Soundproofing Wind Noise

I have done this mod on several F-150s and recently did it to my 06 DC Tacoma. I use my Taco to do geologic field work in NE Nevada where summers are very dusty. I needed a way to seal out the dust from getting in the door hinges and latches behind the external rubber door molding. I used simple weatherstrip available for any hardware store. With the weatherstrip, I effectively sealed out the dust, but when I got on the highway I became alarmed. I was hearing sounds I had never heard before... like the engine, drive train, my radio to name a few. Sealing out dust also effectively sealed out wind noise on the highway. I am amazed even after a week since doing mod this just how quiet my cab is driving at highway speeds!!!

Our Tacomas are made very well, with good fit and finish to the body parts. However, the Tacoma is still a production vehicle. Any bit of TLC the owner puts into their Tacoma will only make it better.

This mod seals off air gaps in the door and prevents air from swirling in them. Your doors will close easily with not much additional push (well, mine close nicely!!).

Needed for this mod is the following;

30 ft. of 1/4 X1/2 in. weatherstrip, adhesive on one side
15 ft. of 3/4 X 7/16 in weatherstrip, adhesive on one side
15 ft. of 1/4 in diameter caulk prep foam rope (I could only find it in 100' rolls)
Optional 00 steel wool for surface prep
Adhesive glue

This mod is very simple. It calls for applying the weatherstrip on the door jam and doors so that when the doors are closed, all wind gaps are sealed off. The key to longevity of weatherstrip is cleaning the surface where the strip will be applied to. I used window cleaner and followed up with roughing up the surface with 00 steel wool. The steel wool increases the surface area for the weatherstrip adhesive.

Step One:

As seen in the photo, blue arrows point to 1/4 X1/2 in. weatherstrip mounted on the door jam, rear drivers side. The strip is mounted in the recess where the flange of the door seats into. Both the threshold and rear of the door frame on all doors need this stripping.


Step two:

Same 1/4 X1/2 in. weatherstrip is applied to the door flange which fits in to the doorjam recess. This should be applied so with the door closed, it is flush with the like stripping on the doorjam, forming a good seal. The blue arrow shows this stripping only on the rear of the door. All four doors need to be dressed in this manner. The base of the door is dressed with the 3/4 X 7/16 in weatherstrip, shown by the red arrow in the following photos.







Step Three:

Using the thicker 3/4 X 7/16 in weatherstrip, dress the center pillars on each side where both doors join together. This seals out the gap in the pillar from swirling air at highway speeds. The blue arrow in the following photo shows location. I put a small piece top rear as well.



Step Four:

Using the 1/4 foam rope and adhesive, fill in the gap on the rubber molding around the windshield. This gap is enough to make air swirl and cause noise at faster speeds. The blue arrow in the following photo shows where I placed the rope. I used adhesive on the ends only to keep it from coming out. Adhesive is always optional, but necessary.



Step 5:

I used the 1/4 foam rope to also fill in the gap along the external door molding where it seats with with the door frame. I used adhesive glue in the molding. This gap may also cause swirling of the air. I found sealing the gap with the rope will not effect the tightness of the seal, but simply seals the gap from wind, like the windshield.





That is it! You will have left over stripping. I used it on the front of the door jams, along the top of the doors. Be creative. Your doors should now be sealed and still close with the quality Tacoma "thud" we have grown to admire.

 

Nice write up. Good idea!

 

I like this idea. I sound deadenEd my doors and all I can hear now is the air whistling. I am gonna try this. Can u see any of the stripping with the doors closed? Also. What did is approximately cost

 

You can only see the 1/4 inch rope on the tops of the door moulding, but mine is black, so it looks good. If you do a good job with straight lines, you will not see the stripping from the outside. It is all internal. Cost is about $20-25, depending on your hardware store and what they have.

 

Hey Warren. Thanks for the windproofing info!
I appreciate your weatherstripping efforts, but just wondering how it holds up when you wash off the Nevada bug dust that has no bounds...
Seriously, good write up! Want to sell some of the excess foam rope?

PS, I think I recognize that particular sage brush.
Keep up the good work!
Your outback neighbor.

