Buy a DUMMER!

 

The ear ringing is kind of hard to explain if you haven't had it before. I can still hear just fine. My hearing is actually better than average, but I have ringing in my right ear from my fun overseas, and it is really distracting and painful sometimes. So turning up the volume actually makes the pain worse. My 7 year old sits in the rear passenger side, so I kind of have a challenge there. It's not the same as a wife in the passenger side that you can drown out with AC/DC. The wife was repossessed thank God, and I'm shopping for a newer hotter model. But while I have my son, and even when I'm driving alone, it would really be nice if I could cut down on the noise. I know this can be done, so I really appreciate all the ideas out there, because eventually I will get the noise down. It doesn't have to be as quiet as a Rolls Royce, but there are probably some easy things that would make a big difference.

I have heard that peel n seal will lose adhesion to the surface when it gets hot. I live in the Northeast, so it rarely gets about 95 here, but that center tunnel gets awfully hot still. For anyone who used peel n seal, did it stay stuck over the center?

I'm not sure how you'd know for sure if it did unless you pulled up the carpet to check, but I'm curious what others would say.

Did anyone Peel and Seal their roof, and can they say if it stuck there too?

I still come back to the engine noise as a MAJOR source of noise. I've had this decibel meter for over a week now and I can tell you this: just taking my foot off the gas will drop the noise 5 or more db.

One thing I can also tell is that the closer I move the meter to the firewall, the higher the reading.

Has anyone been able to get dynamat or peal and seal all the way up to the top of the firewall interior? I'm guessing the only way to really do that is to go in the engine compartment and line the firewall there. Unless you ripped out the entire dash, I don't know how you'd be able to get it stuck up there.

 

It is my professional experience (20 year in car audio) that when it comes to sound deadening material you get what you pay for. Dynamat will not become unstuck if installed properly. They make a wide variety of products specifically designed for certain areas of the vehicle. Browse their website, it may help you decide what you need.

Other things I've seen on vehicles to help reduce noise (and these were on some very expensive cars): under hood panel made of fiberglass with a padded backing to prevent rattles, double walled firewall with a insulating material between the walls (most exotic I've seen was one filled with sand), audio systems installed on the exhaust that would play the exhaust sound out of phase as to cancel out the exhaust sound, and reducing the gap between body panels and trim to reduce wind noise.

I have sort of the same problem, but I've been deaf in my right ear since I was very young (and being in the car audio business didn't help) and I can't hear a word my little boy says while we're in the car. My solution is going to be a bit different though. I'm going to install a microphone and speaker system so he and I can talk easier while I'm driving. I'm also looking into finding a way to disable the passenger airbag so he can sit up front.

 

Insulate the crap out of it and maybe new door seals if they're chewed up a little bit. I'd do 1/4" pink foam behind my door panels and 1/2" above the headliner and under the carpeting. This will also help with cooling and heating in their respective seasons.
Thank you for your service.

 

I used a product called raptor liner, see my photos, as paint and under the jeep. I put dynomat above the head liner and tinted the windows. I have never tested the noise lvl but I would bet you could hear a nat fart at 70 if I would turn the radio down. Raptor liner is cheaper than lizzard skin and I think a better product.

 

I should have read your whole post before i posted. I just read the title. Sorry for my
inconsiderate post. I know some guys have put newer windshields in, and newer
door molding with some noise reduction.

 

Somewhere it was mentioned that Land Rovers have the same shape but produce less noise. True about the same shape but their material is a bit thicker as well, plus they weight over 5K because of this. I own one. In the Rover forums, Jeeps are considered to be a "red-headed step child" by most. It's a matter of opinion and vehicle set-up. I have a sound meter as well and tested a few areas. One of the larger increases was around the bottom of the doors. If your seals are not making good contact, more noise. You can test how well the seal is by applying a thin layer of petroluem jelly on the seal, close the door, open it back up and should see a transfer. Areas where the transfer is narrow,...less of a good seal.

Whether taken seriously or not,..if someone has the medical condition that you describe then you have to ask yourself do I really need to be in a Jeep? What tolerence level are you willing to suffer? OSHA requires hearing protection at 90 dba on a time weighted average for 8 hours. So, employees may have to have hearing protection and still hear some communications. There are ear plugs out there that allow this. That could be a help, I don't know. It's a fact that anyone who drives a lot typically lose hearing in their left ear due to wind noise. A drop of 10dba or more in an annual audio test is cause for concern. You can throw a lot of cash into reducing sound but you are not going to eliminate it. One thing is for sure, you do not ever regain hearing loss.

 

"Wow, seriously? I can't believe this thread. Way to fail guys. A guy with a medical condition - which he got in service of your country - who loves his XJ asks how he can reduce noise so he can hear his son and you post crap like "buy a Prius" and "get a bigger stereo? I'm not sure if this is illiteracy or idiocy. You should be ashamed... no respect at all."

