Rear window seal failure, Getting too hot from the Subie motor? Options

[theer]

Question for the intelligentsia:

My rear window seal failed on my Subie-swapped car, and I've noticed the firewall gets really warm. There's no backpad (yet), but there is a layer of sound deadening on the inside. No engine compartment pad, either. I can feel the heat radiating off the firewall. I haven't taken the temp, but I'd guess it's 120-130 degrees. Perfect for those 90+ degree summer days. The fresh air fan is not installed (yet) either, and my ice-powered swamp cooler contraption just can't compete.

Driving home yesterday, I noticed the window glass was actually warm to the touch and thought perhaps the heat is causing the butyl seal to soften and the weight of the glass pulls itself off.

I recently put the stock air flaps underneath in the hope that they would draw more cooling air through. No discernable difference.

Anyone else getting that kind of heat from their engine compartment? Would the engine compartment pad help? How do others get the heat to flow out?

Thanks,
Tom

[GregAmy]

I would suggest that the lack of upper/lower separating sheet metal tin is exacerbating your situation.

In a properly-tinned and -sealed Type 4 engine, there should be minimal under-engine air - the hot stuff - rising and mixing with the top side of the engine. That's the reason for all that tin and seals, so that the engine cooling intake fan (and induction) is pulling in cool(er) air from the grill area.

Unlike the Type 4, in your case you have the engine, cooling, exhaust (the hot stuff) all exposed to the upper side of the engine compartment...and heat rises.

Somewhere in here I've "documented" my own air temp tests on my Type 4. Not as solid and numerous as listed above, and I did mine using a 4-probe BBQ temp set, but I saw air temps in line with 110-120 max on the top side of the engine in really high ambients and really hot underneath.

Maybe try installing some kind of upper/lower separating sheet metal?

Edit: Depending on how airflow is mixing with that installation, it may help to install some small 12V fans in the grill area to promote grill-downward airflow.