sound and heat insulation

Submitted: Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 14:22
ThreadID: 67371 Views:12293 Replies:4 FollowUps:1
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found a great project for anyone who wants to give their 4wd a bit of TLC between trips.

A complaint of my GQ patrol has been the heat coming thru the floor on long trips (gear box, turbo and exhaust) and the lack of insulation between the heat/noise and the cabin. I guess a general issue with the older 4x4's (GQ's, 60's etc).

A closer inspection showed that the underlay from the factory was a joke and basically non existant between the firewall and the cabin. So last weekend I started from the rear of the Patrol and started pulling up the vinyl and carpet. This involves pulling out the seats and the side panels (both very easy on these older cars). Basically it all came apart with a spanner and a phillips head screw diver! It's also a good chance to get to know the in's and out's of your car (now I know where the water hose goes for the rear window for example).

I replaced the underlay with "formshield" foam from Clark Rubber. It is heat and water repellant foam with a reflective foil on one side. Placing this foil face down I covered the floor and wheel arches through out the whole car.

Wow what a difference. The lack of sound is quite noticeable and all the creaks and general noises of the body are now gone (well hidden anyway). The road noise from the wheels is also much quieter. I'm yet to do the front part of the car (remove front seats and firewall) and already the difference is amazing. Doing this next weekend.

Use a Stanley knife to cut to shape and recut the holes where the bolts go (seat bolts etc).

The foam is 10mm thick so it's a bit thicker than the underlay but the carpet still goes back in place and everything fitted back in place again. If anything it's got rid of any 'slack' around the place and panels etc fit better.

So, in summary, "formshield" is a very cheap alternative to the more very expensive dedicated products at only $27 per metre. Other products like "Dynamat" is around $400 per square metre!! It gives a very plush soft feel throughout the whole car and really starts to give the old bush basher quite a different 'feel' to it.
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Reply By: Member - Porl - Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 14:54

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 14:54
great post, my agricultural diesel will be next on the list of to do's.

Just hope I can get everything back in place, though I suppose it doesn't matter for my wagon as it don't have carpet anyhow.

At the moment if I turn the wagon off with the stereo on my ears get smashed cause of the volume over the engine ...
AnswerID: 357262

Follow Up By: Gossy - Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 15:11

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 15:11
forgot to mention that mine is a diesel also (though the turbo might have given it away).

I am by no means a handy person but it's quite an easy project to do over a couple of weekends. I wouldn't like to do it on the newer cars with sensors for airbags, more electrics etc, but on the older cars it's really easy and well worth the effort.
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FollowupID: 625347

Reply By: D200Dug- Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 16:26

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 16:26
My only concern would be trapping moisture between the foil and the metal of the car.

Do you think the heat generated will be enough to dry any residual moisture

Did you put any extra evaporation holes in the foil ?

Apart from that it sounds like a great idea !
AnswerID: 357274

Reply By: Gossy - Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 16:44

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 at 16:44
yer it is a good point as the foam is oil, water etc resistant which is fine if that substance stays on top.

It is definately something that I will have to watch but the only time my interior gets wet is when we spill water from a drink bottle or bladder on a trip. SA is too dry for water crossings :)

There are holes in the bottom of the floor that would drain excessive amounts out of the car but would still leave a dampness residue. Something I guess I will just have to be aware of.

In saying this though, we spilt some water 2 weeks ago in the car from a bottle. Pulling up the underlay last weekend and that spot was still wet, so even the original setup is not perfect either for evaporation.

Cheers,
AnswerID: 357279

Reply By: Gossy - Thursday, Apr 09, 2009 at 15:38

Thursday, Apr 09, 2009 at 15:38
Just another late update.

Seeing the success of this I went back to Clark Rubber and bought 1 sq metre of dedicated insulated foam. Cut this to size to go under my car mats in my new Lancer and made a huge difference.

The underlay from the factory was a joke so laid this under the under the mats and also under the front seats (can't see it anyway).

The road noise for a new car is fairly average hence the effort (only cost $50 and about 15 mins of my time). Turned my lancer into a Lexus!

AnswerID: 358980

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