Sound Insulation The Cheap Way

[Pilotman]

Wanted to post this for everyone that would love to have there truck as quiet as a lexus with out having to spend $3000 big ones to have someone at a stereo shop do it half ***. I found this stuff called Jiffy Seal at Lowes Hardware for $16. 00 per 50' x 6" role that is used for sealing the edge of windows in construction. It is made of a tar compound that has adhesive on both sides. I compared it to a popular sound deadening material called HushMatt. It was very close in thickness and was just as sticky. The difference was that the Hushmatt has one side that was foil painted black and cost about 300 times as much. I had my wife while on a weekly market trip pick me up the heaviest duty role of tin foil she could find. After pealing the first piece and adhering it to the tin foil and trimming a bit I found that I had made the same exact stuff as the HushMatt for the most part. A Hell of a lot cheaper. Oo.



I started with the inside of the doors and worked my way to sealing all the interior surfaces of the doors and the holes that they leave open from the factory. There is a source of a bunch if noise right there. If you tap on the exterior of the door before the matt is put on it sounds like a drum. The difference is astounding.



I took it for a test drive and found that the doors sounded great but I could hear a source of more noise in the back seat. After taking all the back seats and hardware out I saw what equated to a large drum back there. I covered the entire rear cab facing the bed and then pulled out the floor matting under the seats to find the same issue. The carpet is pretty good at killing the sound due to its foal underlayment but this stuff was 1/8" thick of nothing.



One really bad source of noise was the cabin pressure vents behind the rear seats. I did seal those up but I am not reconsidering opening one of them up due to the high cabin pressure when the A/C is on even the low setting. On high I felt like I was in an airline with pressurization problems. Figure I could always get in the truck if a have a diving accident and need a pressure vessel .



The difference is night and day :--) If your looking for a way to make your truck nice on long trips, This is the way. I will post before and after tests with a sound pressure level meter here soon. I will go for a test drive at the dealer with a stock unit on the same street, speed, and lane as I test mine. I can’t wait to see... or should I say hear the difference.



Enjoy,



Adam





Check out the insulation installation in my rig pictures here:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=17479

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Great post Pilotman, interesting project. I tore into the interior of my '03 and installed insulation in the doors and back panel which I bought from McMaster Carr for around $200. Was quite disappointed with the results, barely any change, it was pretty thin and light. I like your idea. Do you think it will maintain itself in real hot weather or get gooey and run off?



While the engine is quieter on 3rd Gens they definitely have less insulation. My '03 had more road noise than my '01 and my current truck.



Vaughn

 

[Pilotman]

Jiffy Seal is pretty cool stuff. Its a tar compound that looks like its been laid on a fabric. Its kinda like Duct-Tape. It does have a slight tar smell for a couple of days, but very soon disappears. We have had a couple of hot days here and I have had the doors off and saw no diffrence in the tack of it.

 

[moparguy]

Adam, good find. Two questions, how thick is Jiffy Seal, and can you post the Lowes item number. The local store doesn't carry it, but they will order if I provide a item #.



Thanks, RJR

 

[TX Gooseneck]

Looks like another project!



Good call, should work. My only concern is the Texas summer heat and having goo seeping everywhere.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

My only concern is the Texas summer heat and having goo seeping everywhere.

Exactly. . . it's gotta be good to at least 110, we've seen 112 degrees before.



Vaughn

 

[CLAYTON]

What did you do with the plastic in the door? Did you put it back in or did you leave it out?

 

[RLutkenhaus]

Just some things you may want to consider about this or any kind of product like this:

1. Temperature rating Min & Max

2. Ability to hold up when/if moisture is present

3. Flamability of the product (I don't know if the current vehicle safety standards control the flamability of upholstery inside of today's cars)



I haven't looked at the product you have from Lowe's, but I'll check into it.



Robert

 

[Pilotman]

Plastic liner

What did you do with the plastic in the door? Did you put it back in or did you leave it out?

I love the way Dodge puts things together. All things can be removed and replaced without injury to youself or the part. The same with the plastic liner.

 

[Pilotman]

Does it burn.

Just some things you may want to consider about this or any kind of product like this:

1. Temperature rating Min & Max

2. Ability to hold up when/if moisture is present

3. Flamability of the product (I don't know if the current vehicle safety standards control the flamability of upholstery inside of today's cars)



I haven't looked at the product you have from Lowe's, but I'll check into it.



Robert

Just like any most rubber products it all burns. You have got to figure in the percent of crashes that result in fire too.

