Alright guys, I figured since break is comin up now would be a good time to do the interior work that I've been planning on doing.

So basically I'll be taking everything out of the Runner except for the driver and passenger seats so I'll be able to drive it to school this week for finals. My plan so far is to do something similar to what bike4miles did to his Runner. I've got some soundproofing material laying around my garage so I will be using that to line the headliner to prevent the annoying sheetmetal rattle noise that you can hear from the exterior of the rig and to also further the soundproofing quality.

I just have a few questions for those of you have done this before, I sent a PM to bike4miles but have not received a reply. My first step as of now is to pull out the rear seat (not sure if this will entail me having to remove my amps and subs or not), and then I will remove the front two seats, pull up the carpeting (this is what I have a question about which I will ask here in a minute) and then work my way back to the rear of the truck. The thing is, I know the carpet has some sort of adhesive that was holding it down to begin with. Obviously if I pull the carpet up and cover the floorboard with soundproofing material then that adhesive won't be there anymore so I just want to be sure that the carpet will indeed stay in place when this is all said and done the same as it would if the adhesive was still there. Second thing is, how hard is the carpet to actually remove? How many trim pieces do I have to remove, do the center console pieces need to be removed in order for the carpet to come up and so on.

Overall, I just need some tips on how to make this project go nice and easy...ANYTHING will help...thanks guys!!

Fink

 

hey fink!

when i installed my cb, i removed the passenger front seat, the door sill trim and the passenger side footwell/ecu cover. i think there were a couple of spots with velcro under the dash to hold the carpet in place. pretty much all the interior bits and pieces will hold it in place, the carpet itself is sort of molded to the floor pan shape. youll probably have to remove the centre console, there are a few wiring harnesses that run in a channel beneath the front seats. dont forget to put some anti sieze on the bolts that hold the front seats in place, makes the second time r&r much easier!

lee

 

Tearing up the inside is not bad - just time consuming. The front is easiest since everything is bolted in. As far as adhesive - I don't remember anything too strong. There is a thick foam/rubber layer under the carpet - be careful with that since it tears fairly easily (I think it's exacerbated with age though). The carpet is molded fairly well and pretty sturdy - so it won't lose it's shape for the most part.

As far as actually removing the carpet - usually there is a screwed down trim piece (all four door sills and tailgate sill) - the rest snaps off. The back has a couple screws (the top rearmost piece I believe) - but the larger pieces simply snap in.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the tips guys! That'll help me out a lot when I decide to actually do it, tonight turned out to be pretty busy so I'll have to start on it tomorrow afternoon...I'll let you know how it goes.

Any more tips would be great, thanks again!

Fink

 

check out Bob's write-up, me and him pretty much did it the same way but I used Peal-N-Seal from Lowes.

http://www.4runners.org/articles/sound/

 

PS - it is a pretty long job so don't plan on using your vehicle for a couple days, especially if you start in the afternoon.

 

OK, well I got the rear side panels off, the carpet pulled up, the rear seat and passenger seat taken out and all of my other stuff removed. Next step is to remove the center console, figure out how to remove the driver seat seatbelt along with the wire that is connected to it, and then start peeling up the carpet.

I haven't run into too many problems as of yet, even with all of the stuff removed the rear there is still a LOT of rattles and clanking goin on, not sure what that is all about but I'll just have to ride back there and see where it is coming from. The biggest problem so far is the fact that I have managed to strip the bolt that attaches the passenger side seatbelt at the bottom, so I'm going to have to go to the dealer and get another one I guess.

The headliner looks like it is going to be really hard to remove, I'm kind of starting to get discouraged but I will atleast attempt it.

I'll have pics up tomorrow or tuesday to show you whats going on.

Thanks for the help so far, keep the tips coming!

Fink

 

Then you have this to look forward to:

 

OK, I have another question. After reading Bob's complete write-up (amazing work by the way, it such a great help!), I am wondering if I am using the right stuff for the job. I am using a foil-backed tar like material that comes in a package. I think it's like 20 square feet. What is the "PNS" like that is talked about in the write-up? Should I get this instead? The "Silencer" (i.e., foil-backed stuff I am using) is quite expensive. Runs about 80 bucks for 20 square feet, would the HTM be better stuff to use or should I just stick with the stuff I am using now.

Another question, have all of you noticed more rattles now that your Runners door panels are no longer virgins to this whole soundproofing thing?

OK, I think thats it for now. I have a lot of time to think about this and get what I want so thats good. I don't have to go back to school til the 5th of January. All I have this week is a full day tomorrow, I get out an hour early on Tuesday and then Wednesday-Friday I'm out at 11:45 each day so I've got a lot of time.

Any ideas on the deadening material would be great!

Fink

 

I did some research, and it looks like I will be going to Lowe's tomorrow to get some PNS, it sounds almost exactly the same as the stuff I am using and its a heck of a lot cheaper. I will try and remove everything else tomorrow night or the night after that, if nothing else I can get the doors done while I'm still in school.

Another question has come up, the protective plastic that is tarred to the door under the panels, is that stuff easy to put back on. I assume its there to keep water and humidity out of the motor and wiring. What did you all do about getting that stuff off/back on. I used a utility knife on my driver side door and just sliced a little bit of the tar, right in the middle of the bond between the door and the plastic and then i just peeled it back, did my work and resealed it. Is this what you all did?

Thanks guys!

Fink

 

get on ebay and buy some fat mat i used 200 feet doubled up on just my trunk in my 96 and part of the back seats. 200 feet is oike 50-100 bucks and its made for this purpose

 

for what it's worth, I still haven't done the headliner. partly out of laziness but also out of the thought of how much crap I have to remove to get the headliner out.

 

Here's what you gotta do man. A friend of mine ripped all of the carpet out of his '02 LC, then he sealed it and had 1/2 of spray in bed liner covering the entire interior. Now when he gets it muddy he just takes a hose and sprays the whole thing out. I still can't believe the things he's done to what started out as such a nice vehicle. Dang spoiled kids...

 

Can you get some pics of the interior of your buddies rig...that sounds awesome. I've been thinking of just doing bedliner all over the interior but I'm not sure how that'd work with all the wiring in the front for the speakers and stuff. If you can get pics of your buddies truck that'd be awesome.

Thanks,

Fink

 

 

I'll see if I can snap some pics this afternoon when I get back from work, but he might have gone home for christmas break already. I'll see what I can do.

 

Thanks man, I appreciate it!

Fink

 

OK guys, I'm gonna start pulling the front carpet today or tomorrow afternoon and I'm wondering how I go about disconnecting the little wire that is connected to the driver side seatbelt clip at the bottom near the center console. It goes through its own hole in the carpet and I have no idea where it goes.

If you could lemme know how you guys went about getting that thing out of the carpet that'd be great!

Thanks,

Fink

 

I would guess that the wire goes into a sensor somewhere that lights up your dash when you don't have your seatbelt on. As far as taking it off... I'm not much help there. On another note, my friends supposed to be taking some pics of his LC's interior and emailing them to me here sometime... Good luck with the carpet.

 

I just unplugged it from the connector that's clasped to the seat bottom. then just worked around the tag hanging out of the floor as I layed my PNS down, haha, that sounds wierd.