Dear EpicCL:

Although I don't have many miles on my "05" F150 , (34,650) I figure it's the age of the Door Seals that have been causing me concern with Wind Noise mostly. I asked Chandler(MCDavis) about this problem and he provided me your link and I thoroughly enjoyed the video you provided there-in..

I figure it will be the same procedure on the F150 as it is on your PS, At least it will be a close approximation I would imagine?

On my next V.A. Payday I plan on getting the material needed to then wait until my younger Brother's next day off (He works in the Gas Drilling Industry , Truck Driver and has sparse days off)... Anyhow, Hopefully with his help/aide I will be able to do this job on my Two main doors and the 1/4 Doors as well, Then I'll truly be a happy camper ridding myself of Wind Noise....

Thank you very much for the Video and the Information.. I'm sure with a small bit of effort on my/Our parts I can feel as though I did when I first drove my Ford off the Show-room parking lot.....

All the Best and Thank you & Megan for everything...

You've made another Friend.. iBear & Ozzie(sidekick).....

 

Thanks for the kind words. I'm sure this will work on your other vehicles also. I've done all my Fords and one Chev over the past few years.

Check around for local medical supply stores. They usually have a bunch of tubing at the best price.

 

Reps to you ibear, nice of you to Thank someone for thier effort.

 

John: I appreciate you giving me "Reps" , I figure we all have too be nice given the World these days...
& Besides My Old Pappy Raised me right as well!!!

All the Best to you and yours... Be Safe out there cause it's a Jungle Kiddies.....

Take care.

iBear & Ozzie

 

Thanks for the videos Epic, they come in very handy.

All I'd add to anybody considering this:

-Don't get too hung up on having one continuous piece of tubing in each door. I had two doors where I'd taped two pieces together and then they came apart while we were pulling them through the weather stripping. All we ended up doing was holding the weatherstripping up and pushing a short length down into the end. It's not going anywhere once it's in there so don't worry too much about it.

-When using the graphite spray lube, I was spraying it into every second hole along the weatherstripping prior to pulling the tubing through. It leaks out onto whatever floor you're working on. Usually not an issue, I just had some nice epoxy garage floors installed so I'm a bit OCD about them. It cleaned up good with acetone, but you may want to put a piece of cardboard or carpet down.

-We didn't spray the tubing as we put it in. Just every second hole in the stripping before hand and it was easy peasy to slide it through.

-When you're sliding the tubing in make sure you wiggle and shake the stripping around so the tubing inside that's stretched can relax and make way for more.

-All said and done, maybe 30-45min invested into the mod.

-Driving my truck on the freeway today (truck is brand new, only 1200 miles on it) and it was a completely noticeable change in road/wind noise. It actually felt like an awkward silence, so I had to turn the radio on and sing for a bit.

 

Thanks for the update. I bought the tubing and am waiting for it to warm up a little to do the mod. Even after reading all the posts I was shocked at the wind noise at highway speeds.

Surprised ford has not addressed this yet. My truck is just a month old.

 

I'm excited. Tubing comes in tomorrow. I need to go get a reel of fish tape and I'll be set to do this mod on Sunday!

 

I drove to Ft Collins, CO this week in the worst cross winds I've ever been in. Around Wheatland,WY the gusts were around 80 mph. Semi's turned over in the ditch, two rv's upside down in the ditch, an enclosed trailer and a Super Duty wadded up in the ditch. The wind noise from the front doors was atrocious! Very loud and almost scary sounding. The sunroof sounded like a jet engine taking off. When I get all caught up with myself, I'll be doing the door seal mod. My wife wasn't impressed, to say the least. Neither was I. I had heard some noise prior to this trip, but, nothing like this sounded. I was almost embarrassed.

 

Ok EPIC, I am ready to do this mod and I value your opinion...

All things being equal (except price and length, but they are close enough) which would you choose?

White medical grade silicone?
Amazon.com: White Translucent Medical Grade SiliconeTubing, 0.250" ID, 0.375" OD, 0.063" Wall, 50' Length: Industrial & Scientific

Or

Black latex rubber?
Amazon.com: 60 CONTINUOUS FEET Black Rubber Latex Tubing 3/8"OD 1/4"ID (#804): Health & Personal Care

 

Personally, I'd stay with the latex. The silicone is a little stiffer and will get even stiffer in the cold. I think the latex is a perfect application. It will be pretty tight for a few days until it settles in and takes on the shape of the opening. I've heard of guys using all kinds of materials but you have to be careful using anything too stiff for fear of damaging the seal itself.


