Embarrassing shiva driver mistake. (1 Viewer)

[Fred Seger]

I had a 8ft^3(220 liter) rectangular sub with a single shiva for about 6 months. Although I was I was happy with it, I wanted more. So i ordered another shiva and built a sonotube for two. My new shiva arrived so it was time to remove my old one. Took all 8 or 12 screws out of it. hmm, what's this it's still hasn't fallen out...just the caulk holding it place. i'll just put my arm through the vent on the side and wiggle it loose. yeah right! this baby was welding in place. hungover, tired and determine to get my new subwoofer running today i found a screw driver and started gently prying on it. gentle turned into prying this MF off whatever it takes ( not a good temper). Well in this process i bent the stamped frame just a bit, but i didn;t think it would matter since it was just the on the rubber surround. but whenever my subwoofer does anything less than 24 hz, the old "mangled driver" makes a very noticeable sound. I don;t know if it the VC rubbing or what.
Am i screwed?
Is there something I can do to fix this?
Is this the result of pushing it to far before?
PS in hind sight i would have pick a single or double tempest instead of trying a double. But this stuff is fun isn' it.
Thanks

 

[ThomasW]

Cradle the old driver in one hand and gently use your other hand with your fingers spread equally spaced around the dust cap. Gently cycle the cone in and out. It's important to use equal pressure, spread all around the dust cap. If you hear a scraping sound then the fame is bent enough that the voice coil is rubbing. If the frame is bent the driver can't be reconed, so you now unfortunately have a very large paper weight.
The lession to learn is never, never "glue-in" a driver with caulk, silicone seal etc. Use cord/rope caulk (it's a non-hardening product, aka Mortite), or closed cell foam insulating tape to make a gasket.

 

[Fred Seger]

Yes, never use any hardening or adhesive material.. Lesson learned here. I now use rope caulk which is cheap and works equally well.
Thanks

 

[Isaac C]

.... or if the frame is just bent and air is leaking out of it, thereby creating noticeable noise, you could also use thick soft foam as a gasket. Use more foam on the dented sector of the frame to better seal the air leak.