 

[Pilotman]

Product Number for Lowes Hardware

Adam, good find. Two questions, how thick is Jiffy Seal, and can you post the Lowes item number. The local store doesn't carry it, but they will order if I provide a item #.



Thanks, RJR

Her it is as listed on the reciept:



53208 6" x 50' Jiffy Seal



Enjoy

 

[Pilotman]

I used this product on my 99



will use it again on the 2004, when I get a chance. I purchased more than I needed



http://www.b-quiet.com/brownbread.html



worked well, not too expensive.

12 sqaure feet for @ 54. 99... ... Holy crap. :-laf I have put 4 roles of 6" x 50' in my truck. Your way thats $2. 29 for a 6 x 12 piece. Im paying . 33 cents per 6" x 1' plus the cost of the foil to put on the back. Doing it your way would have cost me $458. :-{} WOW... ... ... ... ..... NOT!!!!

 

[DWestfall]

Pilotman, thank you for your find. I will definitely get some as well as my friend. He has done everything imaginable to quiet his down. I'm going to do about a two foot swath the whole length above the exhaust system. Do you think it will stay put there? Is it sticky enough? Thanks again!

 

[Pilotman]

Product data sheet.

Just some things you may want to consider about this or any kind of product like this:

1. Temperature rating Min & Max

2. Ability to hold up when/if moisture is present

3. Flamability of the product (I don't know if the current vehicle safety standards control the flamability of upholstery inside of today's cars)



I haven't looked at the product you have from Lowe's, but I'll check into it.



Robert

Found this for you:



http://www.branz.org.nz/branzltd/appraisals/pdfs/444.pdf#search='jiffy%20seal%20window%20installation'

 

[Pilotman]

Exactly. . . it's gotta be good to at least 110, we've seen 112 degrees before.



Vaughn

Check it out:



http://www.branz.org.nz/branzltd/appraisals/pdfs/444.pdf#search='jiffy%20seal%20window%20installati on'

 

[RLutkenhaus]

Pilotman,



I did some research on the SBS materials based off of the www.branz.org website you posted. This particular type of material has a maximum operating temperature of 50*C or 122*F. The melting point is 160*C or 320*F. It is somewhat flame resistant and has a flamability rating of HB for horizontal burn. This is under UL 94 HB standard for slow horizontal burning on a 3mm thick specimen with a burning rate is less than 3"/min or stops burning before the 5" mark. H-B rated materials are considered "self-extinguishing". This is the lowest (least flame retardant) UL94 rating.



As far as the temperature rating, I think that we would need a minimum of 150*F for inside the cab due to the high heat that can develop inside of a parked vehicle on a hot day. I've had thermometers inside my truck before that pegged a 140*F gauge.



I haven't checked the ratings of the more expensive stuff yet, but will do so when I get time.



Robert

 

[Intense Marine]

Quieting down the inside of the truck.

Hey Pilotman, I did the same thing you did but I used a product called FATMAT they are at Fatmat.com on the internet or you can find them on Ebay. I payed $120. 00 for 100 sq foot. That did from the heavy foam carpet at the back seat to the rear of the cab and up the back wall to the rear window. I also did the inside of the outer door skin and the inside of the door on all four doors. I also stuffed my B-pillar and C-pillar with pollyfill that I bought at Walmart. I also removed my third break light and stuffed from the left side to the right side with pollyfill. I can drive down the Highway and 85mph and "whisper sweet nothings to my wife" and she can hear me. I recommend everyone do this to there truck its GREAT.



Thanks, Brad



P. S. Don't remove all to the sound deadner from the cab vents. Use a box knife and cut out one row of openings in each vent. That will let your cab vent without letting alot of noise back in.

 

[LightmanE300]

For another example, you can check my Reader's rigs pics of my Dynamat Xtreme install. It can be had for $89 for 36sq feet on ebay. There's more to it than tar between foil, the real deal works better than the cheap stuff. I've been down the the 'wow this stuff is cheap' path and had the stuff melt inside my doors in sunny FL.

 

[Pilotman]

Pilotman, thank you for your find. I will definitely get some as well as my friend. He has done everything imaginable to quiet his down. I'm going to do about a two foot swath the whole length above the exhaust system. Do you think it will stay put there? Is it sticky enough? Thanks again!

That could be a bad idea having it near any hot exaust. I dont know how this stuff deals with high heat.

 

[LightmanE300]

Just a fyi, with whatever material you use, double or triple layers on the back wall and floor really help with the exhaust noise.



Also, don't just cover the holes in the doors, reach in and layer the INSIDE of the OUTSIDE door skin. I was able to get three full sheets inside there before tackling the rest of the door.