Sound Dampening and Insulation
The warmer weather continued, and I have had some time to work on the van. I started the first steps of sound dampening and insulation.
The first area to attack was the cab roof. I took off the headliner. One of the best tools I bought for the van work was a set of auto trim tools. After years of using screwdrivers, pliers and just pulling off the clip, these tools make it pretty easy to remove trim without damaging the trim or breaking the clips. I used these tools all day and it made removing the van trim easy.
After removing the headliner I applied a layer of 80 mil Noico material. There are many options in all cost ranges. I chose Noico because it was made of butyl rubber, rather than asphalt, but less cost than some of the other more expensive materials line Dynamat. So far I am happy on how it applied to the walls and it seems to make a huge difference in vibration and sound.
I put the Noico on most of the roof panel. I've read that you only need 35-40% coverage to be effective, but it seem easier to just put up a layer of material across most of the roof. Since it was cold outside, I kept the Noico in the house and grabbed one piece at a time and stuck it to the van body while it was warm and pliable. I bought the Noico metal roller to ensure the materials was firmly stuck to the metal panels. I hope I never have to pull this off.
After the Noico I put in a layer of Thinsulate insulation. It was a little compressed between the headliner and roof, but I think it is better than nothing.
I also used thin strips of wood to stuff strips of Thinsulate in the hollow cavities above the door and the windshield. I'm not sure how much good it does. It seems
the metal of the van will transmit heat and cold around the cavities, but it only took a few minutes. Just as I clipped in the last headliner clip, I remembered that I am getting a CCV top and this roof area will be covered by the "insulated" area of the poptop. Oh well, it was good practice.
Next came the cab doors. Ford has a good system for attaching the door panels. Just screws and hooks. None of those plastics clips that will break no matter how careful you are. So it was easy to pull off the door panel and peel back the later of clear plastic. I cleaned off the metal panel and added sections of Noico inside the door. I had to cut them into 6-7" wide strips to be able to thread them through the holes in the door and apply them to the door panel.
After putting in the Noico, I wanted some thermal insulation in the door. I did not want to use anything flexible due to the window mechanisms. I did not want anything that would catch as the window went up and down. There was just less than an inch of clearance between the exterior door panel and the retracted window. I picked up a sheet of 1/2 thick ridged insulation from the local home center. These were cut into 6" X 24" sections and I used double sided tape to hold these tight against the exterior door panel. I should have used some foil tape to seal the sections together, but I did not think of it, so I may have to go back and
do that.
The final layer of insulation was a layer of Reflextix that I attached to the inside of the interior door panel. I held this in place with some small pieces of double sided tape. I just wanted to hold it in place until the panel was attached to the door. I had to cut openings for the hooks and the speaker, but with the airspace of the door interior, I hope this will add some insulation value. I think this will be much better than nothing and it took little time and money to do this.
After the cab doors, I completed the barn doors and rear doors. This was the same process of Noico covering a section of the outside panel and some thermal insulation. For these doors I used Thinsulate, held in place with some spray adhesive. (I missed taking pictures with the Thinsulate). I also stuffed some Thinsulate in the channels around the windows. I used a metal fishing tape or thin strips of wood to get some Thinsulate in.
Next I am looking for suggestions on how to insulate the cargo walls. I plan the same system of Noico and either Thinsulate or 1" ridge insulation, held in place with tape or spray adhesive. But I am
questioning on how to get access to the inside of the exterior wall panels. Most of the walls are covered by the interior metal panels. There are very few access holes and none are really big enough to get good access to large sections of the wall. None give access to the lower part of the wall or down in the rocker panel sections. Any good ideas?
I have debated cutting out sections of the interior panel, or cutting bigger access holes, but a review of the Ford Incomplete Vehicle Manual doesn’t allow for cutting of the lower section of the interior panels.
So any ideas are appreciated. I have not found much information through searching the forum.
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