X10000000000000000000000000

 

Hey man, I see you're still having issues to keep your Jeep quiet. Did you go through the list that I gave you yet? Any luck there?

I'm not trying to be funny here and I mean this in all seriousness, while it may seem a little strange driving with them, a set of Bose Noise Cancelling headphones may be what you want. I have a set and they are absolutely amazing. I worked in a warehouse and used them while driving the hi-lo's which everything made noise on them and it made the ride very pleasant. I also used them in our Engine rooms with all of our refrigeration equipment. These cut down the noise extremely to where it was pleasant. What's cool about them is you can block loud annoying noises but still be able to hear people talking to you. Just not AS loud obviously. With the situation of the pain with your ears, I would seriously consider looking in to them. Good luck to you.

 

On the Peel and Seal. I also have heard that when it get hot it can lose adheasion. That has not been my experience so far, but I only have it on the floor and rear wells. I put the plastic sheets over it to ensure that it won't smell. I live in the north east as well and have not have any problems. There are some test on the internet comparing all these types of product, and peel and seal faired especially well. Not as good as dynomat, but close and it is 25% of the price, so I consider it to meet requirements. Look at the Corvette forums (I do not have a vette, I just stumbled onn it), they all swear by it for sticking to the fiberglass. Remember it is roofing material and roofs get very hot!

If I could afford the $800 - $1,000 that it would cost for dynomat, I would get it, but I can't so peel and seal wins.

 

One thing I meant to comment on, and I don't mean to sound insensitive: The OP stated: "I am suffering from tinnitus (ear ringing) from my time in the military. My hearing is just fine--it's the ringing in my right ear that drives me crazy. I need to be able to hear my little boy in the back seat too, so I am eager to cut down the noise."

No amount of sound proofing is going to help tinnitus. I assume the OP'er knows this. However to help reduce further loss, perhaps some of these posts can help. One thing that doesn't add up is the comment that the "hearing is just fine". If you have tinnitus, it isn't fine, it's a serious warning. To help the ear without the tinnitus, you should focus on everything to the left of you while driving first. (Not to say that the right isn't important)

 

I'd suggest a new fan clutch. A properly functioning fan clutch (in combination with a motor that is operating sufficiently cool) is virtually silent, especially this time of year. At initial cold start-up, it's normal for the clutch fan roar momentarily. On acceleration, the fan roar should quickly disappear as the clutch begins to freewheel. U shouldn't hear the fan again until the next engine start-up unless the clutch starts sensing a high enough increase in air temp. If u constantly hear the clutch fan, the clutch is either malfunctioning or the motor is running a little warm, or both. Are fan shrouds in place?

Again, this time of year, cool/cold ambient temps, probably not running a/c, u should seldom hear the clutch fan roar (other than cold start-up), presuming the clutch and all other cooling system components are functioning correctly.

 

Wow. There is a ton of great information here.

So let me back up and explain a little more about the tinnitus. I have had this for well over a year now and have been seeing an Ear Nose and Throat doctor (they deal with tinnitus) several times for this.

They have checked my hearing professionally in every way imaginable with several audiologists, and here's the deal: My hearing is above average in all tonal ranges and I haven't experienced any hearing loss since they started testing over a year ago. So I don't have hearing loss thank God.

What I do have is a persistent hiss in my right ear. The doc has me doing several things (diet, mouth guards, changing sleeping positions) to deal with that physically and I don't want to bother you all with that, but I just wanted to clear up that I am getting help for this.

What would make the tinnitus less annoying and make the Jeep more comfortable for me personally is reducing the noise. I suppose it's more a matter of comfort than anything else, but my ear doesn't bother me so much when there's less noise.

This is my 3rd Cherokee, and I've learned to fix almost everything on it myself. I've probably saved $1000's in labor costs over the years by taking care of it myself.

I know you all can understand that I am not in a big hurry to go buy a Prius for less noise when I can't fix it myself. And, a'hem, a Prius can't get through the snow up here.

I have been reading up on sound deadening material.

There is some stuff I read that says you only need 25% coverage of the surface to achieve noise reduction. But when I see some of the other cherokee posts, it looks like they covered the entire body. Maybe the audiophile/stereo guys can comment, but do you need to do the whole interior? I'll do it I guess, but is it possible to get away with 25% coverage?

 

To DJB383: I do have the shroud in place. I am guessing what I'm hearing is the whir of the fan when I accelerate hard uphill. I can look into a new clutch, but wouldn't it be easier/quieter to just remove it and go totally electric?

 

Easier install...no way. When efans are off, they are quiet......when on, they roar. With efans, coolant temp swings have a tendency to rise/fall faster and to a greater degree than with belt driven fans. That's the beauty of a properly functioning clutch fan..... it's low cost (+/-$35) and it's ability to generate a constant quiet breeze (thru the rad) when not fully engaged which keeps coolant temps way more steady (with less noise) and less/slower rise/fall in coolant temps.