2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Cab insulation up-date!

[y-knot]

This was a busy weekend, I got several things installed, including more Thermo Tec insulation in the cab. Since I was also installing a new stereo, I removed the seat (yes front and rear), and went on an insulation rampage. I used Dynamat spray on noise suppression in the inter door panels. This took two full cans and allowed me to get all the nooks and crannies, it also serves as a great rust proofing. Then I applied the Dynamat matting to the insides of the doors, and around the speakers. Between the door skin and the door panel, I applied a sheet of Thermo Tech's cool-it super insulation. It worked great, and I had no problem getting the door panel back on.

To the back of the cab, I insulated from the rear window down to the floor. In the b-pilar area (extended cab area), I insulated the cavity and applied the Dynamat matting as well. While I was there I covered the rear flooring area as well, most of which got two layers. I also applied an additional layer of Dynamat under the passenger side floor. The result was a very quite cab, the outside noise is dramatical reduced. I had done the front area of the cab a week or two earlier, and now with the whole cab done it's very nice. I would recommend anyone that likes to talk or listen to music while in their truck, to take the time to insulate it. The only area I have left to do is the hood, their I will add a single layer of the Thermo Tec super insulation to the back of the hood liner. I ran out of material this weekend, but will have more by Monday. I have not had time to go very far since the insulation was add, but the difference is very apparent.

 

[Got Smoke?]

I want to do this sooner or later, as I'm already just straightpiped and road noise is very noticeable at Interstate speeds and soon I'll be stacked. Oo.



Was it pretty easy to get the back seat out and carpet, back panels, etc. ..... any advice, pics???

 

[jeepit]

Yes, some pictures would be good! And a guess on degree of difficulty.

 

[y-knot]

Remove the front seat, this is held in place by 4-13mm bolts , 2-13mm nuts, and 2-18mm nuts. Get some help and left the front seat out of the truck. If you want, you can pull half of the seat out leaving it supported by the door sill and the far end supported by a support. I chose this method myself, it was easier. To get to the back of the cab I removed the rear seat. That required the removal of 4-13mm bolts, then just lift up and out. The seat is not heavy and when folded it is also not hard to get out of the cab. The rear seat seat belts were next, they were removed by un-screwing one 50-torx bolt each. The right and left side trim are identical both require you to remove 8 small screws and 2 50-torx bolts, then just pull out and remove. The pouch for the truck jack needs to be removed, un-lace the straps and remove 2 small screws, remove from truck.

Now you are free to pull back the carpet and reveal the back half of the cab floor. I started with the back cab wall, cut my insulation to fit from just under the rear window to the floor and over the rear channel in the floor. Then apply adhesive to the cab wall and back of insulation, position and press in place.

There is a huge space in each side of the rear cab that needs to be insulated. The factory thru a small wrapped piece in the bottom, but it is basically left un-insulated and allows the road and exhaust noise to resonate in there. I fit and glued these sections, like the rear wall. I also applied some Dynamt matting to the large steel sections, and around the speakers. The back half of the truck is probably responsible for 70 % of the noise in the cab, it is in excusable for Dodge to leave this area un-finished. I might see them doing it on there entry level trucks, but not on all of them, especially the SLT models.

The rear floor is easy, just cut your pieces so they go wall to wall, and keep the fit tight where they meet. I never glued the floor, just put the carpet over the finished area. I did make sure there were no bare or missed spots, I overlapped each area.

The front half on the truck is much easier, the seat is out and the rear carpet is back down. With the front, you will half to work each side to the hump. Pull the carpet up and roll it out of the way, insulate from where you left off in the rear all the way up to the fire wall, as far as possible. It goes very quick, just trim around the shifter and couture it to the firewall. I also put some Dynamat of the floor of the passenger side. This is the area above the muffler and exhaust pipe, it not only gets warm but is the source of much vibration and noise. The Dynamat will help absorb the vibration. The Thermo Tec insulation will take care of the heat and most of the noise.

The whole process from start to finish is about 4-5 hours, one person can do everything except remove the front seat, this is where you will need some help. It is not that heavy, just awkward and you have to lift it off the studs, same goes for the re-installation. We took a trip up North today, about 200miles. The truck is so much better now, I can talk and have a conversation without yelling. Also, now the radio can play and we can still talk. Sitting in the cab with the windows up is strangely quit. the difference is amazing. My wife has to put up with alot of crazy projects and ideals I have, but thought this was money well spent and commented several times that she was impressed. I have owned this truck since new, and this was the quietest I have ever heard it, even way back when it had the stock exhaust.

This was a fun experiment, it proved that yes these truck can be quiet on the inside, while letting others know your there on the outside. This added insulation and my heat shields in installed under the truck, completely removed the DRONE. I do not miss it.

 

[jeepit]

y-knot, You refer to Dynamat (is this the spray)? and Thermo Tech insulation(matting)? Is this correct and where did you purchase these??

