Stop MB Water Damage *Under $25* no 56k

[circa40]

Sorry if something like has already been discussed.

This will help stop water from dripping onto your MB's.

I finally found another set of replacement RMBs

Buy List, everything available at either home depot or Lowes:
Thin aluminum sheet - $12
Gasket chalk - $8
Leftover sound dampening material - $5

Tools needed: Metal snips, gloves (recommended), and zinc coated screws

This is my 1st gen. 5~6 year old Kicker RMB8 (one was blown)


Rust




Aluminum sheet


Measure and cut the aluminum to the depth of the speaker + ~1" and about 1/2 the radius of the speaker


Measure up 1" and about 3/4" even slits


Cut


Bend to 90 degrees

[circa40]

Big hole


Dynashield and ED V4 (hasn't fallen off yet )


Install. Use 1 screw on top. yeah yeah, i know it looks a bit silly


Problem


Problem solved


I applied a layer of ED V1 on the bottom and above the aluminum (this might fall off tho)


Carefully install the woofer. Make sure it fits snugly. By installing the woofer now, it evenly spreads out the flanges. While the woofer is in, seal the flanges with SD material.


Out with kicker's original gasket and in with the chalk. Its kinda like a non-harding clay.



Applied.


Installed. I added a layer of 1/8" closed cell foam for the heck of it. If you look closely at the edge of the woofer flange, I added another bead of the gasket


Partially fried VC. I guess a year with 150w, LP @ 50hz with no ss filter can do that, oh well best $100 woofers that Ive ever used.

[Soundsaround]

Very clever!
Question on the aluminum - It looks thicker than the flashing material I bought from Home Depot, what department is it in? On the label, is the .020 referring to .020" thickness?

[circa40]

Originally Posted by Soundsaround

Very clever!
Question on the aluminum - It looks thicker than the flashing material I bought from Home Depot, what department is it in? On the label, is the .020 referring to .020" thickness?

I'm not sure about the thickness, buts slightly thicker then a soda can...maybe a bit thicker then 1/64"? I'm not totally sure but I think I got mine from Lowes

[dogstar]

.020 will be 0.020" or 20 thou.
Pretty thin, soda cans are around 10-18 thou.

Nicely done, I was lucky in that my factory adaptors/speakers had rain guards already.

[ItalynStylion]

Interesting. Any idea how well it works? I would imagine that the flow patters for water entering the door differ for every car so results are likely to vary. When I get my next car I'll give this a shot.

Before I do it though I plan to remove the door panel and shut the door with the window up. Then have a friend (or helpful girlfriend) spray the hose on the window to see where the water actually comes down from. That would probably tell you if you even need to do this at all.

[captainobvious]

They have different thickness flashing at most hardware stores like lowes and THD.
Nice idea. Maybe put a small piece or two of raammat on the inside edge to combat any vibration you may get in that aluminum shield.
Good job.

[circa40]

Originally Posted by captainobvious

They have different thickness flashing at most hardware stores like lowes and THD.
Nice idea. Maybe put a small piece or two of raammat on the inside edge to combat any vibration you may get in that aluminum shield.
Good job.

There is one layer on both sides. I would have added more but since it was such a tight fit, the MB wouldn't have fit properly...I know, I messed up on the other side

[captainobvious]

ahhh, I didnt see that line above the picture. Good stuff. (not edead, the idea )

[ogahyellow]

I did something similar to that using flexible cutting mats (http://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Cutti.../dp/B0000VLJAY) that I got free, and some hot glue + CA glue. All in all my solution cost me less than 1 dollar! They have the thin mats at the dollar store near me too, so the most one might have to spend is considerably less. My baffles are HDPE so I was able to get some stickage between the 2 plastics.

The one aspect I'm not so sure of is how the aluminum/steel combination will work for oxidation. My "research" leads me to believe that the aluminum will oxidize first because it is a stronger reducing agent. If it even matters at all...which I would love input on. But I was worried, so I went with all plastic. Hooray for recycling dead dinosaurs!

[sebberry]

Thanks for the tip! I was always wondering what people did to keep water out of expensive speakers.

[maxxis]

Might be a silly question but wont the aluminum cause resonance inside the door?

Great advice. Thanks for sharing?

[ItalynStylion]

He deadened the Aluminum. Even one sheet of deadener on an aluminum surface that is less than 1mm thick is not going to resonate at all.