Reducing noise in a Traveller

[James k]

Hi,
I'm planning on embarking on a trip up to Loch Ness in the summer (I live in Hastings) and decided it would be necessary to finally attempt to reduce the noise level in my Traveller. I'm not hoping for complete silence, just something a couple of degrees below its current level of unbearable! I've so far come up with the following list of areas to target and would be most grateful if anyone could share their experiences with doing so or suggest other areas that might be worth looking at. The current plan is this:

- Exhaust: I have now fitted a tailpipe extender to try and combat the loud exhaust noise. How effective this is should become clear once I've taken it on a major road!

-Body resonance: I suspect that a lot of the noise is due to body resonance. It seems to emanate from the whole car so I'm planning on applying silentcoat sound deadening material to various places. I'm not satisfied with the condition of my floorpan with regards to paint and rust protection so I'm not going to insulate there yet. I'm planning on applying the material to the rear panels, boot floor and spare wheel area, inside the doors, transmission cover, under the back seat, behind the bulkhead, under the roof headlining and under the bonnet. Since I'm not intending on fully removing or replacing the headlining, how hard will it be to get it removed enough to install the insulation? Are there any other areas I should be applying it to?

-Engine noise: In addition to the deadening material I'm planning to fitting egg box foam behind the dashboard to reduce engine noise.

-Rubber seals etc: I'm going to check for any missing rubber seals, clutch pedal rubber etc. that may be leading to wind noise and replace them.

-Rear windows: One of the most infuriating noises my car makes is a constant squeaking noise from the rear windows. It is fast paced and occurs constantly when driving or idling, not just when going over bumps etc. It can be cured by shoving pieces of cardboard between the glass and the window channel but usually reappears after a while. Has anyone else experienced this noise? Would replacing the window channels (which are in rather bad condition) be likely to fix it?

-Waxoyl: I am planning on having the chassis waxoyled, not just to protect it from corrosion but also because I've heard it quietens the car down a bit.

That's all I can think of to do at the moment. What suggestions do you have? Have I missed anything off? Am I looking in the wrong places? I'll be starting it in the next few weeks so I'll keep you updated as I go!

Thanks,
James

[panky]

Take the door cards off and put a mat on the inside of the door skin. I found this to be the biggest single improvement when I did the job, also fold a small strip over the door locking rod - stops it rattling. The door shut with a nice thud too.
New rear window runners will make a difference.

[simmitc]

Soundproofing the roof is really worthwhile, particularly when it rains, but you cannot do it without completely (or at least 95%) removing the headlining. On the rear windows, use some silicone or similar to stop the catches rattling. Ensure that the rear door locking rods are not loose.

[mogbob]

James
Waxoyl....technically the Morris does not have a chassis ** but I would first of all....before applying..... carry out any welding repairs to the floorpan area. Get everything "structural " sound , before protecting with Waxoyl.
Waxoyl is flammable ( not good when welding ) and whilst good at it's job , is very messy to remove , prior to welding. It's designed to seep
into every knook and cranny and therefore is difficult to remove. Somebody holding a fire extinguisher on look out duty , whilst you weld the car ,would be my recommendation !

**The Morris Minor is of a Monocoque construction.

Good luck with the noise reduction plan.
Bob

[Biggles1957]

I put a piece of about 1" thick heavy black foam rubber all under the rear seat of mine - made a big difference. Went all over the UK in him - fine on motorway and everywhere else.

[James k]

Thanks for the replies!
How tricky is it to remove the headlining to get underneath? I imagine the roof is contributing a lot of boom so I'd like to do it. The window catches themselves are okay, the noise is coming from the runners. The best way I can describe it is like a DJ scratching a record constantly! Thanks for the tip regarding the Waxoyl. I'll get a garage to put it up on the ramps and check out any welding that needs doing first. It's just had a couple of bits done for its MOT.

Biggles, did you fix the foam rubber down at all or just sit it under the seat?

Thanks

[Tea]

Sound deadening sheets, like bitumen, didn't really make too much difference by themselves in ours and neither did the tail pipe extension. Although together there is a slight improvement. Our biggest difference is travelling at 65mph - 68mph rather than 55mph - 60mph on motorways and A roads. I'm still not sure the reason, but the sound drops off at the higher revs/ speeds. Or possibly add a sound system with a good bass level that can drown out the engine and road noise

[Chipper]

All good tips. Also ensure all wheels and propshaft/any rotating parts are balanced and ensure wheel bearings, etc. aren't worn, as vibrations/resonance can travel through the cabin and tend to get amplified.

Perhaps replace the engine/gearbox mounts if the rubbers have gone hard or badly perished.

I fitted an extra bit of top foam to stop my Traveller's rear doors rattling, and a bit of thin foam behind the tops of the quarterlights to reduce wind noise at motorway speeds. New draught excluders/door seals make a big difference. You can also fit cut-down Marina rubber door window seals in place of the ineffective Minor felt ones, which prevent the windows rattling in their frames and also help keep water out of the doors, reducing the likelihood of rusty door bottoms.

