James,
I used MD brand 'camper self-adhesive foam tape' from HomeDepot (this is 1.25"
wide and 0.25" thick, self adhesive on one side), applied after completely
removing the residual flecks of original foam (& I took a lot of time to be sure
this was applied carefully...). I sealed the two halves of the heater box back
together with silicone tub caulk/sealant & the proper metal clips. I'm pretty
sure the whistling is coming from the heater box not the doors or windows, as it
goes away when you open the heater vents, so you could perhaps say that the
products I used were not good enough (or probably more appropriate to say the
application was not good enough??). It will take some time before I pluck up
enough courage to re-open the dash to investigate further.

Thanks for your comments,
Michael
Message ----
From: James V <chimivee@gmail.com>
To: Michael Hart <mjhart853@yahoo.com>
Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
Sent: Wed, April 20, 2011 10:20:33 AM
Subject: Re: Heater Box refurb

Having done this procedure on a prior van of mine (and anticipating
doing it again on current/future vans!), I'm interested to know what
you used for the flap seals and how well it worked...?

As far as the "whistling"... have you ruled out door/window seals?

Thanks,

James V
86 Syncro Westy

On Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 9:14 PM, Michael Hart <mjhart853@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I just spent most of the weekend refurbishing the front heater box in my '87
> Westy - following the great instructions available on the 'list', at
> www.benplace.com & on Youtube (Thanks! I can't imagine getting this right
> without your careful recording of the process!!). I replaced the heater core,
> fan motor, installed all new seals on the many flaps, sealed the box back up,
> tidied up the rats nest of wiring left by PO and added lots of soundproofing
in
> the nose area.
> Amazingly, everything worked perfectly when reassembled. What a huge job....
> BUT: I'm a little disappointed to find that the van still 'whistles' when
> driving at speed (all vents closed). What did I do wrong???
> Mike,
> '87 Westy, Palo Alto, CA
> P.S. Hoping to be able to get into syncrofest this weekend (though apparently
I
> left it too late to register, so I'm still waiting to hear from the organisers
> to see if they will let me in - any advice??)
>