Want to sound deaden your truck? I have some advice...
 

Please let me know if you have any questions. Ask away!

I just finished sound deadening my entire truck (cab), to include the roof, and based on my recent experience, I have a few thoughts I'd like to share. The assumption is that you want to do it completely, and do it right the first time. I believe this is something you should tackle in its entirety or forget about. The job is too labor-intensive to not complete it fully while you're in there.

The #1 thing you need to understand is that the old way of sound deadening is wasteful, both of materials and money.

There are three avenues of approach for deadening your vehicle and must be addressed.

1. You must deaden the structure borne noise with a constrained layer damper (CLD) like a foil-backed butyl adhesive tile. Do not use asphalt-based materials. Not trying to rain on anyone's parade who has used these types of materials, but it has been proven time and again that those who do are asking for trouble. The old adage is very true here: use the right tool for the right job.

2. You must install a barrier the blocks airborne noise. You can use all the Dynamat you want, but you're really not doing much about the airborne noise, like road noise, etc. You might get a nice thunk when you close the door, but you've only tackled part of the problem. Mass loaded vinyl (1 lb per square foot) is probably the best SAFE material you can use for this purpose.

3. A quality closed-cell foam is needed to dampen rattles, etc. Most places in the truck call for 1/4" thick foam, while the back wall used 1/8".

The problem with a lot of the standard companies who commercially produce sound deadening materials is that they want you to line your entire vehicle with their dampening mats/tiles. This is unnecessary. Their products are of good quality and work well, but you can quickly get into the land of diminishing returns and waste a lot of money and material, and you still have done very little to address the airborne noise.

The producer of the materials I used has done studies that show there is very little to be gained by covering more than about 25% of any specific panel with the constrained layer damper. With this coverage, you have effectively deadened the structure borne noise that specific panel might produce. Don't use more than you need, and put that saved money toward materials that pay bigger dividends, like the mass loaded vinyl.

I deadened all four doors, the floor, the back wall, the roof, and under a couple of the trim panels in the foot wells. The CLD tiles I used were 6"x10" and I could cut them into smaller pieces, if needed. I placed seven tiles on the outer skin of the front doors, and then about three tiles cut into smaller pieces on the inner skin. Extruded butyl rope was placed into the crevices between the impact beams and the door sheet metal. Using adhesive backed Velcro, I then hung a sheet of mass loaded vinyl on the inner skin of the door. I trimmed the MLV to fit under the door trim, and cut holes to allow for the door trim hooks to engage the inner skin as normal. I then glued some ¼” closed cell foam to the MLV in certain places to prevent rattles against the door trim. The rear doors took five tiles on the outer skin and two tiles on the inner skin. I hung the MLV and foam the same as on the front doors. The factory plastic vapor barrier on each door is discarded.

I removed all seats, fold flat floor, disconnected seatbelt anchors, removed all carpet, and associated trim pieces as needed. I lined the floor with about 20 CLD tiles (note that there is some damper applied to the floor pan from the factory and there is nothing to be gained by placing new tiles over the factory damper). Also there is very little to be gained by applying tiles to many of the rounded edges or curves of the floor. By their very nature, they are deadened pretty well already. Concentrate on the larger flat panels that are more prone to resonate. I then layered the entire floor with ¼” closed cell foam and then a layer of the mass loaded vinyl. The back wall received eight CLD tiles and as mentioned before, a 1/8” layer of foam and then the mass loaded vinyl layer.

*Note – Since I was replacing my HVAC doors at the same time and had the dash pulled, I did line parts of the dash and HVAC ducting with small pieces of the CLD tiles. This did reduce the air noise coming from the vents. I did not do the firewall as there is a rubber-ish/foam-ish layer of material that lines the firewall from the factory. I decided that there wasn’t too much that I could gain over the factory liner and based on the amount of work that would have to be done to work around electrical harnesses, steering shaft, etc., I decided to leave well enough alone. I don’t regret that decision at this time.

The carpet does have a good amount of what I feel is poor quality foam glued to the underside and I found it necessary to remove much of this foam to ensure the carpet and seats fit back in their appropriate places.
In the four corners of the cab (front outer trim pieces in the foot wells and corners between the rear doors and back wall), I cut some vinyl and foam pieces to fit and glued them together with HH-66 vinyl cement. I placed the pieces under the trim with the foam facing outward toward the trim to prevent any rattles.

