Defender 90 - Noise from stones in wheelarches on gravel roads

[Thomas]

Got my brand new Defender 90 two weeks ago and it put a huge smile on my face (did I say a huge smile?).

One aspect of the car which is somewhat irritating is the loud noise small stones make when hitting the back wheel-arches on gravel roads. The 90 is equipped with standard continentals and rear mudflaps (no front mudlflasp though yet).

Is there a specific liner or other product which can be fitted to the wheel-arches or shall I invest in spray-on underbody protection? More generally, I am a bit unsure whether full underbody protection is recommended for a new Defender or whether I should only do the wheel-arches to muffle the noise from gravel/stones a little.

I would be very grateful for any specific recommendations on products and/or operators in the Sunshine Coast area.

Thank you,
Thomas

[alittlebitconcerned]

I painted on a couple of layers of thick bituman sound deadener paint which I got from super cheap. Worked well in reducing noise but was horrible to work with and is starting to come off after 4 years of hard life. Not bad really.

My next approach is going to be panels of HDPE cut to size and sikafkexed on.
I predict it will work better and will never need replacing.

[isuzurover]

...

My next approach is going to be panels of HDPE cut to size and sikafkexed on.
I predict it will work better and will never need replacing.

Sikaflex does not stick to HDPE. The sika technical people told me they have no product which will bond hdpe to anything. There are very few products out there that will bond with hdpe.

[100inch]

Do it once, do it right. Dynamat Xtreme will do wonders. m

[tonyci]

Thomas
I put Dynamat Xtreme on the panels inside and the covered with marine carpet.
On the outside under the wheel arch I painted several coats of the sound deadener paint that alittlebitconcerned mentioned.
Made a huge difference.
Cheers
Tony

[PAT303]

Use under sealer,thin it slightly and brush it on. Pat

[EastFreo]

Hi Thomas

Don't worry. If you look through a few posts you will see I had a sinking feeling after I got mine and I also copped it from the wife who then really regretted me trading in the "comfortable and quiet Prado".

Anyway I took some advice from here and Defendernet and it has made a big difference. Also I do think you do start to not notice it after a while.

What I did was get a place here in Perth to spray rhino liner in the rear wheel arches. Because it is a bit pricey I then just did the rust proofing over all the rest. This made a significant difference but if I did it again I wouldn't skimp on the extra few hundred and should have put rhino liner on more.

I also then went to BCF and for less then $20 bought a double bed camping mat that I cut up and placed in all the foot wells. I also used some yoga matting from Bunnings to line the rear cargo area as it was easier to cut and shape around my third row seats as I have a 110. Over the top went the standard LR mats.

I got some quotes for dynamat and one day I may put it in but to be honest I haven't needed to. I will also one day put in marine carpet.

Of course all the noise doesn't disappear but Nowadays the kids don't even blink (and more importantly nor does the wife). We live in the city but go to the family farm every few weeks and do a lot of gravel driving and haven't had a complaint for ages. And over Xmas we did some serious miles on gravel roads as well.

[carlschmid2002]

Jaycar also have sound deadening material. It comes in rectangles of about 20cm by 40cm and is self adhesive. I didn't get around to doing underneath the guards but the sound deadening in the back made a massive difference.

[jabber]

I put "peel-n-seal" roof flashing, purchased from Amazon, throughout the rear of my 110. While it helps a bit with noise, it doesn't stop the stoning sound. You'll need to put something on the underside of the wells.

The recommended undercoat, rhinoline, or do-it-yourself type brush/roll on is the key.

[loneranger]

The tyres make a difference. We wondered what was going on when we picked up the 90 with Conti's on it as they flick up a lot more stones than our 110 with Wranglers. When we first got it we thought we'd made a mistake with the tyres but now we don't even notice it.

[Pickles2]

The first time ya hear that "noise" is dreadful, the first time we heard it, we thought a big stone had come up & hit the side panel of our vehicle, but no, it was just whacking against the inner wheelarch, & guess what, we're pretty used to it now, just a Defender "trait".
But for those of you that do want a "fix", there is a company in the UK that does produce wheel arch "liners" that fit inside the wheel arch housing,...I haven't got a link, but I'm certain you could find it.
Us?..we're not worried!
Pickles.

[Don 130]

Apply 3mm thick insertion rubber with contact adhesive. Cut it into strips to make it follow the contours. Properly applied, it should last for years.
Don.

[jimr1]

I was talking to a salesman in a dealership not long ago , anyway he was telling me about a customer , that cut a truck plastic wheel guard in half . He said he fitted the halves under the rear wheel arches . He told me that It had made a big difference to stone noise ! I don't know if this was just a bit of bull**** or if It does work . Maybe someone else has heard , or even done this . I can't see why not . The only thing I can see as a problem is Mud and Dirt could build up behind them !!.. Jim

[DieselDan]

Yeah I had a crack at doing this!

