Since last post, I got around to the sound deadening project. Although extremely time consuming, it was a really fun project. My work was kind of rough in a few areas, but it all gets covered up anyway.
I completely gutted the tub; I think the PO sprayed some adhesive to stop the carpet from moving around, so I took a medium grit sanding sponge to it and got most of it off. Scrubbed the tub, wiped down, scrubbed again, wiped down again, then hit with alcohol to degrease. Let it dry, then it was ready for Noico. (NOTE: this picture was before I hit the tub with any abrasive. I forgot to take a picture of the adhesive all cleaned up before I applied the Noico unfortunately.)
I wasn't aiming for full coverage with the Noico, as many say it is not needed. All the Noico does is reduce the vibrations and echos created by large undamped areas of sheet metal. I bought the 36 sq ft package, and after doing the tub, I believe I have a sheet and a half leftover (out of eight) to use for the doors. Who knows if they really need it, but it won't hurt.
I hit all of the seams with aluminum tape to hopefully prevent any water getting underneath in the event that the tub sees any water (which it shouldn't).
I topped off all of the Noico with a layer of EZ Cool to help with heat/cooling insulation. The closed cell foam helps with sound absorption as well, IIRC. I hit the edges of the insulation with aluminum tape as well to stay in place.
As I reassembled, I was able to fix the sloppy wiring for my subwoofer as well. As of now, I have the amp wired in the center console with the sub in the rear. The sub will obviously be staying in the rear, but I am hoping to relocated the amp to under the steering column to recoup some space in the center console. I should have done this with the Jeep completely stripped down, but I didn't have any speaker wire long enough to go from the front to the rear of the Jeep unfortunately.
Still gathering parts for ZJ tie rod, which is the next on the list. I have the tie rod itself, the extra TRE, and the adjusting sleeve, but I want to replace everything while I am in there, so I will be ordering a new drag link, upper adjusting sleeve, and stabilizer before doing the job.
My sister just got new tires on her Jeep ('06 Sport, completely stock), and her front steering was shot so I gave everything a refresh with a new Moog track bar, complete ZJ setup, and new drag link/SS which was by no means difficult. So I look forward to getting the beefier parts on my own rig.