Front Inner Fender Sound Absorber Foam

[swshawaii]

Accidentally pushed them both in while cleaning the door jambs. Don't believe they are held by anything except friction. Had to loosen the plastic fender liners for access and glued them with E-6000 adhesive. If you open your doors and see light coming through, it's a source for wind and road noise. Also dust and water. Surprising the difference it made reducing wind noise at highway speeds.

Fender & Components for 2005 Ford Explorer Sport Trac | Auto Nation Ford White Bear Lake

 

[CDW6212R]

Good work. I discovered those in 2000 when rebuilding my 93 truck. Those do stop a ton of wind noise from getting in, I've saved a couple of spares from the JY, in case.

Where did you come up with that E-6000 adhesive? I think I have that same thing, new in a tube on a shelf somewhere. It sounded great when I got it about 20 years ago, it may be cured by now though.

 

[swshawaii]

Don, I was VERY surprised by the wind noise reduction after reinstalling. E6000 is readily available at most department stores, even supermarkets. BEST non epoxy glue I've ever used. What I like is it's clear, remains flexible, and is very easy to remove, unlike RTV silicone or brittle super glue. Clear Gorilla Glue is also very similar to E6000 and may be easier to find. I usually buy on line from Target because their everyday price is low.

Amazing E-6000 Multi-purpose Craft Glue 2.0-oz.

 

[CDW6212R]

Cool, I've not used this stuff thinking it was more special than RTV etc, so I should find a use for it if I can then.

What, you don't buy your crap from Amazon or Walmart, like everyone else I deliver to? Are you like my sister, hates Walmart because of the China products, but loves Target which is owned by the French(and sells the same stuff)?

 

[koda2000]

LOL... My daughter is an exec for Amazon and her husband is an exec at Target. I buy 90% of my crap off eBay.

 

[swshawaii]

Trying to buy "local" in Hawaii is next to impossible anymore. Hard to fight progress, even this little town of 50,000 has suffered the fate of Obama's only Christmas vacation spot while in office, Dr. Beach's rave reviews, and the internet, with the influx of many Asian tourists preferring Kailua-Oahu over Waikiki. Their biggest complaint about Waikiki is too many Asian tourists. LOL I've been a big Amazon fan since 2007, but if I can buy a product locally for a comparable price I'll do it without hesitation. WalMart no comment, but I do shop at Sam's Club quite often.

 

[mic98xlt]

Swshawaii, you and Don are always "right on the money" about the things you post. I been trying for months to chase down wind noise in my '03 Sport. Just yesterday I was annoyed by all the wind noise while driving on the Parkway (Highway). I had checked the door seals and replaced my doors wind deflectors trying to remedy the wind noise. I even took off my drivers mirror to make sure no wind was leaking thru there.

Today, I checked my Sport today after seeing your post here Swshawaii, and found both sound absorbers to be out of place (damaged) and leaking plenty of sunlight. This means they both will be replaced and they had to be a great contributor to my mystery wind noise. So thanks Swshawaii again for taking the time out to share this info and your other contributions in the past .

 

[CDW6212R]

Swshawaii, you and Don are always "right on the money" about the things you post. I been trying for months to chase down wind noise in my '03 Sport. Just yesterday I was annoyed by all the wind noise while driving on the Parkway (Highway). I had checked the door seals and replaced my doors wind deflectors trying to remedy the wind noise. I even took off my drivers mirror to make sure no wind was leaking thru there.

Today, I checked my Sport today after seeing your post here Swshawaii, and found both sound absorbers to be out of place (damaged) and leaking plenty of sunlight. This means they both will be replaced and they had to be a great contributor to my mystery wind noise. So thanks Swshawaii again for taking the time out to share this info and your other contributions in the past .

Excellent, he posted the great pictures and explained it well, and we BS'd enough to attract some attention. I'm sorry to get off topic once in a while, we kind of use this as our(we don't Facebook etc) twitter feed. Night,

 

[swshawaii]

Appreciate your kind words mic98xlt. Quite honestly, two guys in this thread, koda2000 (Phil) and CDW6212R (Don) have contributed so much to EF over the years. Concise, hands on information that can't be found in ANY manual. Very grateful. Glad you found this thread useful, and hope it reduces your wind noise to some extent. I had a heck of a time getting the plastic fender liners loose until I found those "semi hidden" front bolts. Also a good idea to wear safety glasses when removing, It's amazing the amount of dirt and crud trapped in the liners. Keep us posted with your results and good luck!

fender-splash-shield-removal-and-installation.pdf

 

[mic98xlt]

Yes Swshawaii, all 3 of you Guys (Koda2000, CDW6212R and yourself) always contribute to this forum in a positive manner. You Guys are a valuable asset for me and I think others here feel the same. I have gained a lot of insight to tackling jobs that I would probably never try without your all advice.
I did order the liners from Ford Parts Giant and will post how it goes.

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, we try, and sometimes in place of getting out and working on stuff. I've done four hours of yard work, I'm beat today.

Are you buying the inner fender insulation, pictured here, or the aprons that lay over the shocks and UCA's?

 

[mic98xlt]

Don, I am getting the foam fender insulators. I already have added on the engine full size aprons because I thought the open gap was way too big to be left open. I really think Ford degraded noise suppression and keeping the engine clean when they eliminated those aprons from the factory.

 

[CDW6212R]

Don, I am getting the foam fender insulators. I already have added on the engine full size aprons because I thought the open gap was way too big to be left open. I really think Ford degraded noise suppression and keeping the engine clean when they eliminated those aprons from the factory.

Do you recall what those aprons cost you, when you bought them? I got a pair years ago when I had them off of my Mercury, and was surprised they were only $18 each. I meant to buy more later, but I forgot to.

Just an odd side note, Ford had the steering racks for these last Summer, for $155ish plus core, rebuilt. I was pleased to learn that then, but this January I tried to buy one. I was finally ready to pull my 99 apart and would have gladly paid that. Now they don't have them like that any more, what is available is over $400, plus mention of special shipping, from a source not in the normal network.

 

[swshawaii]

Here you go Don. Much cheaper now, clips sold separately.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...6,1366680,body,inner+fender+splash+shield,358

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, time to start a new cart there.

 

[mic98xlt]

Do you recall what those aprons cost you, when you bought them? I got a pair years ago when I had them off of my Mercury, and was surprised they were only $18 each. I meant to buy more later, but I forgot to

Don, I brought those aprons last summer on EBAY and they were about $16 each with shipping. The Rock Auto price seems better than EBAY!

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, much better, and those are common items we want to get cheap.