Midnight LJR Build
- Thread starter Midnight LJR
- Start date
OP
Good to hear you were able to remove it. I don’t see how water could get under it if you don’t cover the factory drain channels.
Yes. It sticks to itself so where there was any residue left behind I used a ball of it get it off. You'd never know it was there now. It took 2 days to remove.
It was partially pressed into the grooves (drain channels) of the floor pans. This made it so that the water couldn't drain or evaporate without shaking it upside down.
I truly shudder if I have to remove mine. But good to know it does come off with enough elbow grease.
OP
Finished up the floor, and transmission tunnel. I left all the drain canals open, so water has somewhere to go.
Was thinking about popping the door panels off and seeing if there is anywhere behind there to do. Anyone know?
Was thinking about popping the door panels off and seeing if there is anywhere behind there to do. Anyone know?
Yes there is. Be ready with a few replacement fasteners since they like to break.
@DylanM345 put some large patches in when we had his door apart when painting. There's a plastic sheet with goo on it you'd need to pull back for access
OP
Yeah, seems like most don’t think it does much in the doors so I’ll probably wait on it and get the tub done.
It’s on the list!
Doors definitely have a big improvement (full doors at least) when combined with everything else sound deadened. The night I picked up my doors from @Alex01, we put the deadener on and it was noticeably quieter the moment I got on the highway. I recommend anyone to do it who wants a quieter ride
OP
Doors definitely have a big improvement (full doors at least) when combined with everything else sound deadened. The night I picked up my doors from @Alex01, we put the deadener on and it was noticeably quieter the moment I got on the highway. I recommend anyone to do it who wants a quieter ride
The sound deadener or the full doors?
Full doors are a massive difference I agree.
Such a good build and one I am aspiring to achieve with my lj. Using it like you do to take my young kids outdoors, camping and wheeling.
OP
Super excited! Got my box of black magic chapstick, and Blaine through in some new heavy duty tie rod clamps.
Then my daughter comes in and says “Daddy, Daddy, I put your new Jeep parts on!”
Me: “You did what? Show me!”
It was too cute to be mad, she was quite proud of herself.
I did have to explain to her it would need to be removed or the guys would never let me live it down.
Then my daughter comes in and says “Daddy, Daddy, I put your new Jeep parts on!”
Me: “You did what? Show me!”
It was too cute to be mad, she was quite proud of herself.
I did have to explain to her it would need to be removed or the guys would never let me live it down.
Clearly the black jeep needs to have a certain theme to its build.
This may be a bit too subtle but I bet you can find a way to make it pop a bit more. Maybe neon pink beadlock wheels?
This may be a bit too subtle but I bet you can find a way to make it pop a bit more. Maybe neon pink beadlock wheels?
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I should've worded that better sorry. I meant to say that when you sound deaden the full doors it makes a large improvement.
How do you see out the roll up windows?
Ok ok, I get it. Not "fully" sound deadened. I edited my above comment
OP
Ok so finished up most of the sound deadening today.
Things have kind of changed. I tried several times to get the mass backed vinyl and foam to work stay out in the quarter panels inside but it was very time consuming tender to keep flopping over. I still may revisit this option depending on how my current solution works out.
So after learning that the ACC Carpet has a mass backed option I figured that would be easier. For the LJ they only offer the cut to fit yourself option. So I got that for the back figuring it wouldn’t be to bad and for the most part it wasn’t. Other than finding a way to make it stay attached on the sides. (Photo below)
For the front I looked up Bedrugs part numbers for the TJ and LJ and they are the same. So figured I could order the “OEM fit” for the front from ACC for the TJ. Well I am not sure if TJ’s and LJ’s use different carpet in the front or not but I was not impressed at all with the fit and had to spend a long time trimming and cutting etc to get it to fit.
Here’s a couple photos of the finished installation.
I ordered a quality jute for the floor and use a 1/8” closed cell foam on the vertical to act as a decoupler so noise doesn’t transfer through the vinyl. I tried the Jute everywhere but there was no way to get it to fit so had to compromise on the verticals.
This photo shows what I have going on
Sound deadener on bottom, 1/2” jute on top of that. Followed by ACC Mass Backed ESSEX carpet. The top is just a weather tech floor mat.
This is the main problem area, both sides are similar. I can’t get anything to stick to the mass backing. Tried some super aggressive industrial strength velcro that is a nightmare to get off metal and it won’t adhere at all to the mass backing on the carpet so not sure how I am gonna finish this out nice.
