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I thought I’d report on some sound pressure readings after all the sound insulation after enjoying the comfy quiet ride. The picture shows multiple screen clips from stopped and idling and at 70mph. Acceleration and deceleration were not recorded, only at stop and at speed. Readings were taken using A Weighting. The “Average” and real time values are to note rather than the Max.
It was a process over time but most everything has been treated including inner/outer door skins (all 6), the entire floor, rear quarter panels, and the entire roof above the headliner. Under the hood has been treated and color matched LineX on the roof.
The A/C is much more efficient as hoped as well.
The first and last readings are at still and idle.
The interior treatment included two layers of 80 mil Kilmat (butyl rubber equivalent to Dynamat) throughout. Even under the carpet and above the headliner. I don’t have the pictures but all six doors have treatment on both outer and inner skins.
Last edited by Rainmaker1; Jan 1, 2025 at 11:43 PM.
Reason: Pictures of the interior treatment with Kilmat
Next project will be installing a couple pieces of rubber under the hood and hopefully the bottom of the door weather stripping. Soon after the hood and the rear panel that houses the third break light get painted. She's coming together nicely!
I might be real late to the party with this question, but what did you do to color match the roof? Did you spray or roll? On deck for a few of my old fords, is to do the roof (theyre faded and even rusty [big shocker]). The bedliner seems to be the way to go, just close up the roof seems.
I might be real late to the party with this question, but what did you do to color match the roof? Did you spray or roll? On deck for a few of my old fords, is to do the roof (theyre faded and even rusty [big shocker]). The bedliner seems to be the way to go, just close up the roof seems.
-Will
The roof had very mild surface rust and I didn’t want the seam sealer to be compromised from more aging. It’s permanently sealed now.
LineX is a professionally applied sprayed on truck bed liner and the only brand that I found that can color match. I don’t understand why more Excursion owners don’t do it. There are a couple guys here who did their entire exterior. One of them is white and looks really nice. Mine being an urban assault vehicle looks better IMHO.
The benefits of having the LineX on the roof, the sun isn’t beating on the painted steel roof reducing heat and noise. Then there’s butyl rubber inside above the headliner, 2-layers. The result is an insulation layer of hard rubber (LineX) on top and 160 mils of butyl rubber underneath the sheet metal roof (fry pan).
It was well worth the effort and investment.
I got a notice yesterday that the local bone yard just got in a 2000 Excursion. Supposedly it arrived yesterday and already today the entire engine and front suspension was gone. The rest of the truck was pretty rough like they drove it into the ground. Sad. I managed to pick up a 3rd Brake Light Lense. I should have taken the rear wiper arm too but mine is in good shape, it's just 23 yrs old and new OEM wipers are unobtainium. If anyone knows where a new OEM water arm is, please let me know.
Back on topic, I began cleaning and polishing the lens starting with #400 sandpaper thinking is might be too rough but it turned out decent IMHO. I stepped up to #600, #800, #1000, #1500, #2000, and finally #3000. Then finished with FLITZ polishing compound followed by a good rinse. I think it looks pretty good for an amateur such as myself.
Now it needs to be sealed or it will likely oxidize quickly. Does anyone have success painting headlights with clear polyurethane, 3M Clear vinyl (with UV protection), or? I'm just being critical and seeing if there's a better solution.
I have the 3M product on my headlights for 1-1/2 yrs now and it still looks perfectly clear. These headlights are TYC brand CAPA certified. After about 2-1/2 yrs they began to yellow with oxidation and UV. You would think they would clear much longer than that. So I polished the entire headlamp with FLITZ and it was beautiful. Now after 1-2 yrs, the uncovered area of the lamp is yellowing while the face covered with the clear vinyl looks like it was freshly polished.
You gotta stop posting these, my fam and neighbors are gonna be like "now he's out there doing something for hours on end, I think that he might be massaging..........some ........ lights?!"
You gotta stop posting these, my fam and neighbors are gonna be like "now he's out there doing something for hours on end, I think that he might be massaging..........some ........ lights?!"
An old classic truck is a hobby and deserves ones undoubted loyalty. lol
I got a notice yesterday that the local bone yard just got in a 2000 Excursion. Supposedly it arrived yesterday and already today the entire engine and front suspension was gone. The rest of the truck was pretty rough like they drove it into the ground. Sad. I managed to pick up a 3rd Brake Light Lense. I should have taken the rear wiper arm too but mine is in good shape, it's just 23 yrs old and new OEM wipers are unobtainium. If anyone knows where a new OEM water arm is, please let me know.
Back on topic, I began cleaning and polishing the lens starting with #400 sandpaper thinking is might be too rough but it turned out decent IMHO. I stepped up to #600, #800, #1000, #1500, #2000, and finally #3000. Then finished with FLITZ polishing compound followed by a good rinse. I think it looks pretty good for an amateur such as myself.
Now it needs to be sealed or it will likely oxidize quickly. Does anyone have success painting headlights with clear polyurethane, 3M Clear vinyl (with UV protection), or? I'm just being critical and seeing if there's a better solution.
I have the 3M product on my headlights for 1-1/2 yrs now and it still looks perfectly clear. These headlights are TYC brand CAPA certified. After about 2-1/2 yrs they began to yellow with oxidation and UV. You would think they would clear much longer than that. So I polished the entire headlamp with FLITZ and it was beautiful. Now after 1-2 yrs, the uncovered area of the lamp is yellowing while the face covered with the clear vinyl looks like it was freshly polished.
