correct this.  It may be after the first of the year.

Please let NPD know that I asked that they give you credit and contact us and we will take care of them.......... 

Thank you and I apologize again.

Tony

These seals have always been packaged inside out

You flip them around and fit it to your base - use soapy water to lube the seal if necessary.

They will look bad for awhile as the top diameter is smaller so it curves inward when the hood closes.

I have sold 75 - 100 of these with no issues. occasionally get a call and have to tell the customer they are packaged inside out.

Also can't figure who you contacted as there is no Scott Carpenter at Daniel Carpenter Mustang Reproductions

Don,

Thank you for your input.

The "Scott" thing was a typo. It was meant to say "Daniel."

In regards to the seals I have couple reservations:

-Why do they need to provide them inside out? To me it doesn't make sense that it should be "normal." If that's considered "normal" then they should include some type of instructions. This is a strip of rubber/elastomer that is extruded, cut and then glued together. Why not glue it correctly at first?

-My seal is shorter than the OEM (smaller diameter) and I can't make it fit in the air cleaner. I tried to stretch it as much as I can reasonably without breaking it.

Tony , Lisa Banks from Daniel Carpenter is who responded to you.

They talked to me today about checking the fit on the seals for them to see it there is an issue.

I'm out of stock at the moment, more on order so I'll know in a couple of days.

 

[andy72]

Wow,

this is hilarious... I feel slightly vindicated

I started this thread, convinced there was an issue with the seal I purchased, 

We still have conflicting posts on weather there is an issue with the seal...

Do I need to return this 2nd seal I have purchased, this time from Summit, until Lisa Banks from Daniel Carpenter responds to this problem?

 

[tony-muscle]

Tony

These seals have always been packaged inside out

You flip them around and fit it to your base - use soapy water to lube the seal if necessary.

They will look bad for awhile as the top diameter is smaller so it curves inward when the hood closes.

I have sold 75 - 100 of these with no issues. occasionally get a call and have to tell the customer they are packaged inside out.

Also can't figure who you contacted as there is no Scott Carpenter at Daniel Carpenter Mustang Reproductions

Don,

Thank you for your input.

The "Scott" thing was a typo. It was meant to say "Daniel."

In regards to the seals I have couple reservations:

-Why do they need to provide them inside out? To me it doesn't make sense that it should be "normal." If that's considered "normal" then they should include some type of instructions. This is a strip of rubber/elastomer that is extruded, cut and then glued together. Why not glue it correctly at first?

-My seal is shorter than the OEM (smaller diameter) and I can't make it fit in the air cleaner. I tried to stretch it as much as I can reasonably without breaking it.

Tony , Lisa Banks from Daniel Carpenter is who responded to you.

They talked to me today about checking the fit on the seals for them to see it there is an issue.

I'm out of stock at the moment, more on order so I'll know in a couple of days.

Don, I know it was Lisa I just don't like to mention specific names in the web.

Here are some pictures I took today. I have two original seals but broken. These pictures show how my new seal is smaller than the OEMs.

New seal over OEM seal 1:



New seal over OEM seal 2:



New seal over air cleaner. You can clearly see how short it is. No way of fitting it. I even tried heating it up.



OEM seal over air cleaner showing larger diameter and good fit.



Another picture of the new seal over one of the OEM seals. In this case the seal is inside out as received.

 

[OMS]

Checked seals today ... dry fit cold seals right off the UPS truck, tight but fit fine.

 

[tony-muscle]

Checked seals today ... dry fit cold seals right off the UPS truck, tight but fit fine.

Don, could you please measure the perimeter of the seal with a flexible measuring tape? Just let me know where are you measuring so I can mesure in the same plane and compare to mine. I am not able to fit mine in even when warm so something is not making sense.

Can the aire cleaners be of different diameter? Maybe you can also measure the perimeter of the air filter plenum where the seal fits. I have two plenums and the seal does not fit any.

Thanks.

 

[tony-muscle]

Checked seals today ... dry fit cold seals right off the UPS truck, tight but fit fine.

Don, I was asking for you to please take some measurements of the seal. I am stuck with a seal that doesn't work so I need help figuring out what's going on. They are relying in your feedback in regards to the fact that it can be reversed, but I am trying to be fair here and figure out if my seal was not properly cut to length or something.

 

[andy72]

Well I decided to go for it... that is, stretching the seal around the air cleaner.

It was tight.  It seemed a few inches short of stretching around, but by massaging it around to where it wouldn't stretch too, I got it on.

I put the seam of the seal on the air cleaner first and got over half of it on until I had to start stretching it.

 

[tony-muscle]

I finally got my seal in. Don's (Don from Ohio Mustang) help was invaluable. My problem was that I was not completely tucking the seal into the slot. You kind of have to push the seal in and then move the lip until it snaps. Once I figured that out it was a piece of cake. Many thanks to Don for his help even after the fact that I didn't buy the seal from him.