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/90-110-130-defender-county/193704-rear-wheel-arch-liner.html

I followed the example of Farry and Gvwow in the above link.
It's certainly better, but in terms of completely getting rid of the stone chip noise, I reckon a rubber wheel arch liner would be better.
Now, instead of a loud metallic sounding ping/ring every time a stone flies up, it's a duller plastic-y sound, but seemingly no quieter!

It's almost impossible to seal completely behind the truck liner, so there is some muck/dirt and dust behind them, but not so much that it would ever create a problem (although I haven't dunked it waist deep in mud....).

I intend to keep them for the moment, but as soon as they look like they're ever going to fall off/crack, I'll pull them out, clean up in the wheel arch and do it again with a rubber liner.

[EastFreo]

Actually I forgot to mention I also went back to the dealer and got front mud flaps fitted. I think these also reduced some of the stones being flicked up from the front wheels. Then again maybe the noise reduction was just me getting used to it!

[DieselDan]

This looks like a much neater effort than mine.

DEFENDER2.NET - View topic - Wheel arch liners (http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic29386.html)

He admits it's only for road use, but the big overhangs past the bodywork will need shortening if you want to avoid them getting broken off road.

[4wheeler]

On my older Defender I bent up some tube and welded a few tabs and mounted this to the inner guard. I fitted some insertion rubber to the supports and problem solved. I will be doing this on my new to me used Defender. Unfortunately the previous owner had already caused a few minor dents in the panels at the rear from stones hitting and denting the inside of the panel. I can't believe Land Rover never had a wheel arch liner!
If the panel is not protected, sooner or later exposed metal will get dented. I also fitted insertion strip in the front wheel arch where the bulkhead panel is exposed.

[DiscoMick]

I assumed it was stones hitting the steel wheel arch liner plate thingeys (technical term) behind the wheels blocking stones from flying towards the body, so I was planning to trot off to Clark Rubber and glue some thick rubber to them to see if it helped. Youngest son has just lined his Hilux's wheel arches with rubber for the same reason. Seemed to help.

[4wheeler]

The amount of stones being thrown up into the wheel arch will be a bit dependent on tyre type. I have the Continental tyres which seem to pick up everything on the road.

My Defender has minor stone damage in one of the front leading panels below the rear door and at the rear guard side panel. My previous Defender had damage in the upper section of the arch.

For me, the whole inside section of the arch needs to be protected if you are likely to do a lot of dirt driving. I purchased some steel and rubber this morning to fabricated my new liners as soon as I can. Defenders have enough wonky panels without making them worse.

I have also strengthened the mud flap stay bar mount to the rear lower panel as this can crack the aluminium due to flexing.

[Pickles2]

The amount of stones being thrown up into the wheel arch will be a bit dependent on tyre type. I have the Continental tyres which seem to pick up everything on the road.

My Defender has minor stone damage in one of the front leading panels below the rear door and at the rear guard side panel. My previous Defender had damage in the upper section of the arch.

For me, the whole inside section of the arch needs to be protected if you are likely to do a lot of dirt driving. I purchased some steel and rubber this morning to fabricated my new liners as soon as I can. Defenders have enough wonky panels without making them worse.

I have also strengthened the mud flap stay bar mount to the rear lower panel as this can crack the aluminium due to flexing.
Sounds good, pics would be good when you're done.
Pickles.

[4wheeler]

Will do Pickles.
Wouldn't you know it, the bolt holes are slightly different on the 2013 when compared with the 2007 so I will have to change mount points.

Will have to change them slightly from last time (see previous post with photo). It does make a great deal of difference having a liner as it keeps stone and wet road water spray noise down along with panel protection.

[DEPENDER]

[QUOTE=Thomas;2322178]Got my brand new Defender 90 two weeks ago and it put a huge smile on my face (did I say a huge smile?).

One aspect of the car which is somewhat irritating is..."





HAHAHAHAHAAHH..


Just one aspect...oh yeah..you just got it..give it time...the stones hitting the wheel arches wont annoy or worry you half as much as the knocks from other places...


Your right to be listening though, almost all the expensive repairs ive avoided were due to stopping and checking out what it was...new noises=money...


but to your predicament.. I used a reflective stiff board I got from a building site dumpster (poor due to owning landrover) and cut it up, just made panels for the cab and under seats...DO NOT USE GLUE ON IT..you will find in the warmer climates it will have a lot of condensation under it, and will end up rusting (where you never remover said lining) ..good as it reflects a lot of heat too, you can line all the battery tray area (watch it dosent ARC hey!) and the drivers seat well too.


I run Kevlar MTR Wranglers..best tyre I have had yet, but they do chuck up some mud...all over the TOY otas hahahaah...


on the plus side, flicking mud n stones out on to the gaurds mean they are cleaning the tread as they turn...


Oh...welcome to the fold...the dark hordes of the defender!

[AndyG]

Got my brand new Defender 90 two weeks ago and it put a huge smile on my face (did I say a huge smile?).

One aspect of the car which is somewhat irritating is the loud noise small stones make when hitting the back wheel-arches on gravel roads. The 90 is equipped with standard continentals and rear mudflaps (no front mudlflasp though yet).