Today I decided to see what another polishing session would provide so I wet sanded again with #5000 grit paper, another polishing with Flitz, and polish with McGuires swirl remover. I then applied the 3M film. The stuff was relatively easy to work with. I'm now waiting to see if the small bubbles go away. This material is supposed to breathe a little and be self healing. I gotta say, to me, it looks pretty nice!
Beautiful truck! You've done an amazing job so far.
Do you mind me asking where you got your headlights? They are very clean.
Also, when you had your engine bay cleaned, did they clean the underside/engine block as well? My engine bay and engine itself could definitely use a cleaning...
Beautiful truck! You've done an amazing job so far.
Do you mind me asking where you got your headlights? They are very clean.
Also, when you had your engine bay cleaned, did they clean the underside/engine block as well? My engine bay and engine itself could definitely use a cleaning...
The headlights are standard 2004 Superduty headlights from TYC (CAPA certified, very important). Then I bought some 3M clear vinyl headlight film from Invisible Mask https://www.invisiblemask.com/imask/...oduct_id=35724
Any plastic headlamp will begin to yellow with oxidation after a couple years. Mine began at 1-1/2 years and I applied the Invisible Mask. That was 1-1/2 years ago. So now these headlamps are 3 years old. The Invisible Mask only covers the face of the headlamp, it does not wrap around the edges so the yellowing returning is visible around the edges of the face and sides.
I purchased a second set of TYC (CAPA certified) headlamps sitting in the garage waiting when needed. This I will either buy the material and apply myself or have a professional do it.
Bottom line, the 3M clear bra contains UV inhibitors and should last several years. I also used it on the third brake light as described in the post above. Under consideration is applying this film to the front marker and tail lights. It's very inexpensive and applies easily.
Regarding cleaning the engine bay, I specifically requested a steam clean rather than chemicals and pressure water. I only had the top of the bay cleaned as I am still chasing a very slight oil leak from the oil filter and possibly the drain plug. I don't think the oil change shop did a good job. I took the truck to my local reliable repair shop who did all the oil leak repairs and they snugged the filter and plug a bit, cleaned the area and sent me on my way. Should this prove successful, I will have the underside cleaned. Another important note is to not use any dressing after cleaning. The dressing collects dust.
Been collecting parts for a few months but just haven’t gotten round-to-it. The transmission oil cooler just arrived today so I thought I’d list ‘em here with part numbers in case anyone needs. It’s like a research project just finding the right part numbers.
When I’m ready to have the cowel plastic covers coated with Line-X, I’ll have them coat the inner cowel area where the windshield wiper regulator lives. This should add some small amount of sound insulation from the engine. Added to the sound insulation under the hood, I expect a small effect, but there’s not much more that can be done unless the dash is removed to insulate in there. Nope, the dash is staying put.
When I'm ready to have the trans cooler installed, I’ll probably have it serviced at the same time.
Lever Assembly - Mirror Control
F65Z-17B676 F65Z-AB
Front Seal - Hood
F81Z-16A238-AA
Line-X cowel area (not done yet)
Cowl Grille - LEFT (4C3Z-25022A69-AAA)
Cowl Grille - RIGHT (3C3Z-25022A68-AAA)
Cowl- 2 piece floating fastener
N811353-S100
Cowl screws - N811354-S61
Hood Seal Gasket - Rear
5C3Z-2502824-A
Cruise Control Switch (Steering wheel)
1C3Z9C888AA
SW6010
Switch Assy - 6-way power seat switch RH or LH seat
Today the transmission temperature gauge and a 3-pod Autometer overhead console was ordered. Riff Raff had the best price and customer service was fantastic!
I did a lot of thinking on what brand to buy for the temp gauge and decided on ISSPro. It seems to have the best reviews and I like that they match the dash cluster. Andrew over at Riff Raff was very helpful. Their customer service rocks!
The pyrometer and fuel pressure gauges will come later.
Took it for a 300 mile test run with a friends 57 Chevy in tow. Driving over the Grapevine between Los Angeles and Bakersfield was effortless. My ISSPro transmission temperature gauge and 3-gauge pod overhead console arrived today but didn’t get it in for today’s drive. I can only assume everything is working great but don’t have any ideas of temperature. My hopes are to have the gauge installed in the next couple weeks. It’s unfortunate because I would have liked to see what the temperature was.
I’ve read many articles about where the sensor should go and popular opinion suggests where the test port is located. The claims are that it’s a much better place than in the pan.
Any thoughts or recommendations from the experienced experts?
Thank you. That seems to be the popular opinion and it looks easy enough. I might try tackling this myself.
I discussed the temperature sensor location with the shop who installed the cooler. They suggested the feed line to the cooler. This seems like the hottest location equal to or the test port or hotter. They would cut the line coming out of the transmission and flare the tube and install a T-fitting to accept the sensor.
what do you guys think, exit line or test port?
Had a pretty bad fuel leak last week. Apparently it was mistaken by me and others for an oil leak for some time. When I looked into the valley, it was filled with fluid that dripped down like it was coming from the oil filter and/or drain plug. New OEM fuel bowl installed and now it looks and drives as it should. My guess is that the leak compromised fuel pressure which added to reduced performance and fuel mileage.
Additionally I thought the alternator took a crap. It turned out to be a loose power wire connection. Between the fuel bowl replacement and the alternator power wire secured, she seems to have a little more fun factor when I hit the GO pedal. This alternator was installed a couple years ago and is a remanufactured unit. As a preventative measure, the plan is to take it to a local alternator rebuild shop and have them test it. Maybe have this one rebuilt later and see if they can up it's amperage capacity.
But for now, I can concentrate on getting the trans temp gauge installed. After more reading and adding up all the advice and siting through the options, I'll be having it installed in the trans test port as advised by Mark K.
