Road Noise - 99 XJ

Hey all,

I gave this a solid search but because the terms are so broad, I had some trouble finding answers.

Looking for some basic tips on dampening some of the highway/road noise in my 99 XJ (4wd, 4dr, 4.0l). I drove my girlfriend's '07 Volvo XC90 and realized how much less tiring the drive was due to far less road noise (that and it's 8 years younger overall). Obviously the car won't ever be silent nor what most would consider quiet, but I am finding myself driving some longer distances for family and work. Was thinking of replacing the weather sealing on all the doors (still original) and then going from there...right now there's a light whistle from the driver's front door and the occasional water leak in pouring rain so this fix is needed regardless.

I run Geolander AT/S tires (no lift, no spacers) because of the New England winters -- both snow and sand for beach driving. Definitely great tires and have actually cut down on road noise from my previous ones, but I also know they're not exactly highway tires. These new tires with a new tracbar removed my previous death-wobble.

Any and all suggestions would be great! Even if that also means saying "just deal with it". Always looking to make sure I'm checking out all options available. Thanks

-Brendan

The lowest cost option is ear plugs, or head phones tied your music player :laugh3:

Make sure the door gaskets are in good condition, and the doors are fit properly in the openings. Consider applying DynaMat to the door skins and the underside of the roof. You must however keep in mind that you are driving one of the greatest achievements of early 1980's automotive technology, and you will only be able to do so much about the noise.

Haha.. I actually sold my xc90 and got a 99xj and the drive is terrible. But that's what solid axles do. I went from Firestone destinations to Goodyear wranglers and the road noise quadrupled. The xj door panels are just hollow metal with a hard plastic cover. The xc90 has layers of foam and rubber and weather.. And I think that's the biggest difference.

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Ecomike said:

The lowest cost option is ear plugs, or head phones tied your music player :laugh3:

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HA! Close to that as the option.

Make sure the door gaskets are in good condition, and the doors are fit properly in the openings. Consider applying DynaMat to the door skins and the underside of the roof. You must however keep in mind that you are driving one of the greatest achievements of early 1980's automotive technology, and you will only be able to do so much about the noise.
Today 19:55

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I'll definitely look into those. I know I'm not driving the quietest car (I'd get a Prius if I wanted that) but just getting closer to "not loud" is amazing. I'll eat tens of hours of road noise if it means I can drive when it snows and cruise on the beach though.

Haha.. I actually sold my xc90 and got a 99xj and the drive is terrible. But that's what solid axles do. I went from Firestone destinations to Goodyear wranglers and the road noise quadrupled. The xj door panels are just hollow metal with a hard plastic cover. The xc90 has layers of foam and rubber and weather.. And I think that's the biggest difference.

Click to expand...

The Goodyear Wranglers are what I came from! They were so aggressively loud for such stock tires. The Geolanders are much quieter and also a deeper tread.

Thanks guys! Going to look into some stuff Tim_MN suggested and will report back if I find that anything helped.

Also take a look at your control arm and leaf spring bushings, that's where noise starts to get inside your rig! You would be surprised at the difference!
I just changed out mine last week, the thing drives like a brand new car again.

I did a 2 step process.

1. Dynamat or similar
2. Ultra-Touch insulation from home depot http://www.homedepot.com/p/UltraTouch-48-in-x-24-ft-Radiant-Barrier-30000-11424/100661257

My goal was noise and heat. Put Dynamat down first and then ultra-touch on top. Put everwhere you can get to...doors and all. You will have glue it to stay in the doors. Cut the noise down a lot on my 99.

The liftgate has no insulation. Wanting to do mine. Just like the rear sides around the wheel wells. Only some small pieces of insulation stuck to the insides of the plastic covers. Alot of noise comes through from the wheel wells. I'd focus on those areas and the doors and firewall. I've put a lot of thought into this but have yet to try. Not sure whether to use a spray on product or adhesive backed foam. Or maybe a combo.