Okay, the rear wheel wells. I’m no expert but the tires seem to me to be one of the major sources of noise. I’m also a big believer in starting noise suppression as close to the source as possible. So I hoped doing the wheel wells would net some significant results, and it did.

First, a sidebar. I never understood how to get those star-shaped net anchors out. People said to just grab them and pull, but my mistake was in wrapping my fingers around to the back b/c it looks like the star is one piece, but it isn’t. You have to grab the edge only and when that part pops out, it releases the anchor.



I used the same approach as on the doors, full coverage with one layer of butyl and one of foam. I also used two larger pieces of butyl under the carpet in the cargo section for rattle suppression. I didn’t use foam there b/c I was out and there are 5 layers there already: the carpet, the cargo shelf, a 4R branded carpet mat, a heavy duty cargo mat, and a rubber mat.

Here’s one of the finished wheel wells.



I also did a foam layer inside the trim pieces, which like the kick panel have the thick “we know noise comes through here” factory felt.



I was very happy with the outcome, which was a significant reduction of tire noise from the back.

That led me to hatch a (crazy?) plan to do the front wheel wells inside and out. Under the hood, the problem is that the sound deadener will get wet. Enter that Flex Seal waterproofing stuff, which I tested on the butyl alone and a butyl/foam combo applied to a piece of scrap metal to simulate the wheel well surface. I’m confident the Flex Seal plus two final layers of rattle can undercoating will keep moisture out.




Now the crazy part, for which I have to thank @Formidable for inspiration. He asked at some point about interest in getting metal splash guards like these made to replace the rubber kind on our 4th Gens. I’m going to fabricate my own & add the butyl/foam/Flex Seal/undercoating treatment. I’ll also do a few layers of undercoating inside all four wheel wells.

I’ll post updates as this progresses.