[Edward1949]

As Chipper says, one of the worst culprits is the inevitable general mechanical "looseness" and imbalance which comes with age - eg. propshaft, wheels, wheel bearings, engine mountings ( eg engine steady bar set under too much tension - I keep mine adjusted in a "relaxed" mode so that it does its job of preventing serious engine movement without transmitting too much engine buzz to the body) .
The best cure is having a new or low-mileage car
In the late 1960s I had a 14 year old very high-mileage Minor saloon which roared and rattled at 60 mph. By comparison I occasionally borrowed my parents' newish low-mileage Traveller which cruised smoothly at 70mph - and the radio was perfectly audible!

[James k]

Hi,
I've had a few hours to play with the car the past two evenings. I've now removed the rear windows and runners and found that the runners had been screwed in with rather large screws. I wonder if that was causing the squeaking sound against the glass. I'm going to clean up the wood and repair a few bits then treat it and fit new runners. What is the procedure for fitting new runners? The old ones seemed to be glued in with black mastic and also screwed in. I also need to make some drainage holes as there aren't any; they haven't been blocked, they simply don't exist. At what position on the top of the wood should they be drilled.

Another source of noise that was flagged up on my MOT was a front wheel bearing. I jacked the car up and had a look at them today and one does seem very worn and is rumbling. The other one seems okay but is it worth replacing both?

Thanks,
James

[MikeNash]

James,
It's all been done before! (Found it at last.) Here's a real effort at noise reduction that may interest you; see via this link viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59153&p=547872&hili ... or#p547872
Regardsfrom MikeN.

[mogbob]

James
If the other bearing is of " unknown history " , I'd replace both front bearings for peace of mind.
Bob

[James k]

Mogbob, I think I'll do both just to be on the safe side then. The hub came out easily, is it straightforward to remove the old bearings and put the new ones in?

Mike, that was the discussion that inspired me to do the soundproofing and to use silent coat. As I said, I'm not happy with the state of the floorpan so I'm not going to do that at the moment but the other bits can certainly be done. I hope it's as successful as that attempt as I rather like the idea of being able to cruise at 60 without my ears bleeding!

[James k]

Hi,
I've spent the weekend stripping out the car, removing the rear seats, gloveboxes, all the trim etc. I've also removed the front o/s wooden pillar as it was rotten. I'm going to paint the front floor with POR15 so I can soundproof there too.

I noticed while I was under the car that the o/s steering rack gaiter is split in several places so will need replacing. What's the easiest way to do this and what's the best gaiter to use? I've read something about universal gaiters being easier to fit.

Thanks,
James

[Trickydicky]

For your gaiters I was recommended to use these, http://www.bailcast.com/products/dbsr20 ... rack-boot/
THe model for the minor is DBSR200.

[simmitc]

Although we're definitely wandering off topic, you commented about drainage holes... The absence of these is really worrying. The original wood would have had them, so it sounds as if new timber has been fitted, and that it's not the best quality. Without the holes, thw ater cannot drain and overflows inside the car, leading to rust and sodden carpets.

The holes should be drilled from the centre of the routed channels (they are there, aren't they?) at an angle so that they come out underneath well clear of the panel. If you haven;t got a pattern easily accessible then someone will supply the measurements; but unless you're worried about a completely original appearance then a couple of inches from each end will be fine, plus another 4 spaced equally along the length. 1/4 inch diameter, total 6 in each channel.

[James k]

Yes, the lack of drainage holes is worrying. Water clearly has been getting in though luckily hasn't rotted anything. It has warped the rear trim panels though so I'm trying to come up with a way to flatten them; I'm thinking of dampening them and them placing some heavy objects on top. When you say in the centre of the drainage channels, do you mean drilled from the raised bit in the centre?

Thanks,
James

[James k]

Right,
I've made some progress although the weather and delivery companies seem to have conspired against me! I worked on the car yesterday afternoon and for a bit today when it wasn't raining. I've replaced both front wheel bearings and a rebound rubber on one side. It was surprisingly easy and I couldn't feel any play which makes me wonder if I did something wrong! I've also fitted rear bumper rubbers (which were missing), replaced a couple of loose bolts in the clutch linkage and changed the gearstick o-ring which I thought might be contributing to rattle. I've been soaking the window runners in Cuprinol 5 star today and will varnish them tomorrow. Once my deliveries (hopefully) arrive tomorrow, I'll be able to get started on painting the floor pan and fitting the sound deadening. I've also still got to replace the front timber pillar and foot rail :/ Hopefully I'll soon be able to test if my sound-deadening plan has worked.

James

[Tea]

Sounds like some good progress!

Once up and running you could try using a premium petrol. We’ve switched from the regular unleaded this week and it’s genuinely made a real difference to the noise levels and smoother running, especially in the 40mph - 55mph range.

[simmitc]

Holes in the drainage channels... there should be two parallel U shaped grooves running the length of the waist rail. This is where the water should collect, and the drainage holes should be in the bottom of the U so that water exits at the lowest point. Once driller, block up the bottom, fill with wood preservers and let it seep into the wood. Repeat a couple of times and then unblock the holes. The felt runner should also have some holes to let the water drain through that into the U channels below.