Good luck with the install. Find a good helper and the job is a lot easier. Here's to no door rattle and a lot less road noise!

 

The silicone shows a much wider temperature range than the latex and the latex states "chemical resistance to petroleum products is not recommended".

The silicone:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%"></TD><TD width="40%">




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Part Number</TD><TD width="40%">SMD-250A-50




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Material Type</TD><TD width="40%">Silicone Rubber




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">System of Measurement</TD><TD width="40%">Inch




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Color Name</TD><TD width="40%">White Translucent




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Item Shape</TD><TD width="40%">Round




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Durometer</TD><TD width="40%">50A




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Inside Diameter</TD><TD width="40%">0.250 inches




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Outside Diameter</TD><TD width="40%">0.375 inches




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Wall Thickness</TD><TD width="40%">0.063 inches




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Overall Length</TD><TD width="40%">50 feet




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">LowerTemperature Range</TD><TD width="40%">-100 Degrees Fahrenheit




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Upper Temperature Range</TD><TD width="40%">400 Degrees Fahrenheit




</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width="60%">Specification Met</TD><TD width="40%">USP Class VI






</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
And the black latex:


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I have used the medical grade silicone before (not for a door seal though) and it is very soft. I have not used this black latex though so I can't compare. Do you really think the cold would affect it's stiffness enough to damage the moulding? Do you know by chance what the factory moulding is made of?

I'll tell you what. Too tough to decide so I ordered both. I'll try silicone on one side and latex on the other and run my own non-scientific test and replace the one that doesn't cut the mustard (or wind noise in this case)

 

Well there you have it. Sure can't hurt to have a direct comparison.

 

It will be interesting to see if there is any noticeable difference. Thanks for taking on the task.

 

Well I got the tubing from Amazon yesterday. Cut off a small section of each to do some testing with. Here is what I found:

The latex tubing is about a 64th shy of the stated 3/8" and ID is also off a bit of the stated 1/4". The silicone is right on 3/8"/1/4". The silicone does feel a little stiffer in my hand. The latex makes a "crackly crunchy" sound when I roll it between my fingers, not sure what causes that but I don't think it will affect anything.

Compression...I put a piece of each onto a digital scale and pressed on the end until the opening was closed. At room temperature the latex closed at about 12-13 oz of pressure. The silicone was a little more at around 14-15 oz. I then placed the sample pieces in the freezer and cranked it all the way down and left it over night. Was able to reach real close to 0 degrees F. Tried the pressure test again. The latex was now about 22 ounces to close while the silicone was about 17-18.

Stretch...I used a 2.5" section of each and held it in my hands and pulled. Was able to stretch the silicone to 4.5" before is slipped out of my grip. The latex went to just over 7".

Weight...The silicone weighs about 33% more than the latex.

Heat...I used a heat gun on high and exposed both to the same amount of heat. The latex started "sweating" and remained gooey and left a black sticky residue even after it cooled. The silicone looked and felt no worse for wear.

Fire...Took a propane torch to both. The latex caught fire quickly and burned with a sooty flame. The silicone did finally catch and hold a flame but was much later in the test. It would re-ignite itself several times after I would blow it out kind of like those trick birthday candles. It left a crusty ash where the latex was a molten glob.

None of these tests really matter but were fun to perform. Was not able to install them into the door seals yet. Probably do that Tuesday when my neighbor is home to help me out with the pulling and evaluation of wind noise while I drive.

Stay tuned...

 

I did the install in my truck last weekend. I had some trouble getting the tube to feed properly and had the tube come off of my fish tape a few times. Liberal amounts of silicone will help.

The doors are tougher to shut. I think Epic says it will settle down some, but I still find myself leaving doors cracked open after I shut them. I have never been one to slam a door, but now I kinda have to in order for them to shut.

I think the truck is quieter. Its really tough to tell, but you can definitely tell that the seal between the door and fame is better than before. Its a very quiet truck.