DSE Firewall Plate Installation
 

I'm ready to weld the DSE firewall plate and the instructions provided with it say weld it up solid. I called DSE yesterday and they say that they only spot weld several areas around the perimeter and then seam seal it. I prefer option two here, but I want it to be right. Any suggestions or input from anyone that's installed one before?

Thanks in advance.

Chris

stich weld it and cut out the area of the plate where the fender bolt/shims would go

Do you grind the rolled lip completely off before welding?

Option 2 worked for me. I used a two part seam sealer.

Don

Seal it, less distortion to deal with. I did not use seam sealer, I stepped up and used panel adhesive. You will tear the sheetmetal before the adhesive lets go

So, Mike, you must have ground the lip pretty much flat so that the plate fit flush with the firewall in order to use panel adhesive, right? That's my dilemma right now. The plate fits great, but there's about a 1/8" - 3/16" gap between the firewall and the inside of the DSE plate when looking from the heater box opening inside the car.

What kind of sealer is best to use in this area? I'm using a 3M urethane sealer everywhere else. The kind in the black sausage tube.

Correct. I ground the lip until it fit tight. The panel adhesive I used is in the automix tubes and is 2 part requiring a special gun to apply.

The part # and name is 08115 Panel Bond and yes the metal will fail before the glue. This stuff is so strong GM and Chry made 3M make 08116 that is not as strong so the glue fails before the metal.

Got-R-Dun! I stich welded it about 20-25 times around the perimeter and then seam sealed it. It came out really nice. Really cleans up the firewall for sure.