Troopy Rear Duct Situation

[Honger]

Okay, so the Troopy has those rear ducts that vent to the outside. Mine are not in an airtight condition anymore... but beyond that, they aren't weatherproof. Their design allows for water/moisture/debris to enter the truck through the three depressions/grooves along the bottom edge.

I'm curious what people have done with these? Eliminated them? Just dealt with ingress of water/moisture/debris? Blocked off the vents?
Or if I buy new ducts, with flaps that actually seal as intended, is it mostly a non--issue?

 

[MES]

Mine are in the same condition. Since the plastic interior extension curves up, I don't think you will get any water inside the car, unless you are fording some real deep water...

During a hard rainstorm, mine were actually leaking water from the edges, and not the flaps. I used a thin butyl tape to seal around the outer edge. No more leaks inside.

But if you are going to order new ones... let me know. Ill take a set. My 3F fumes do get in through the flaps with the right gust of win.

 

[Honger]

I'm not worried about water getting in the flaps... but rather getting in around the edge (like you've pointed out). The mating surface of the duct, by design, allows water to get into the truck. The three depressions in the lower lip mean that road spray will gather in front of the flaps and drip down into the panel. Now that I've painted my body cavity with Spectrum I want to avoid stuff entering.

Good idea on sealing with butyl tape... I may do that. It still leaves me with a concern that gunk/debris/moisture.

I THINK I'm going to order one replacement duct... and then blank off the other side to eventually use as a service port for compressed air and water supply.

 

[Honger]

The idea of using one for a service port isn’t original. Something along these lines...

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

This duct is intended to function as a check valve, letting air out but not in. Same with water, provided it is properly installed.

The rubber flaps open from the inside out.

Over time, dust and dirt build up in the lip between the duct and the flaps, causing them to stop sealing properly. The rubber seal becomes brittle as well.

Butyl tape is a good idea to reinforce an aging seal.

As for the flaps, it helps to clean/wash the whole duct. This is a way to make them work again, at least until replacement.

When installing, it is good practice to make sure the flaps move towards the outside -but not the other way around- before tightening the nuts.

Hope this helps.





Juan

 

[goexplore]

I have removed one of mine and replaced it with the alu box from ANR with compressor port.

I'll probably block off the other too - I'd rather have dust coming in through the backdoors than in to the cavities where I cannot see it.

 

[svsisu]

@Honger, did you ever get one of those ANR ports? Where can one order them? They seem like a good solution to something that doesn't really work well.

 

[Honger]

I know the owner of ANR but am no longer in the Middle East so I haven't managed to get one of these. I'll try again, see what I can drum up...

 

[svsisu]

I know the owner of ANR but am no longer in the Middle East so I haven't managed to get one of these. I'll try again, see what I can drum up...

I would be interested if price and shipping fall within my budget. Shoot me a PM when you find something out and if you decide to get one maybe we can piggyback and split the shipping. Thanks!

 

[Honger]

I would be interested if price and shipping fall within my budget. Shoot me a PM when you find something out and if you decide to get one maybe we can piggyback and split the shipping. Thanks!

Reached the guy this AM... he's done this for several people locally. They are in production of a kit they can sell. I'll keep this thread posted.

 

[Honger]

Also, I did use butyl tape to seal mine up. I bought a single new duct that I'll put on the passenger side so I have flaps the seal properly... and on the driver's side I want to put the access port.

 

[svsisu]

Reached the guy this AM... he's done this for several people locally. They are in production of a kit they can sell. I'll keep this thread posted.

Group buy?

Those vents have bothered me since I've had the troopy. I could be wrong, but I don't see them being that useful as designed. Turning it into a "hidden" access port on the other hand seems like a great idea. Thanks for looking further into getting them.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I have never had one leak water, they have always worked well for me. When the aircon is on full, they allow the air pressure to drop so the blower motor can keep bringing air in. When they close, they stop dust coming in.

 

[c2dfj45]

I have never had one leak water, they have always worked well for me. When the aircon is on full, they allow the air pressure to drop so the blower motor can keep bringing air in. When they close, they stop dust coming in.

On my 79 the amount of air that comes out of them when the AC is on is pretty amazing....small cab and lots of air.

When you shut the doors you can hear them flap open and then shut. Big push of air with the doors.

On newer cars we take apart, they're usually behind the bumper in the lower quarter panels....big panels of them. Our LC ones are tiny compared to what we normally see.

 

[Honger]

On my 79 the amount of air that comes out of them when the AC is on is pretty amazing....small cab and lots of air.

When you shut the doors you can hear them flap open and then shut. Big push of air with the doors.

On newer cars we take apart, they're usually behind the bumper in the lower quarter panels....big panels of them. Our LC ones are tiny compared to what we normally see.

My issue isn't with the required function of the part. I fully intend to leave one of them intact for it's desired role.

That said, it was clear from the interior of my panels that water had made ingress where these meet the panel inside. If you look at my first picture in this thread the part is designed to allow water that gets past the exterior vent to dribble down through those three gaps... presumably so it doesn't pond against the body panel inside the duct. Stuff gets in, even with the flaps shut.

Of course the butyl tape I used to seal up those gaps will probably allow water to pond and debris to collect now... also undesirable.

 

[PhillipJFrye]

Thanks to all for posting in this thread! Now i know what the hell those things are for. : )

 

[2fpower]

Any leads on getting the ANR units?

 

[Honger]

I just sent a text to my contact at ANR... and he's no longer there. And they were apparently not to keen on mass-producing the item... so I assume it's a dead end now.

Hey @NLXTACY, it would be great to have an offering from Wits End on this... fits so well with your OBA expertise/offerings (see pic in Post 4 above).

 

[NLXTACY]

Nic Cardin brought this up to me months ago. The answer is that yeah I could likely produce a version of it but I would need a vent and back mount to start with. I don’t have a 70 to remove the piece. Then I would need to know what best would be in there. Then it would be great to get a sign off from the original maker that he doesn’t care if I ran with it since it’s his idea.

I saw this and like it.

 

[Honger]

Nic Cardin brought this up to me months ago. The answer is that yeah I could likely produce a version of it but I would need a vent and back mount to start with. I don’t have a 70 to remove the piece. Then I would need to know what best would be in there. Then it would be great to get a sign off from the original maker that he doesn’t care if I ran with it since it’s his idea.

I saw this and like it.

View attachment 2872987

There are numerous makers... a guy in Aus who sells them and a guy in the UAE who seems intent on only selling to the local market.

I can send the duct piece we are trying to eliminate... but you actually need the vent, right?