Techniques for reducing road noise (1 Viewer)

[Living in the Past]

My hearing is damaged from years of noise abuse so I now have hearing aids. Protect your hearing, all sorts of noise can damage it and hearing loss cannot be repaired.
ed

I hear ya, oh I mean I don't hear ya.

 

[vegas]

Wife and 4 kids... that’s all I hear

LOL no. Single for life. Getting married is a bad deal for guys these days.

 

[vegas]

Regardless of what RPM you drive at or what tires you put on the truck, a 3B is a LOUD engine. There’s no getting rid of all that engine noise. You can’t compare a typical FJ40 to a BJ40/2. You can worry about things like road noise with an FJ, but it’s the last thing you hear with a BJ.

I know it is a loud engine but that doesn’t mean I should do nothing. Every little bit I do will help. I was just wondering about what I can do.

 

[70fj40]

Arkansas has no law against driving with earplugs. The earplugs I suggest still allow you to hear sirens,
etc but it does muffle fj40 noise.

 

[brooklyn]

In my 67 FJ40, changed transfer case to a split case, duramax sound deadner on tub floor and on the inside cowl wall, and plugged all the holes in the cowl wall. Made a huge difference in sound and engine odor in the cab. Good luck, each little thing makes a difference.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

I have no issues driving my BJ40 as a daily driver. Good radio with speakers and your set. At the moment my 80 due to gear whine is much louder than my 40.

 

[vegas]

In my 67 FJ40, changed transfer case to a split case, duramax sound deadner on tub floor and on the inside cowl wall, and plugged all the holes in the cowl wall. Made a huge difference in sound and engine odor in the cab. Good luck, each little thing makes a difference.

Is the duramax on the tub floor and cowl wall inside the cab or outside the cab?

 

[JAFO2014]

There usually isn't a lot you can do for these old tin boxes regarding noise reduction. At least I have found for the time and money not much DB reduction. I am not willing to stick much inside my FJ tub though. I want my FJ to remain original as possible. So I have not tried any of the insulating materials. I used that insulating stuff in my 73 Bronco, in the doors, firewall, floor. It didn't make a lot of difference, it was still noisy inside the truck. So I have left my FJ stock.

And, my ears are shot anyway. Too many 22 rounds fired as a kid without hearing protection I suspect.

 

[Varty Yo]

Drove my 3B 1100 miles home after i bought it...





Eare buds were a hearing saver!!! She aint quiet

 

[MOTOV8R]

Many years ago, with my FJ40 Zebranator, I put foam-backed upholstery that matched my seats as the glued in headliner. That with my "street shoes" a fellow Cruiser buddy rode in it once and said (and I quote),
"It's not fair!"
"What's not fair?"
"Your Cruiser rides like... like a CAR."

Yes, the truck was solid. Yes I drove it daily and wheeled it hard. I couldn't believe it either but that headliner absorbed lots of noise.

I built an 82 Fj40 similar to this but also lined the tub with speedliner and reupholstered the door cards to match the seats in a heavy wear resistant fabric. It was pretty quiet, about the same as the FJ60 I had at that time. I made sure all holes were filled in the firewall as well and had the liner go up under the dash. Replaced all the door seals and hard top seals.

 

[ginmtb]

For long drives I wear musician style earplugs. Very discrete and your music still sounds good and you can hear sirens and people talking. Best $20 you will spend on your cruiser. Here are a couple of examples:

https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Heari...5012&sr=8-1&keywords=alpine+musician+earplugs

Etymotic Research ER20XS High Fidelity Earplugs ER20XS-SMF-C B&H

I also insulated my entire floor and firewall but it was more for heat abatement. I have a floor mat over the insulation too. I put carpet on the inside of the hardtop too to give it some sound absorbing qualities. I know, sorry purists I didn't use the OEM headliner. 20 demerits...

 

[gmac]

I added a thin layer of foam insulation, as well as a dynamat type insulation to the entire floor, front as high as I could go on the firewall and all the way in the back as well, with two layers for the dynamat type insulation at on footwell area. Also went from mud terrain to AT tires. Those two things helped quite a bit. In the future when I do a full rebuild, the idea is to add the lizardskin to the entire undercarriage. It is still not quiet, and over a certain speed, it is a lot of wind noise around the windshield, not much you can do there, as you are driving a brick. .

 

[vegas]

I think I’m going to do a combination of things. The underside of the tub I’m going to do lizard skin noise reducer with paint or bed liner over it. On the engine side of the firewall and in th transmission tunnel I’ll do lizard skin ceramic insulator and noise reducer. I may even do lizard skin. Eramic insulator and noise reducer under the hood and on the insides of the engine well body panels. Inside the cab, I’m using fat mat and the sor thick headliner in the hard top. The floors and up the inside of the firewall are going to have fat mat with removable carpet mats over. I’m going to do fatmat inside the doors, if I can, and apholstering the door cards with material that matches the seats. The rear wheel wells will be left as painted metal as well as the insides of the hard top pieces. I’ll replace all of the rubber seals everywhere and make sure every hole but the fresh air intake and the rear fresh air vents are sealed. I bet all of that will help reduce noise considerably.

 

[vegas]

I’m not looking for super quiet. Just not super loud.

 

[vegas]

A lot of you may be wondering why I care about road noise. Based on my username, it should be obvious that I live in Las Vegas. I bought the truck to be my hiking/fishing/hunting 4x4. Down in the desert Southwest, there is a lot of open country and it is not uncommon to drive 4-8 hours on a freeway before turning off onto a dirt track up into the wilderness. I have the time and money to do this build right but I don’t want to spend a small fortune having a resto shop do everything. I’d like it to be a somewhat quieter drive down the freeway. I’m rebuilding the 3B and I already have an H55F 5 speed for it. I’m putting in AC and new seats. When I’m done it will be like an LX model, maybe better.

 

[scott fasken]

For longer trips with my wife we use headsets from my plane with an intercom.

Makes her happy.

 

[REO]

A lot of you may be wondering why I care about road noise. Based on my username, it should be obvious that I live in Las Vegas. I bought the truck to be my hiking/fishing/hunting 4x4. Down in the desert Southwest, there is a lot of open country and it is not uncommon to drive 4-8 hours on a freeway before turning off onto a dirt track up into the wilderness. I have the time and money to do this build right but I don’t want to spend a small fortune having a resto shop do everything. I’d like it to be a somewhat quieter drive down the freeway. I’m rebuilding the 3B and I already have an H55F 5 speed for it. I’m putting in AC and new seats. When I’m done it will be like an LX model, maybe better.

Hello, I am thinking of doing the same, how did the noise reducing turnes out?