Thread: Insulating a defender have you done it and was it worth it?

I just finished dynomating under the seat and drivers and passengers side floor panels. Run 10mm eva foam on top of that and then the factory trim back over that. The factory trim seems to have very good sound proofing materials on it and the car is sealed pretty well from factory. Going off the suggestion from Bojan's post I tried to seal out everything I possibly could that had daylight through to the underside of the vehicle, and this was the reason I used the eva foam ova the dynamat. It definately helped with increasing the resonant mass of the panels and this I think made the biggest contribution to reducing noise. Only downside is that it amplifies the creaks in the cab.

It's a 2012 puma 110. And they are quiet from standard, but still could be alot better for kids and wife, hence why I am going for better insulation.

I have a 95 130 and have done a lot of foam work. First point is as said, make sure all the holes are sealed. There are 2 wire grommets next the the fuse box, one of mine had a piece of tape over it, needless to say just covering that properly made a difference.
I went to a specialty foam place here and got the sound foam with the foil backing, they use it on boats, is easy to work with and relatively cheap. I did 2 layers under the bonnet, when you open my vents no extra noise comes in. I spent a lot of time doing the interior front bulkhead area, in behind the fuse panel, remade the floor mats, over the transmission tunnel.
Have also done all the seat boxes, back of the cabin and under the roof liner. In traffic areas (feet) I overplayed with an acoustic vinyl for protection. Also did the lower door panels. On all larger panels I stuck tar roof flashing strips to try to help dampen the panels (read that someplace). Not convinced it does much, but when you stick it on the panel frequency changes, which is the goal. Compared to an untreated on, mine is a bit like driving in a set of earmuffs, still noisy but the harshness is gone. It's never going to be as good as the disco, so don't kid yourself either!

Originally Posted by voltron

I just finished dynomiting under the seat and drivers and passengers ...

That'll quieten things down!

Originally Posted by BigBlackDog

That'll quieten things down!

Haha, yeah busted. Guess I better correct that.

In seriousness. It didnt quieten down the cab much but def changed the resonance and vibration the panels emitted.

Dynomat was what I was meant to say people.

Cheers

Yes and Yes,
When I first picked up my Defender (single cab) and drove it a couple of hours home, my ears were ringing when I got there.
Since then I have
-put double lipped door seals
-put later model bottom door seal on
-Put dynamat type stuff over floors, rear bulkhead, roof, in doors, boxes under seat.
- Closed cell foam over that on floor and the original vinyl matting over that.
-Marine carpet over rear bulkhead and roof
-Stick on acoustic stuff on bonnet.

None of it was hard - just time consuming, but it is very livable now and my ears are happy now

I'll look at the front bulkhead one day when I have things apart

Thanks everyone.
I appreciate all the time you have taken with your replies. There is much hope in making my Defender quieter. I have wanted one for many years and previously substituted with a couple of disco 2's. Far from satisfied I still had to get the defender. If i need to i will spend thousands on it to get it where I want it. If that fails ill have to trade the missus in. Haha.
Thanks again.
Michael

Another trick worth trying in my opinion is to spray expanding foam into the voids in the bonnet. It helps reduce noise and makes the bonnet much stiffer & stronger.

Alan

Originally Posted by Rurover

Another trick worth trying in my opinion is to spray expanding foam into the voids in the bonnet. It helps reduce noise and makes the bonnet much stiffer & stronger.

Alan

I was going to do that to the windscreen vent flaps but was concerned it'd distort them (the ally is pretty thin)