Hey guys!
New to the forums, but have been lurking for a little while.
Just recently picked up a 2000 4Runner Limited about 4 months ago with 136k miles for $6600.
Absolutely LOVE this thing, especially coming from an 96' Ford Ranger.
Anyways, I decided to go all out, and strip the entire interior, sans the dash, to add sound deadening and sound barrier material (closed cell foam, as well as MLV). And at the same time, I installed a new sound system.
Since I have found TONS of info and tutorials on here, I figured I'd give back to the community, and try to help some with this mini tutorial.
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By following this tutorial, I take no responsibility if you break anything on your vehicle.
This is here solely as a guide, and by following it, you're doing so at your own risk.
WORK IN PROGRESS
To start, I used RAMMaudio products: RAAMmat BXT II, and their Ensolite closed-cell foam. On top of this, albeit going a bit overboard, I also bought some MLV (mass loaded vinyl) to apply to all of the floor sections (will dive in a bit further about this later).
Go check out RAAMaudios products:
RAAMaudio - Automotive sound deadening products
Rick over there is absolutely fantastic, and thanks to him, made the process of this modification much easier. He even sent me a step by step guide for each panel area specific to the 4 runner, which I will share with you.
Items needed for ONLY the doors:
- 1 pack of BXT II Sound Deadening Material (or equivalent material) (
RAAMmat BXT II - RAAMaudio Inc.)
- 2 yards of Ensolite Closed-Cell Foam (or equivalent material) (
Ensolite IUO Peel and Stick - RAAMaudio Inc. OR
Ensolite IUO - RAAMaudio Inc.)
- 1 can of V&S Spray Adhesive if you buy the NON PEEL AND STICK TYPE (
V&S Spray Adhesive - RAAMaudio Inc.)
Items needed for ENTIRE vehicle (including doors):
- 2.5 pack of BXT II Sound Deadening Material (or equivalent material) (
RAAMmat BXT II - RAAMaudio Inc.)
- 8 yards of Ensolite Closed-Cell Foam (or equivalent material) (
Ensolite IUO Peel and Stick - RAAMaudio Inc. OR
Ensolite IUO - RAAMaudio Inc.)
- 3 cans of V&S Spray Adhesive if you buy the NON PEEL AND STICK TYPE (
V&S Spray Adhesive - RAAMaudio Inc.)
Optional for entire vehicle:
- 6 feet of Mass Loaded Vinyl (
Mass Loaded Vinyl 4'W (per foot)-Super Soundproofing, Co.)
I bought from Super Soundproofing, because their price was cheaper than others, and they actually had a store within 20 minutes from me (main reason). But you can purchase this from anywhere.
This is just one extra step to help further sound proof the car. I figured if I already had my cars interior apart, I mind as well go all out.
Tools/Supplies:
- Screw Drivers (phillips and flathead)
- Utility Knife (any will do, this is used to cut the BXT II and MLV)
- Scissors (to cut the Ensolite foam)
- Roller (to help apply the BXT II) I used this one:
Amazon.com: MARSHALLTOWN The Premier Line E54D 2-Inch Flat Commercial Grade Solid Rubber Seam Roller with DuraSoft Handle: Home Improvement
- Ziplock Bags (to place loose screws in)
- Sharpie (to label said bags)
- Packing or Masking Tape (to tape bags to the actual interior panel)
If you plan on doing more than just the doors you'll also need:
- Socket Wrench and Sockets (10, 12, and 14)
- 12mm Wrench
- Patience. Lots of it.
Just to give a heads up, this took me six straight 12+ hour days to complete (including new sound system installation). I did it all at once, and it was extremely tiring. I'd suggest breaking it up over a couple of weekends. This was my first time pulling the interior apart and installing sound deadening material, so I'm sure I'd be a bit quicker my 2nd time, but still takes longer than you think.
Also the doors take the LONGEST. First door took me 4 hours to install everything, and I was able to shave an hour off the passenger front door. Rear doors are a little easier to do since they're smaller.
Okay, to start, you need to decide if you'll be doing only the doors, or if you'll be doing the entire vehicle (I had great results by the way doing my entire 4runner! Very quiet cabin now). I'll start with the doors, since if you'll be doing this, this is a must not only for road noise, but to improve the sound quality from your speakers.
Door Removal:
Step 1: To remove the doors, there are 3 screws, and two fasteners.
One screw at the door handle, and the other two under the arm rest.
Simply give a tug up on the arm rest, and it will unsnap, revealing the two screws.
Remove these 3 screws.
The two circular fasteners are on the top edges of each door.
Push in the center circle, and then pull them out.
Pushing the center circle in, releases the fastener.
Step 2: Now, remove the black tweeter bezel/enclosure near the side mirror.
Pull from the top point, and it'll snap out.
Step 3: Then, starting at the very bottom of the panel, give a tug around all of the edges and this will release all of the clips holding it in place.
Step 4: Now slide the door handle FORWARD towards the front of the car, to release it from being snapped in place.
Lift the panel upwards gently, so that it clears itself from the window frame.
Instead of removing the door handle, just turn the door almost 90 degrees, and slide the handle through the opening.
Keep in mind there are 2 to 3 connections still attached to the door! So be gentle.
