I decided to try repairing the trap door vacuum motor diaphragm with Permatex blue RTV (#6BR). I used this because it seemed to have fewer fillers (cured it's almost clear, just a light blue) and I had it on hand. I first wiped off all surfaces of the diaphragm and inside the tear with acetone. This left black smears on the cloth. Then after letting the acetone evaporate for a minute or two I filled the tear and covered the inside and outside of the diaphragm with Permatex blue RTV (#6BR). The Silicone RTV went on a bit rough even though I tried to spread it evenly over the surfaces with the side of a screwdriver. I tried to get just a coating over the surface, minimal buildup, still the surface of the added RTV wasn't all that smooth. I hung the diaphragm up from it's metal output ring and let the RTV cure for over 24 hours The coated diaphragm doesn't look pretty. This morning I assembled the vacuum motor and tried it with a hand vacuum source. This was a quick test so I didn't recrimp the edges. I tried hand holding it closed but it didn't hold vacuum. Then I put 3 clamps to hold the edges and that worked. Without a load the vacuum motor pulls in (perhaps 1/2 way) at about 2.5 inches of vacuum and holds 15 inches of vacuum easily (fully pulled in at at lot less vacuum than that). PS: Another possible sealant for repairing vacuum motor diaphragms might be Permatex Black Rubber Sealant. This is a neoprene rubber, not a silicone. -- http://www.fastmail.fm - The professional email service _______________________________________________ AMC-list mailing list AMC-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://list.amc-list.com/listinfo.cgi/amc-list-amc-list.com