I installed some sound insulation mat on the driverside footwell, underneath the plastic step. It's made of selfadhesive heavy butyl and covered with thin aluminiumfoil. It will be interesting to see if I notice any difference between the sides before I do the same mod on the passenger side. It was a very easy install.
How to make van quieter from road noise
- Thread starter cian128
- Start date
Midwestdrifter
Engineer In Residence
Make very certain not to block the drain holes in the footwells.
bcolins
2004 158" Vista Cruiser
Midwestdrifter
Engineer In Residence
There are small channels in the pinch weld under the plastic step. These drain the area.
Did the same install on the passenger side. Van definitely runs quiter now.
I have also put the same insulation on the airducting in the enginebay but haven't tested it yet. Next trip will be after new years eve when we'll go skiing (or at least to a location with snow) and try our wintermods.
bmachining
Member
Update, Now i cant here the engine at all! And its running. OK you can hear it, at highway speeds its almost silent.
I removed the complete HVAC setup, fitted new seals and covered the whole thing as far as possible with 1 inch thick sound deadening foam.
90% of the engine noise was coming through the ventilation system.
I removed the complete HVAC setup, fitted new seals and covered the whole thing as far as possible with 1 inch thick sound deadening foam.
90% of the engine noise was coming through the ventilation system.
jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com
Well-known member
Any pics possible of sound deadener on the ventilation system?
This past year I covered the entire front floor area and front and side door footwells with an adhesive sound deadener and the difference is like night and day when running down the road.
On the firewall above the pedals there is some kind of fuzzy material that would not allow an adhesive product to be applied without removing it. I have a good amount leftover that I may get around to installing by removing this material that I doubt provides little if any insulation properties.
Quieting these metal boxes is worth every effort we can make. Being able to carry on a conversation with out raising our voices adds to the quality of the driving experience. Listening to music at a reasonable level going down the road is worth every effort.
Thanks to all here.
This past year I covered the entire front floor area and front and side door footwells with an adhesive sound deadener and the difference is like night and day when running down the road.
On the firewall above the pedals there is some kind of fuzzy material that would not allow an adhesive product to be applied without removing it. I have a good amount leftover that I may get around to installing by removing this material that I doubt provides little if any insulation properties.
Quieting these metal boxes is worth every effort we can make. Being able to carry on a conversation with out raising our voices adds to the quality of the driving experience. Listening to music at a reasonable level going down the road is worth every effort.
Thanks to all here.
B
billintomahawk
Guest
Under the floor mat on my '02 is a separate piece of thin closed cell foam. MB tried.
If you remove the floor mat the foam also can be removed, cleaned and dried out. I would make a pattern for better quality sound deadening material.
FWIW my floor mat was not pristine, my floor had some rust holes related to a cabinet mounted between the seats.I ripped the cabinet out nd had at the floor mat. Even on a warm day it fights back. I slit it to separate the piece that fits behind the seats from the main piece that fits in the passageway between the seats and up into the passengers/drivers compartment. Much easier to remove both pieces now. I have a cargo partition that makes the mat removal difficult behind the seats.
I think its a good idea to pull the mat and the footwells once a year to clean out the junk and inspect their integrity, repaint, etc.
My roller is shot on the sliding door in the footwell. Once you learn how to remove it , it comes out easily and could use some deadening as well plus annual service. The whole mess is related and doing both them together is easier.
bill
If you remove the floor mat the foam also can be removed, cleaned and dried out. I would make a pattern for better quality sound deadening material.
FWIW my floor mat was not pristine, my floor had some rust holes related to a cabinet mounted between the seats.I ripped the cabinet out nd had at the floor mat. Even on a warm day it fights back. I slit it to separate the piece that fits behind the seats from the main piece that fits in the passageway between the seats and up into the passengers/drivers compartment. Much easier to remove both pieces now. I have a cargo partition that makes the mat removal difficult behind the seats.
I think its a good idea to pull the mat and the footwells once a year to clean out the junk and inspect their integrity, repaint, etc.
My roller is shot on the sliding door in the footwell. Once you learn how to remove it , it comes out easily and could use some deadening as well plus annual service. The whole mess is related and doing both them together is easier.
bill
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i put thin foam and MLV under the floor, doors, step and headliner. It is a lot better but still majority of my noise is wind/buffeting off the roof rack. previous owner (carpenter) put huge heavy lumber rack on which has been great for solar, awning, patio etc but wind is crazy loud.
I want to do a road test with it removed but getting it off would be a huge pain
I want to do a road test with it removed but getting it off would be a huge pain
sipma02
Currently full time in the van
What weight/thickness MLV did you do? Right now Im considering between that and Thinsulate.