 

Geolink, anything exposed to the Nevada elements is DOOMED by nature!! Powerwashing is tough on the exposed 1/4 inch rope, but all the internal weatherstrip is hidden, and will last for years.

Excess rope will go into my garage for its actual use, as caulking seal. May have some left over. You will not need much. Let me know.

I peed on that sagebrush so it is MINE, not Yours!!!

 

Pros: Very cool write up and great idea!! I'll probably do this at some point... minus the windshield. This could also make the heat and A/C more efficient...

Cons: I think I would have used black weather stripping... My Taco is also red and I think it would blend in a little better and retain a factory finish... Just my $.02.

Nonetheless, I vote to have this added as a sticky and to the free/cheap mods list...

 

I agree with the color. I was working out of a small podunk town called Wells, NV. with the hardware store combined with the NAPA auto parts store. I guess I am lucky I found what I needed there. But yes, the black color would be better over the grey.

 

The bottom weather strip looks like it would block the drain holes on the bottom of the door...

Alot of water goes down into the door and drains out...block it up and its going to ruin your speakers and rust the door out eventually I would imagine.

Also did this actually do anything? When I was hunting down the wind noise to solve mine none of the noise was coming from those areas.

One problem was the door handle which has gaps into the door all the way around it and a big opening right into the door between the handle and lock.

Most of the wind noise at highway speed was coming from the bottom of the side view mirrors, the screw holes and the tiniest gaps in the cover for a couple seperate screws, eventhough it sounded like it was coming from in the door, it was just echoing, which was obvious when driving with the door panel off.

 

The bottom weatherstrip comes close, but does not block the drain. If this is an issue with some weatherstipping, it can be modified with a knife.

 

IDK man, I just looked at my truck and your stripping at the red arrow in the second pic in step two is right over all the drain holes, you're gonna have water pooling in the bottom even with the tiny almost microscopic gaps at the top, and in a harder rain those tiny tiny gaps where you can see your drains at the top of the stripping arent gonna let the water drain fast enough imo, because there are channels that send a good amount of water right down into the door.

If you were getting wind noise from those areas something like RAAM mat or Dynamat would block it better and make your radio sound better at the same time and block out alot of road noise, but I know thats more expensive.

And about the stuff you put around the windshield, did you have the windshield TSB done? I know the early second gens have a TSB for shoddy stripping around the windshield.


Only commenting so much because I obsessively went about getting rid of the wind noise in my truck and I did quite a few things that were major like that which at first I thought helped but it ended up being something far simpler.

 

My windshield is fine, no "flapping" noise. The idea behind the "rope" is just to take out the gaps that wind swirls in. Fills in the gaps so wind will not swirl.

RAAM mat or Dynamat, I believe for me, is not necessary now. Yes, there will always be wind noise, but the before/after the weatherstrip is very pronounced. This will always be a personal preference.
Good enough for me though!! The time and expense of RAAM mat or Dynamat is far greater than simple weatherstripping out the wind gaps in the doors.

Living in Northeastern Nevada, rain is not a major concern. You bring up a good point. Cutting the stripping around the drains would alleviate any water drainage problem.

 

Sooo... Who is "IDK Man" anyway??

 

I think he means "I don't know".

 

Yea, gotta take what you can get sometimes... I still love the mod and might do it this weekend.

 

I believe you will not be dissappointed. The most quiet comes from sealing off the pillar/door air gap.

One thing brought up by SubZombie is the door drains. The stripping does not cover these, but make sure they are open. Living in Nevada is not much concern, but you live in MD, where rain is potential.

 

Thats a good thought. I'll probably seal the other areas.

 

Yeah seems like a cool mod. I wonder if it would help much to do everything but the rope stuff.

 

Absolutely!! The greatest benefit is sealing off the pillar/door air gap. This is right in your ear and you will notice that is ...now..QUIET.

The rope stuff is not as important as sealing off the doors. I did that only after I found how quiet the initial door sealing was. I figured if sealing the doors makes a difference, the rope should only be better. Just my opinion.

 

Good idea but the weather stips look horrible. Looks kind of ghetto.