Is there a specific liner or other product which can be fitted to the wheel-arches or shall I invest in spray-on underbody protection? More generally, I am a bit unsure whether full underbody protection is recommended for a new Defender or whether I should only do the wheel-arches to muffle the noise from gravel/stones a little.

I would be very grateful for any specific recommendations on products and/or operators in the Sunshine Coast area.

Thank you,
Thomas

North side Bne Downey street rustproofing,
$700 for a 110, including doors, panels, engine bay, underbody, using Tectyl
3265 7574

[Olsey]

I was quoted $495 for my 90 at Downey St. They use Tectyl in all the cavities but the underbody is sprayed in a bitumen-based product. They also steam clean the underbody beforehand.

I'll get the rustproofing done but will hand paint inside the wheel arches first with a rubberised bedliner product like POR-15 OEM Bedliner.

[simmo]

]Hi Thomas,
I liner the mudgards inside using 1 mm alloy plate tech screwed onto the frames for the wheel arches. If I did the job again I'd pit some rubber or sound deadening on the inside of the inner mudgard. Primarily I did it to make easy for the mud to slip off there's a lot of paces under there for mud to hang onto, and it stops mud and stones from damaging the fuel filler and rear cross member, a LR renowned corrosion area.

When I put my plywood deck in the back with carpet it made a big difference as well.

front & rear mudflaps are a must IMV, plus a little extension of the front flare at the bottom, my car never gets mud or sand through up on the sides or roof.

a similar thing at the back made from 2mm alloy plate, means no mud and sand in the fuel filler. I was shocked when I first went into the bush and my 335/85s thew mud up all over the sides of car, windows et.
cheers simmo

[billsdefender1996]

When I bought my 110, I couldn't believe how quite it was off road. The previous owner had bought a semi trailer plastic mud guard and cut it in half. This was then tech screwed into place in 4 places. 2 at the top through the tub and one at each end. It stops all the noise and stops all the mud build up on the body work. Cheap and simple! hope this helps Cheers Bill

[4wheeler]

New wheel arch protectors made and fitted.

[jethro]

I bought puma 90 after previous owners had done trip around WA on gravel roads and a noticable amount of tiny stone chip dents around rear and rhs fuel filler area .I to looked for some sought of liner available on the market .I ended up buying a 2x1 metre x 5mm thick black rubber sheet from the local rubber product distributor .
I cut this to 2x 500mm wide x 2m strips and bolted with wide washers to the underside of the wagon to the existing bolts .No holes or extra bolts were put into the defender.About 6 large cable ties were used either side.this job worked a treat , just the odd thud now and then on the rubber and has also made the rear end under the defender very quiet, ie.tyre/road noise intrusion.I'm very pleased not to say saving those precious panels.I totally agree with other comments that Landrover should have thought of this years ago.

[YOLO110]

Sounds like a great mod mate...

Any chance of some photos please? :>)

[DiscoMick]

My son had a similar problem on his Hilux and like the previous poster he bought some rubber (I think from Clark Rubber), cut it to fit and cable tied it in place. He says it has made a lot of difference.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using AULRO mobile app

[AndyG]

I have some left over DYNAMAT, has anyone used that in a wheel arch?

[kogvos]

I have some left over DYNAMAT, has anyone used that in a wheel arch?
Not I, but I suspect it would become a sticky magnet for everything once a few stones have damaged the aluminium coating! If you could protect it you might have a winner.

[DiscoMick]

Doesn't Dynamat go inside for noise suppression?

[kogvos]

Doesn't Dynamat go inside for noise suppression?
Normally, but Defender drivers always want to be different.

[Toxic_Avenger]

If it were my money, I'd be looking at something like this, then modifying to fit.
Mud Guards | ISP Glendale (http://www.ispglendale.com.au/trailer-parts-accessories/mud-guards/)

As others have shown, there is plenty of bracket attachment points under there- might just need to get creative with some steel.

[DiscoMick]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that you could actually buy mudguard liners for Defenders, but I have no idea where I read it.

[AndyG]

Normally, but Defender drivers always want to be different.

This would give me Dynamat both sides ;)
Possibly only one way to find out

[protonpills]

I've had the rear wheel arches sprayed with Rhino guard just after I bought it. Haven't done any gravel road driving so not sure how well in suppresses noise. Was also was done to protect surface against stone chipping/damage. Had both Rhino guard and underbody rustproofing done by Beams Rustproofing in Perth and can highly recommend them, outstanding job and attention to detail

[DiscoMick]

The youngest son has just spent $550 having his Hilux steam cleaned and then sprayed with a thick rubbery stuff and then a black overcoat, so I will be interested to see if it makes it quieter, as well as VERY black under there.

[Sly]

If you don't like noise ,swap it for a ranger / vw and move on.

[ramblingboy42]

...and in the red corner we have Sly.....

...and in the blue corner , all the irate Defender owners.....