I then replaced the entire interior and began on the roof. I removed the overhead console, visors, dome light, headliner and associated trim pieces. The headliner must be worked with and removed through one of the front doors. The roof sheet metal received fourteen CLD tiles (note that there are two- one square foot tiles placed over the driver’s and passenger’s head. Do not place CLD tiles over these factory tiles. Again, there is little to be gained and I found that the new tiles don’t stick well to the factory tiles.) After the CLD tiles, the roof received a layer of ¼” foam, attached with self-adhesive Velcro to the metal on one side and the other half of the Velcro glued to the foam with the HH-66. I then replaced all of the roof trim pieces.

Basically, that’s it. I apologize that there are no pictures. But searches on the forums can yield pics of the interior removed, and taking pictures would have made a three-day job a five-day job, and wouldn’t necessarily provided any groundbreaking information. The job is very self explanatory once you dive into the cab. The resulting difference is night and day and road noise is minimal. My wife and I can actually have a conversation at highway speeds without waking sleeping children in the back seat now. If my wife notices the difference, let me tell you that there is a significant reduction in noise within the cab. Your wife will notice too.

Another interesting aspect is that now I hear other noises I never heard before due to the noise. The other day, I heard the cruise control vacuum pump come on at 50 mph! I also hear rattles within the dash that I never knew were there. While it is a tradeoff, the project is still a no brainer for me.

I don’t want this to get into a brand war for sound deadening materials or be accused of promoting or spamming a certain company, so I will not mention the brand I used. PM me if you are interested. I can also provide a link or two with lots of information and some videos that illustrate some of the sound deadening properties I spoke about.
My truck is such a pleasure to drive now over long distances. The noise used to wear me out over a long trip, but never again. My radio sounds better now too. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Total materials I ordered and I had some left over:

76 CLD Tiles
1 roll Extruded Butyl Rope
86.3 ft² MLV
108.3 ft² 1/4" CCF
13.7 ft² 1/8" CCF
17 Velcro Patches, adhesive 2 sides
6 Velcro Patches, adhesive 1 side
1- 32 oz can HH-66 Vinyl Cement

Very nice write up. About how much weight would say this adds?

kry, I would love to do sound-deadening some day. Interesting about hearing other noises afterwords. Would also be interesting to know the decibel level at 65 mph before treatment and after. Would be cool to ride in a stock CTD, then get in yours and see the difference. Would probably make me go spend money on deadening. Thanks for post.

What was the cost?

Another way to cut back on noise is put the factory intake and exhaust back in. I had an AFE Stage II on mine and decided I had enough of the 747 sounds. I pretty much did the same thing kry226 did except for the roof and I measured about a 4dB drop in noise using a cheap radioshack meter. A 3dB change is roughly 1/2 as loud. I have 0 road noise, but you can still hear alot of the bass from the engine and exhaust. I am happy with it and my truck is quiter then alot of cars.

You can also spray on undercoating to the underside of the truck, fender wells, etc. I plan on doing that next and doing the hood of my truck with a kit.

Edit: Camper Andy, it costs some $$$ and its a labor of love. Expect to pay several hundred dollars for materials and set a side a weekend. Quiet the project but so worth it. I think a roll of what I had was about 40lbs??? and you can put in as much as you want. Shop around for prices, just be prepared for each company to say theirs is the best. Just aim for thickness vs. $ per square foot. Feel free to PM me if you want my recommendations.

I would say about 100 lbs, give or take a little. Quality MLV will weigh 1 lb per square foot. One thing I will watch for is wear on the door hinges, but one would have to do that with any quality sound deadening they did to their truck doors.

I wish I had a dB meter, but just couldn't find the time (or extra cash) to pick one up.

I paid about $650, but that includes shipping a 90 square foot roll of MLV (just under 100 lbs), 76 CLD tiles, two 3 foot boxes full of closed cell foam, and a jug of vinyl cement, all from Virginia to Texas too. Not cheap, but I wasn't going to be satisfied with Peel and Seal either. I still have about 21 square feet of MLV and two sheets (36 sq ft) of closed cell foam left over too. I feel I used the best materials available. Some guys spend thousands on layer after layer of Dynamat, yet still never achieve the results they're looking for. On this side of the project, it was definitely worth it. Plus, I am driving this truck until the wheels fall off. And then I'm going to put them back on and drive it some more. This way I'll still retain some hearing and have pleasant conversations with my woman along the way, and for many years to come.

My 04 truck is now more quiet than our 04 Toyota 4Runner with Toyo H/Ts.

