Truck was insanely loud when I got it (everything from engine to rattling, and wind coming in)... had to put on a brand new stock exhaust in order to pass cali smog.

Wife insisted I got a damned near silent exhaust system, so we can go through campgrounds and such, without annoying other campers.... valid request I figured...

Pulled off the header, and exhaust, put on a new stock exhaust, truck was barely audible compared to how it was...

Now, the 32" tire road noise, plus all the rattling is driving me nuts. So went over the entire truck with buckets of nuts and bolts, zip ties.... and sadly, duct tape when nothing else would work....

Rattling was pretty much solved, except the turn signal lever.... which I will get to later.




For the doors, I pulled the panels off, and found that the 'factory plastic' was torn to shreds... used duct tape to patch it back together, and realized i had a sollid layer of duct tape when I was done, lol. I then got a painting drop cloth, cut to size, and used trim adhesive to secure it, put the panels back on, and worked great. No wind coming in, FAR less 'road noise',


Onto the rear tailgate... (it rattles like a SOB arround 20 mph, only annoying in school zones) ... Pulled the panel off, metal wasnt bolted in, just laying there... So, i put a layer of plastic in, attached with spray adhesive again, then put the metal bar on, then duct tape as an extra 'dont rattle u bastard!' since its not a visible area.


Side panels... pulled them off, saw that there used to be insulation there, but someone already ripped it out (glue marks / fuzz/etc).. So I grabbed 2 camping foam pads, cut them to size, and started shoving them in there. had just enough to fill both sides completely, and have some extra in case I wanna double up in some areas, like over the tire wells.


All of my panels were cracked/chipped/ broken/etc when I got the truck... now they all feel rigid, and almost new... but still look like crap untill I find nice ones at the bone yard.

Unexpected side effect: The back speakers sound 10x better, at least... I can crank the stereo finnaly without distortion form the rear.... now I just need to worry about the distortion in the front, lol.



So in the end...

Did I do it the right way? No, not really... I feel hypocritical rigging it like this.

Did it cost a fortune? Nope, didn't spend a single penny on it... had everything I needed.

Was it worth it? Hell ya... Just have to take it arround the block again to see how much the sides will improve the road noise. as well as how much insulation it will provide heat wise.

 

awsume! I want to embark on a similar mission on mine The squeaks and rattles are driving me insane!

 

dynamat

 

nice! that would be a great relief my tailgate rattles ALWAYS and i have all these little squeeks and rattles under my dash somewhere

 

Dynamat is good stuff, but its to heavy, try this place www.quietcoat.com they sell some stuff that you paint on that reduces noise alot, and i was planning on trying out on my 4Runner when i get a chance.

 

I'd like to hear your results. (no pun intended)

 

Took it for a spin.. heat wise its doing awesome... Didnt even turn the heat on this trip (usually I drive at night with the heat mid way, to high). So theres a HUGE difference in temperature now.

Sound wise... while the speakers sound awesome, theres still a significant amount of road noise. I hate to say it, but I think I need to redo the carpet... again..

When I got the truck, it had leapard print fabric (yes, fabric.. not rug) glued to the body. First thing I did was rip it out, and put in a decent rug... In retrospect, I shoulda put down some insulation between the body and the truck.


As for the Dynomat, yeah... ideally thats what I would use... but I dont have 600 buck laying arround for enough dynomat to do everything, lol.

 

if you are looking for something to put down on the floor and walls i have some stuff that works like dynomat but it doesnt have the foil backing. i have used it in many cars and i actually used it in my old SPL car and it worked great. if you want some i have alot left over that you can have. i live in victorville too so let me know if you are interested.

 

I used B-Quiet... similar product to dynamat but WAY cheaper and more effective then dynamat. Also used rubberized rocker paint on the inside of the outer metal surfaces, similar product to "Dynaspray" at about 1/8th the cost if that.
If the plastic is squeaking against the body maybe try using some of the very thin weather stripping. stick it to the metal along the edges where the plastic contacts the metal and that should stop it.

 

Oh, I strongly disagree....Every vehicle I've ever owned had stuff held together with zip ties, wired up or duct taped. Zip ties are awesome.....any self-respecting shade-tree mechanic knows this!