DA-40 Recommended Service - Popcorn Insulation

[jd4727]

Does anyone remember the # of the recommended service bulletin (?) for the DA-40 regarding disintegration of the insulation in the firewall? It causes white popcorn looking stuff to come out of the vents at the front near the rudder pedals.

Thanks - John Davis

[Lance Murray]

I am not sure that they ever admitted that there was an issue.

Seems to happen to most airplanes.

[Tommy]

I haven't seen it yet. Is the popcorn stuff loose insulation or is it part of a composite structure?
What is its purpose? Fire or sound? Or both?

[Gary]

If you want the list of all DA40 service bulletins go to the wiki section above, scroll down to technical publications DA40 service bulletins. The closest thing to what you describe is RSB 40-052.

Reason
A new seal cover has been approved, which improves the seal of the bond between
the firewall shield and the fuselage. The formation of white dust at the bottom edge of
the firewall due to moisture in the firewall is prevented.
II.1 Material & Availability
WI-RSB 40-052 / WI-RSB D4-069 / WI-RSB F4-018 and required parts are available
through DAI.
II.2 Special Tools
None.
II.3 Labor effort
1 hour

[Antoine]

Mine also does it below the front seats. and I found this crap under the instrument panel cover too. It is everywhere!

[jd4727]

Thanks for the attachment Gary...that's it...my mechanic is ordering the seal from Diamond. Fun weekend...battery terminal connector on the alternator broke halfway between nowhere and the outer edge of nowhere, when I got back I noticed my left main gear wheel pant had a 12 inch crack and to top it off the fuel boost pump went. inop. Some days it doesn't pay to go flying. While all the above is getting fixed I thought I would slow down the white fluffy stuff blowing through the vents. I think it is insulation to plug the void between the hull structure and firewall.

[Tommy]

Anybody know what the purpose of the white popcorny stuff is?

[Gary]

Thanks for the attachment Gary...that's it...my mechanic is ordering the seal from Diamond. Fun weekend...battery terminal connector on the alternator broke halfway between nowhere and the outer edge of nowhere, when I got back I noticed my left main gear wheel pant had a 12 inch crack and to top it off the fuel boost pump went. inop. Some days it doesn't pay to go flying. While all the above is getting fixed I thought I would slow down the white fluffy stuff blowing through the vents. I think it is insulation to plug the void between the hull structure and firewall.

Stuff breaks. I went ahead and replaced the original boost fuel pump in my 2003 DA40 after 1112 tach hours. I also ordered a new alternator. For me preventive maintenance makes a lot of sense since it is very expensive if I get stranded somewhere and can't get back to work. I will keep the old pump and alternator in the airplane to use as a spare. We really need to keep track of the time both in years and tach hours for failure of the pump and alternator to determine a reasonable replacement interval.

I have not seen the popcorn stuff everybody is mentioning but had the seal replaced anyway.

[Colin]

I just replaced my fuel pump with 1,380 on the Hobbs. I think it might be a record.

[Antoine]

WOOOOT???

Diamond quoted over 2000 Euros just for supplying the popcorn sealant. How much did you pay for this fix?

I find it shocking! This shoukd be a warranty case!