This project is not for the faint of heart, but it is oh so worth it!

I've been married 25 years. We have nothing to say to each other that hasn't been said. I know what she's thinking and vice versa.

For $650 I would have put in a 500 watt amp, a nice JL sub and a new head unit... [laugh]

Even on trips by myself, the road noise would simply wear me out. Trying to sleep with ringing ears after a day's driving was futile.

Got the new head unit and good speakers. No need for an amp or sub. Not much of a music head anymore.

Did I say that? Man I am getting old! [laugh]

[QUOTE=kry226;2720934]Please let me know if you have any questions. Ask away!


1. You must deaden the structure borne noise with a constrained layer damper (CLD) like a foil-backed butyl adhesive tile. Do not use asphalt-based materials. Not trying to rain on anyone's parade who has used these types of materials, but it has been proven time and again that those who do are asking for trouble. The old adage is very true here: use the right tool for the right job.

Why not use asphalt-based? Maybe the smell after the truck is sitting in the sun in the summer? Just curious. I've never used any sound deadening material, but I considered the asphalt-based. Maybe not anymore though.

GREAT write-up!

Picts?

Its been a pretty hot topic here lately. Just search 3rd gen for "sound." Here is a link to someone who did a very good job on his, think his is a hemi though.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...-quad-cab.html

I am not certain you need to use the foam spray in all the cross members like he did because there is alot of bent medal in those areas. Big flat panels are the main resonance points. Wish I had the guts to tear out the dash to do the firewall. He also covered alot of the tubes for the AC system. Mine isnt that loud and I am curious if the dynamat would have a hard time staying attached because of the heating and cooling of the system causing condensation.

The below quotes are from a guy who started testing every sound deadener material on the market about four or five years ago. I would venture to guess he's probably one of the most knowledgeable men in the industry, and has looked at these properties as scientifically as any layman really can. Take it for what it's worth, but if you do the right searches on the various forums out there, it's very difficult at best to make the argument that any of the asphalt-based roofing materials are as good or as cheap as the material that's specifically designed for automotive sound deadening use. I researched this stuff on my own for a long time and am really happy I used the butyl versus the asphalt.

The bottom line is that each person has to evaluate what their goals are and identify the best way to achieve their goals.

AND:


None taken. "I apologize that there are no pictures. But searches on the forums can yield pics of the interior removed, and taking pictures would have made a three-day job a five-day job, and wouldn’t necessarily provided any groundbreaking information. The job is very self explanatory once you dive into the cab. "

I've seen that thread, and IMHO, that guy wasted so much material and money it's not funny. All that and he still hadn't addressed any of the airborne noise. I'm sure the cab doesn't resonate in the least now, but he said he can still hear his Hemi. I have a harder time hearing my Cummins and I didn't touch my firewall, only the floor and foot wells. To each their own, but this shows how one can spend tons on materials and still never accomplish what they set out to do.

Agreed. Using dynomat also probably sent his budget into the stratosphere also. I did my entire cab minus the roof and firewall for $250 in comparison and couldn't be happier.

I'm mid project on this right now. I'm using the butyl foil lined Raam Mat. I purchased the materials a couple of years when I had my Titan and never got around to installing it. I had purchased two 62 ft^2 rolls of the mat and 6 yards of their 1/8" closed cell foam. I saw that Raam now sells self adhesive closed cell foam, so I will probably end up using that rather than screwing with spray adhesive. So far I have used one complete roll of butyl mat doing the back wall, rear pillars, and entire floor of my regular cab. I'm sure the 100% coverage is overkill, but I've got plenty of material. I didn't do any closed cell foam under the floor carpet as I thought it might affect the fit.

There is a substantial difference with just the back wall and floor done. I haven't done the doors or roof yet. I'm planning on doing 100% coverage on the roof and inner/outer doors. I am going to make some panels to seal up the large openings in the inner doors, I haven't decided if they will be metal or plastic. I was thinking ABS plates would work and I'll use silicon to secure them. I have enough material that I'll probably do a layer of mat over those too.

I did score 2 boxes of the Dynamat hood liner for $10 each at Fry's Electronics. It is the 3/4" foam with foil liner. I used most of one box under the OEM liner of the hood. I'm going to see how much of it I can put in the roof. I figure the foam and foil will help insulate the roof from the scalding AZ sun. If I have any left I'll find a place for it.

I did some major audio upgrades with the first stage of sound deadening, so far so good.