For the cab area floor is 1/8" MLV
doors have dynamat
headliner has dynamat squares in each panel, thinsulate, and 1/8" MLV
Cargo/living area has dynamat, thinsulate in walls and roof
BrennWagon
He’s just this guy, you know?
Not the underside exactly, but I put Herculiner on my rocker panels and roof to try to help control rust and that did reduce noise significantly (especially the roof). There are a number of drain holes that you’d need to keep clear if you’re coating the undersides and a few bolts that you’d want to make sure you didn’t paint over.
majority of noise that is bothering me is wind from the roof rack I suspect
previous owner was carpenter and has big lumber rack which made it easy to mount solar but is noisy
pondering about cutting it in half and only keeping the back half which hopefully is far enough away from the cab that its not in my ears
anyone want the other half of the rack?
or my solar setup? Also going to get rid of that
previous owner was carpenter and has big lumber rack which made it easy to mount solar but is noisy
pondering about cutting it in half and only keeping the back half which hopefully is far enough away from the cab that its not in my ears
anyone want the other half of the rack?
or my solar setup? Also going to get rid of that
Attachments
Midwestdrifter
Engineer In Residence
I would just cut off the overhang. Then add a deflector/fairing to direct the air over the top. That should get you a significant improvement.
i guess if I have the grinder out i'll start at the front and work back!
in my little brain i thought someone might want the other half for their van!
B
billintomahawk
Guest
It's too big and you are creating an unwanted harmonic. Slid it forward so the ladder in the rear works and cut the nose off. Add a deflector that drops all the way from the floor of the roof to the rack bottom and angle it a bit, force the air over, not under...now you get to try it again to see if it still sings.
bill in tomahawk
bill in tomahawk
Zoomyn
Member
Remove and discard third of its length from the middle - leave the aerodynamic arrow shape of the front side frames alone, just slide entire unit back and trim out a middle section, weld or overlap the back-end doubled frame factory design onto the shortened section...
The 'wedge' of the windshield forces much of the slipstream higher than the rack, you are hearing where that front three or five feet gets exposure to that slipstream, turbulence & crosswinds before it shears away from the roof and leaves a low-pressure bubble, and keeping the lowered side rails will help keep mpg up and noise down...
Driving an Interstate highway across Wisconsin with a 25-40mph quartering wind was an education when I had to use the front roof-rack attach points for a crossbar rack to haul something back on the return trip - that front thing vibrated with everything from fog-horn noises to the screech of air brakes on a dive bomber... it was when the side rearview mirrors would trigger to rattling from the 90-100mph apparent windspeed that things really got rock-concert loud! Funny how I don't remember hearing the other two back rack crossbars at all
The 'wedge' of the windshield forces much of the slipstream higher than the rack, you are hearing where that front three or five feet gets exposure to that slipstream, turbulence & crosswinds before it shears away from the roof and leaves a low-pressure bubble, and keeping the lowered side rails will help keep mpg up and noise down...
Driving an Interstate highway across Wisconsin with a 25-40mph quartering wind was an education when I had to use the front roof-rack attach points for a crossbar rack to haul something back on the return trip - that front thing vibrated with everything from fog-horn noises to the screech of air brakes on a dive bomber... it was when the side rearview mirrors would trigger to rattling from the 90-100mph apparent windspeed that things really got rock-concert loud! Funny how I don't remember hearing the other two back rack crossbars at all
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Yep gonna get the zip wheel out this weekend and just pull off the panels for a week until I decide what to do.Remove and discard third of its length from the middle - leave the aerodynamic arrow shape of the front side frames alone, just slide entire unit back and trim out a middle section, weld or overlap the back-end doubled frame factory design onto the shortened section...
The 'wedge' of the windshield forces much of the slipstream higher than the rack, you are hearing where that front three or five feet gets exposure to that slipstream, turbulence & crosswinds before it shears away from the roof and leaves a low-pressure bubble, and keeping the lowered side rails will help keep mpg up and noise down...
Driving an Interstate highway across Wisconsin with a 25-40mph quartering wind was an education when I had to use the front roof-rack attach points for a crossbar rack to haul something back on the return trip - that front thing vibrated with everything from fog-horn noises to the screech of air brakes on a dive bomber... it was when the side rearview mirrors would trigger to rattling from the 90-100mph apparent windspeed that things really got rock-concert loud! Funny how I don't remember hearing the other two back rack crossbars at all
good idea to keep the front half - maybe I will try extending that front angle all the way down to the roof
B
billintomahawk
Guest
I'm not a fan of the low sides on the nose.
Maybe create something like this?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/64-Unive...RH_d2nS9CeQIiMGLvaBlaShUFSvUUOA0aAm9lEALw_wcB
bill
Maybe create something like this?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/64-Unive...RH_d2nS9CeQIiMGLvaBlaShUFSvUUOA0aAm9lEALw_wcB
bill