 

[y-knot]

I used the Dynamat for several areas in the truck. It is a very well known noise dampener, and is used and recommended in most every car audio shop. The other product I used was from Thermo Tec, it is called "The Insulator". It is a thick insulating mat that has an aluminized backing on one side. It does a great job of insulating, and keeping the road noise, exhaust noise and resonance out of the cab. It also acts as an heat barrier, and keeps the cab cooler. This product was purchased from Jeggs, their catalog number is 900-BLIP12406-B. To do the whole cab area you will need 4 of their Super insulating mats. For my installation I used one each of Dynamats door speaker kits (DYC-10135), flat sheet rolls (DYC-10145) which was 13sq/ft, and their liquid spray sound control(DYC-12005-2). All were purchased thru Summit Racing, who is great for fast service with good prices. I cleaned the insides of the front doors and used a heat gun to dry and warm the metal, then sprayed each one with the liquid sound control. It does a very good job of getting into all the hard to reach areas, and will also help preserve your doors from rust. After that I applied a large piece of Dynamat to the inside of the front doors, and used the speaker kit to do the area around the front speakers. After the speakers were installed, the last thing to do was to re-seal the doors were the plastic barrier had to be removed and apply one layer of the Super Insulating matte to the out side of the door , then re-install the door panel. In the rear, I would have sprayed the inter panels as well, but ran out of the liquid control. So I got as much of the insulating matte in there as possible. I covered the rear wall, from the window down and cover the rear floor area, all with the Super insulating mat. I also applied the Dynamat speaker kits and add some Dynamat to the inside panel . I did not take many pictures, I was in a hurry because of on coming bad weather and did not want to get rained on.

I also insulated the complete cab area while I was at it, thats from firewall to rear cab wall , and both sides of the floor. The job is not bad, and goes pretty fast. The results are fantastic, I love the peace and quiet. Don't get me wrong, I love the clanging and banging of the 12V, and even like the roar of the 4" exhaust. Just like it to stay out side of the cab, were everyone else can hear it.

This is a picture of the inside rear B-pillar. You can see the shiny Super insulating mat along with some of the Dynamat.



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this is the back of the cab wall. the rear seat is removed and you can see the insulating matterial

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This is a shot of the insulating mat on my work table. The package it came in is also in the picture.

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[SWells]

yep I did this with my '02 about 1 month after I bought it and did notice a big drop in road noise in the cab. . It is a fairly big project but easily doable in one weekend. The biggest issue I had was re-finding all the holes under the dynamat and cutting them back out for all the bolts. .

 

[Forrest Nearing]

adding sound deadener to these trucks is a "must do" in my book...

 

[tolmsted]

Bringing this post back up front.

THANK YOU TDR SEARCH ENGINE



Thank you Y-NOT



Spring is finally here. ~69 degrees today.



I'm excited. Oo.



ROAD TRIP



It was a little bit of a struggle to convince my wife to take "Big Red" as I sometimes call my truck, but my wife finally said OK!

She wanted to fly and rent a car and fly back. #@$%!



I said I didn't want to be driving around in a rental car with less protection around us in case of an accident.



Where leaving~May 15th for Yosemite, San Luis Obispo, coast Highway 1 north to Monterey, on to Napa, then back to the coast Highway 1 and travel north all then way to the Redwoods National Forest ala Crescent City, 199 over to US Hwy 5 south and work our way home. Wheeeee... ... .



We did a trip last fall to see friends and relatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We took in the Black Hills and the Badlands area coming and going and the wife commented afterwords about what a great time we had and she was glad we didn't fly.



Now to the point of all this. I'm going to tear the cab interior completely apart and install sound control products like Y-NOT did. To the best of my ability.



Thanks Y-NOT for posting such a great wright-up.



Got to go now to order the stuff, I'll probably not be able to sleep and watch for the Brown Truck each day.



Cheers,

Tom

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I so want to do this project to my '98 since it's my road trip rig. I have sensitive ears and the road noise becomes fatiguing after awhile. Plus the 5" exhaust gets pretty dronesome above 75. As you mentioned I noticed much of the noise comes from the back.

Can I ask what you spent on materials Y-knot? After reading a couple articles in issues past of TDR where sound-deadening projects gave mediocre results it's good to see you had great success.

Another question, my '98 is a Club Cab and I hear it's a pain to remove the back interior side panels and they could be damaged, is this true? I think whoever mentioned that tried removing theirs without removing the rear seat, but the rear seat is easy to remove.

Vaughn

 

[JPulliam]

I would like to know the cost as well. I have wanted to do this for a while.

 

[BRobertson]

A couple of years ago,(maybe longer, time flies!!) I coated the entire cab interior, including top, with 4 coats of herculiner, and then a layer of Dynamat. I foamed the cowling area under the dash, after fabricating an aluminum duct for the cowl intake.

It all made a tremendous difference in the cab noise, and my wife was impressed.

I guess that is what counts!!!!

Bob

 

[JPulliam]

How much Herculiner did you need BRobertson?

 

[BRobertson]

I used 2 gallons for the inside.

Bob

 

[JPulliam]

Roughly $200?

 

[KrisKringle]

Thanks Y-Not.

I cannot believe it, I found the stuff over here! A supplier named Conrad here in Germany carries the stuff. The door kit is pretty pricey though.



Great instructions. Since I have to pull the front seats out of the Truck to 1. Fix the drivers' side sag, and rips, and 2. The passenger side to install the heat elements, it might be a good time to do the insulation. The Dynomax exhaust really sounds great, but the drone is making me [more] deaf... . Thanks again. Great instructions, pictures and product references.