My Resto-Mod Odyssey - '08 Tahoe LT3

[iamdub]

Don't forget to insulate the floorboards and lower firewall. Those are major noise areas as well from the tire and engine noise.

Get a roll of adhesive-backed felt tape (or "pressed wool") and a bag of new door panel clips before you pop the panels off again. Replace any worn/weak/broken clips and stick some felt anywhere the plastic rubs the metal. Usually there will be fine plastic powder and rubbed-through paint on the metal where the panel has been contacting. Usually a layer or two of the felt is all it takes to tighten up the gap and prevent sounds. Where a clip passes through a slot in the subframe, you can cover the slot with a piece of felt and cut a slit in it with a razor or X-acto knife. When the clip is pressed through it when snapping the piece back into position, the felt keeps the pieces from directly rubbing each other. This works for metal-on-metal, plastic-on-plastic and plastic-on-metal.

I fixed squeaks and rattles in my '93 Civic and '02 S10 with this stuff. I played various frequencies off an Autosound 2000 CD with my sub system cranked and eliminated the vibrations one by one, frequency range by frequency range.

 

[08HoeCD]

@iamdub great advice. Thanks.

 

[iamdub]

@iamdub great advice. Thanks.

Taking big steps towards getting that luxury ride!

 

[08HoeCD]

Taking big steps towards getting that luxury ride!

Tru dat.

Picked up my 15-yr-old daughter from a soccer workout. While driving home, she said for the first time, "The songs sound really good in here."

 

[08HoeCD]

Installed Dynamat on both the rear doors using the same recipe as for the front doors. Incremental improvement over the experience of treating the front doors alone, judging from driver's seat, but probably noticeable for the passengers. Glad I did it, and it took only an hour to do.

Did not have a chance to source felt to mitigate the panel creak, but I'll definitely do that next weekend. Driving is now a much more serene experience----except for minor creaks, which were probably always there but only noticeable now after eliminating sources of a fair amount of ambient noise.

Great learning experience!

 

[iamdub]

Great learning experience!

Preach it, brutha.

If not a home improvement store, Walmart may have it in the crafts section. I'd say a hobby/craft store would be a safe bet as well. Or, if you have Amazon Prime, you can have some by the weekend.

 

[08HoeCD]

Preach it, brutha.

If not a home improvement store, Walmart may have it in the crafts section. I'd say a hobby/craft store would be a safe bet as well. Or, if you have Amazon Prime, you can have some by the weekend.

Roger that, brother. Looks like Home Depot may have just what I need. Will definitely keep you posted.

 

[08HoeCD]

Now that I've been driving the ol' girl for almost a week after treating the doors with Dynamat, I'm here to tell you that it's a definite improvement vs before the treatment.

While the road noise is not eliminated, which I wasn't even expecting, it is noticeably reduced. I notice more wind noise at higher speeds vs road noise & wind noise as before. The biggest difference is the experience of listening to the radio, and especially satellite radio, and talking with passengers. Again, the ambient noise is NOT eliminated, but it's almost like the sounds of voices and music are now running through a nice amplifier----it's much easier to hear & enjoy these sounds clearly & cleanly over common driving noises. Biggest gain is with mid-bass frequencies. Much cleaner and much more impact.

I'm actually surprised at how effective the treatment is, as I applied Dynamat to only roughly 40-50% of the inner door metalwork plus about 25% of the backside of the inner door card. Total labor for all four doors was only about 2 hours or so.

If you're wondering whether this task is worth it, I'd say YES.

 

[08HoeCD]

Well, well, well......My driver's door is suddenly popping/clunking like a mofo as I swing the door from fully open to shut. Looks like the hinge roller bearing is seized and needs either a serious lubing or replacing.

Crossing my fingers that some penetrating lube will break her free and get her spinning again, as I DO NOT dig the idea of replacing that assembly.

Film at eleven...

 

[PG01]

I have to keep up on mine with some white lithum grease... i freed it up eith a large flat blade screwdriver and kept spraying it. But, every few months i have to do the same thing, mine is shot and almost looks there should be a bushing, metal or plastic, that is completely gone...