Industry First: Exhust Manifold Five-Layer Thermal Shielding on New Minivans

TOLEDO, Ohio, Jan. 8, 2004 -- Dana Corporation announced today it is providing a new five-layer thermal-acoustic protective shielding (TAPS) for the exhaust manifold on the new Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans. This is believed to be the first application of a five-layer fully isolated TAPS on any vehicle in the automotive industry.

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"Dana's new five-layer shield has multiple uses for key areas under the hood where customers need to reduce noise and extreme temperatures," said Bill Carroll, Dana's acting president and chief operating officer. "We are proud to add this innovation to our portfolio of industry firsts, and we expect significant growth from future applications."

The five-layer TAPS consists of an aluminized steel top layer, a lightweight durable layer of insulation, a layer of dimpled steel, another layer of insulation, and then a final layer of aluminized clad steel.

Unlike three-layer constructions, Dana's five-layer TAPS adds an additional layer of insulating material, along with a dimpled layer of steel between the insulating layers. These extra layers help diffuse and rebound sound waves back toward the source, reducing airborne noise and adding higher heat reduction values to the shield.

"Dana's new five-layer design takes the technology to a new level, reinforcing our role as a leader in the automotive shielding marketplace," said Mike Laisure, president of Dana's Engine and Fluid Management Group. "We expect continued growth from our TAPS products due to the increasing amount of electronics related to hybrids and drive-by-wire systems that will be found under the hood of tomorrow's vehicles."

Dana's automated assembly cell production for TAPS uses a crush-forming process to mold the part. This process helps reduce wrinkles in the shielding and increases reliability in the middle layers when compared to the commonly used draw process. Completed shields have fully-hemmed edges for safe handling and servicing.

The five-layer TAPS for the minivan's exhaust manifold is produced at Dana's facility in Chatham, Ontario. Dana has additional TAPS manufacturing facilities in Germany, Brazil, and Japan.

Dana also provides the trailing rear axle, engine cradle, cylinder-head gasket, piston rings, and transmission oil cooler on the new Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey that were launched in November.