Step 5: After you get the door handle free, set the door panel on the window frame to hold it in place, while you reach underneath and disconnect all of the connectors (windows, locks, etc).
Once the connectors are removed, you can now put the door panel aside.
What I did was laid out the entire inside of my vehicle in my garage, in the same positions they belong.
This makes it easier when reassembling.
Ignore the mess, that's my ghetto paint booth. Just finished up priming another project.
With the Door Panel off and Speaker pulled out.
Coverage:
This is coming straight from Rick over at RAAMaudio for his recommended coverage for a 4runner.
I will post his instructions, along with the photos I took of my installation.
My personal notes are in GREEN.
1) Rear floor, 100% covered with BXT II and then PS Ensolite, go back and add a second layer of BXT II over the ensolite, middle of the floor, two sheets will do, then one more PS Ensolite over it. It is horribly resonant, worst floor I have ever worked on besides the rear of a Vette.
The rear hatch carpet is attached to the rear seats. In order to take the carpet out, you have to remove the rear hatch step panel (end of carper) and then unbolt the rear seats.There was a piece of sound barrier material under the carpet in mine, but I just tossed it.
2) Rear wheel wells, 100% coverage with both products.
I tried two different methods in installing the sound deadening over the wheel wells. One where I took a whole sheet and laid it completely over it, and the other way, cutting pieces to go on it. One a half circle/oval to go on the side, and then a long piece to cover the top. Cutting of the pieces worked better IMO.
3) Rear sides, middle of larger surface areas(outer skin) with BXT II, 50% coverage is fine. 100% coverage of every single surface you can get to with the PS Ensolite, this is a critical step.
To remove the rear sides, you actually need to unbolt the rear seat belts, and then snap off the panel where the seat belt comes through. Pull the seat belt THROUGH that panel (it's tight, but it'll fit) and then you have to remove the back panel across the roof that the dome light is mounted to. This requires removing the dome light (pop the panel, and then unscrew it from the roof) and pulling the roof panel off. There is then a screw going into the roof for each side panel.
You can now pull the side panel off. Lot's of work just to get behind there, but it is critical to cover this area.
4) Tailgate, on the back of the trim panel, 50% coverage, middle sections covered, edges not needed, BXT II and then every section with PS Ensolite.
I put minimal amounts of sound deadening on the tailgate itself, as it wasn't resonate at all. The parts that were (the black panels) I did put some on. However, I covered the entire backside of the actual hatch panel with PS Ensolite. I removed the stock foam first, put TWO layers down, and then put the foam back on.
5) Doors, per the
HOW TO guide but 50-60% BXT II focused behind speakers, sealing up access holes, middle of the the outer sheet metal(door skins), PS only a small patch behind each speaker the the rest of the door per the guide including some work on the door panels.
These are the BIGGEST hassle to do. First door took me 2 hours to completely cover with both materials, 2nd door I shaved a half hour off. The rear doors I did in an hour for each one. I suggest doing a door, and then working on another area. Don't do all doors at once, or you'll wear yourself out. Put an ENTIRE layer of sound deadening on the outer shell. Then cover as much as you can on the inner shell, without interfering with anything. Place a square/rectangular piece of PS Ensolite directly behind the speaker as noted aboce. Only one layer! Now cover the entire inner shell with PS Ensolite. Also cover the backside of the door panel with PS Ensolite. Everywhere you can get it. This probably overkill, but provides double protection.
6) Rest of the floor, 50-60% coverage with BXT II, on the softer more resonate areas, hard areas do not need it. 100% with PS.
The front and rear seat floor already had sound deadening material in place. Don't waste any of the material here. Place it in areas where resonate (the transmission tunnel, etc). Place pieces of cut MLV like "Floor Mats" on top of everything for both the front and rear seat floors.
7) Firewall, kick panels, as the floor, and seal up the access holes in the kick panels with both products.
My vehicle already had sound barrier (MLV?) material against the firewall. I only put sound deadening where it was resonate, and then layered as much as I possible could with PS Ensolite. When you pull the kick panels off, you'll notice theres a piece of yellowish foam stuffed in the body panel. Pull this out, and replace with as much PS Ensolite as you can. Shove it upwards too, as it's kind of a "tunnel" there. Also on the backside of the kick panel, layer it with PS Ensolite.
8) Line all you can under the dash with PS.
I couldn't get any up in my dash, as the space that I had, I installed my crossovers there. But if you find somewhere where there's space, be my guest to place some there!
9) Get a dash mat, try some towels laid out nicely and hear the difference in the audio and road noise, dash mats are great
No dash mat for me, but feel free to use one if you'd like.
10) Inside dash, wad up some regular ensolite, loosely so many surface areas, stuff around inside the dash, not too tight, allow air to flow, etc, helps with engine noise, etc.....
Again, didn't have room for this unfortunately!
Other Areas:
- For the jack stand area, I used as much sound deadening material in there as I could, and then I used layers and layers of PS Ensolite and MLV to fill in the void and help give the carpet some structure.
- The roof. I wouldn't bother pulling the roof panel off. The clips in the back have a HUGE tendency to break, and there is already padding/foam from the factory. You also have to pull the top sun roof storage/mirror down and remove the sun roof trim. The only time you'd notice a difference (I think) is when it's raining. The rain drops wouldn't be as loud from the sound deadening. Way too much work for not much of a result.
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