Sound Deadening Your 4Runner - Part 4 - Deadening the Headliner

Sound Deadening Your 4Runner - Part 4- Deadening the Doors
By: Bob_98SR5
Last Updated: August 24, 2003
Application: 1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5

Obligatory Disclaimer
I am providing this write up for illustrative purposes only. Perform at your own risk. Any mods (including this one) you perform on your vehicle is your responsibility. Commercial use of this write up will result in legal action

Summary
I've heard several people who've already sound deadened their vehicles say that the doors make the most difference. They're right. Read on.

Step 12: Removing the Door Panels
Use the following procedure for all doors. Removing the door panels is easy with the exception of one part, but once you remove the first one successfully, the others will become easy. The first thing you want to do is to remove the two push fasteners located on the side of the door as well as on the door panel itself. Next, carefully pop off the door armrest in an upwards motion with a thick screwdriver. Finally, unscrew the two philips head screws holding the door panel to the door.


Here's the side push fastener. Take a pen and push it until it clicks. Then remove the entire part. Theres one on the front part of your door		Carefully pry upwards from one end to the other. Look underneath and you might need to press in the white fasteners on the inner part of the armrest.

Next, pry off the window control panel by wedging your screwdriver under the farthest end from the door and prying towards and upwards to front of your 4runner. Unplug the harness(-es) and set aside. Now you'll need to remove the door handle and pay close attention because this can be tricky. First, unscrew the philips head screws. Next, pry it out of the door panely by pushing the part towards the front of your 4runner. Pull gently to the front and you'll see a plastic part that allows the door latch to open your door. Most likely it is green, but if it has been replaced, most likely it is white. Notice three things about it: a) the bottom part attaches to the horizontal part of the door latch rod b) the vertical door latch rod inserts upwards through this little part and c) it is plastic.

Of course, there is potential to break this but I won't let you guys bust this small, but important part. First, get some gloves on and grab a pair of needlenose pliers. With one hand, grab the horizontal part of the door latch rod and pull it towards the back of your 4Runner. Next with your free gloved hand, unfasten the bottom of the little green part with your index finger. You'll have to do it underhanded. One good tip: as you are unfastening the green part with your index finger, slightly torque the entire door handle and the green part will come off easier. One you've gotten the bottom part of the green part removed, push the horizontal door rod downward to free up the door handle. Once you got this part off, the rest is easy.


Remove the screw and then pull towards the rear to expose the door latch rod. Undo the green part to remove the door handle		Unfasten the bottom part of this green part with your index finger. Torque the door handle slightly to help it unfasten itself. Next, push the whole door unit downwards (D) to unattach the entire door handle

Insert your flatbladed screwdriver under the door trim panel and carefully unsnap off one of the plastic pop rivets. Get your fingers under there and undo the other six. Push the door panel upwards and remove. You will now see plastic covering the inner door skin. Remove it but be forewarned: the black goo is very sticky!


Here is the back side of the rear door. All doors have 7 pop rivets		Here is a shot of the trim panel removed with the protective plastic cover. Peel off but be warned that the black goo is sticky

Repeat the following procedure for all the doors. Also, I recommend removing each of the speakers to allow yourself some hand space as well as room to position the Peel-N-Seal (hereinafter "PNS").

Step 13: Cleaning the Doors
No pictures here: wipe down and clean off all the dirt on the inner and outer door skin. I used two spray bottles, one with water and one with soapy water. I used paper towels to wipe everything clean.

Step 14: Applying PNS to the Doors
Applying PNS is soooo much easier than applying McMaster HTM. It is 10 times more pliable and moldable than HTM. In addition, it is very easy to cut with either a scissor or a utility knife. First, cut the appropriate length of PNS and apply to the inside of the doors. Here's a good trick: peel the backing down about 1 inch and fold over. Then manuever the PNS inside the door, make flush between the top of the door and the side impact door. Affix the PNS and then slowly peel down the backing. At the same time, press down on the PNS to apply. When I first started out, I peeled the entire backing off and tried to manuever it inside the door. It worked until it stuck on something I didn't want. Not good.

After applying one sheet, follow the tip above and just simply align the next piece to the one you applied. Finish the entire inside of the door. This is where you'll be able to add the most PNS.


Here is a shot of the bare metal on the inner part of all the doors.		Here's a good technique: peel the backing about 1" and then fold over. Affix to the surface and then slowly peel down the backing while affixing the PNS as you pull down

For the outer part of the door (the one that's most contoured, facing you), cut strips of PNS and affix to the door. I've seen pictures of other installations and I didn't want to do the entire door. I wanted to make sure the door parts actually will still work so I used it in places where I knew it would not obstruct the door operations. Here are some pictures of what I'm talking about:


Here's a shot of both the inner and outer doors with PNS applied		Here's a good overall shot of where I did (and did not) apply PNS to the outer part of the door

For all four doors, I only used 1 and 1/4 rolls of PNS. I am going to use the rest of the PNS on the rear cargo area as well as the tailgate.

Assemble everything in reverse order. Make sure you plug in all harnesses. Also when fastening the door panels, make sure you pull the harnesses through the armrest hole.

For larger, more detailed pictures, click here.

Lessons Learned:
This project was well worth it. I drove tonight on the freeway in Los Angeles without any cars around, I can say without a doubt that the sound deadening works really well. Some side benefits are that the sound from the speakers is more discernable and conversations are more clear. The best place to sit now is in the rear passenger area because it is so quiet back there. However, there is an unintentional downside: the engine noise and the noise from the wind hitting the mirrors is more noticeable! I think I may put some of the remaining HTM on the inside of the engine compartment---small strips only.

While the HTM is a very good sound deadening material and while I believe it is superior in terms of deadening, it is much harder to work with. For flat surfaces like the roof, it's perfect, but for contoured surfaces (i.e. rear cargo area, outer door skin, etc), nothing beats PNS. In retrospect, I could have finished the floor and roof area in half the time had i used PNS. Therefore, if you are willing to give a little sound deadening, I recommend you use PNS for this entire project.

Questions or feedback? Email me and I'll try to get back to you. If this article helped you save time, money or just made things more convenient for you, please consider donating to keep this site alive.