I still have to see if am gonna try to do the rocket covers or not. The pieces they sent look like messy cut scraps and am not sure if they are worth the work.
One other problem is I am going to need to find longer bolts for the back of the center council since the carpet is thick and they are now too short.
So review time about the installation process.
I expected the ACC carpet to save me time in the front and fit much better than it did. If I would have known the fitment was gonna be that off I would have just stuck with original plan because it was likely just as much if not more work to make the carpet fit. The Bedrug took all of 5 minutes to install when I did it.
I have only takin the Jeep on a short drive and test trip. I think the best way to describe it is it sounds more refined. I hear less booming and resonance and think it may be a bit quieter. The head liner was night and day this is much more subtle. All the noises are basically still there but it is more distant and doesn’t seem to resonate as much. The real test will be if it is easier to communicate with my daughter in the back seat on long drives which was the whole point.
So as of now would I do it again?
If I happened do have another LJ laying around with nice OEM carpet I would pull it up and do the 60% coverage deadener for sure I think it was worth it and only took a couple hours to do and call it good.
If It was only a trail Jeep the Bedrug is really hard to beat. For a hybrid like mine I think my original plan would have been the better choice and one day if this carpet ever gets wrecked I will likely just go back to the bedrug, but only do the mass loaded vinyl underneath on the floor and just not worry about the verticals since it is quite tuff to get it to stay on them without using a bunch of adhesive I don’t want everywhere.
Long drive review to follow after I get it on the freeway for at least an hour. Really need a passenger inside to talk with to be sure. It might be much quieter, but hard to tell.
Things have kind of changed. I tried several times to get the mass backed vinyl and foam to work stay out in the quarter panels inside but it was very time consuming tender to keep flopping over. I still may revisit this option depending on how my current solution works out.
So after learning that the ACC Carpet has a mass backed option I figured that would be easier. For the LJ they only offer the cut to fit yourself option. So I got that for the back figuring it wouldn’t be to bad and for the most part it wasn’t. Other than finding a way to make it stay attached on the sides. (Photo below)
For the front I looked up Bedrugs part numbers for the TJ and LJ and they are the same. So figured I could order the “OEM fit” for the front from ACC for the TJ. Well I am not sure if TJ’s and LJ’s use different carpet in the front or not but I was not impressed at all with the fit and had to spend a long time trimming and cutting etc to get it to fit.
Here’s a couple photos of the finished installation.
I ordered a quality jute for the floor and use a 1/8” closed cell foam on the vertical to act as a decoupler so noise doesn’t transfer through the vinyl. I tried the Jute everywhere but there was no way to get it to fit so had to compromise on the verticals.
This photo shows what I have going on
Sound deadener on bottom, 1/2” jute on top of that. Followed by ACC Mass Backed ESSEX carpet. The top is just a weather tech floor mat.
This is the main problem area, both sides are similar. I can’t get anything to stick to the mass backing. Tried some super aggressive industrial strength velcro that is a nightmare to get off metal and it won’t adhere at all to the mass backing on the carpet so not sure how I am gonna finish this out nice.
I still have to see if am gonna try to do the rocket covers or not. The pieces they sent look like messy cut scraps and am not sure if they are worth the work.
One other problem is I am going to need to find longer bolts for the back of the center council since the carpet is thick and they are now too short.
So review time about the installation process.
I expected the ACC carpet to save me time in the front and fit much better than it did. If I would have known the fitment was gonna be that off I would have just stuck with original plan because it was likely just as much if not more work to make the carpet fit. The Bedrug took all of 5 minutes to install when I did it.
I have only takin the Jeep on a short drive and test trip. I think the best way to describe it is it sounds more refined. I hear less booming and resonance and think it may be a bit quieter. The head liner was night and day this is much more subtle. All the noises are basically still there but it is more distant and doesn’t seem to resonate as much. The real test will be if it is easier to communicate with my daughter in the back seat on long drives which was the whole point.
So as of now would I do it again?
If I happened do have another LJ laying around with nice OEM carpet I would pull it up and do the 60% coverage deadener for sure I think it was worth it and only took a couple hours to do and call it good.
If It was only a trail Jeep the Bedrug is really hard to beat. For a hybrid like mine I think my original plan would have been the better choice and one day if this carpet ever gets wrecked I will likely just go back to the bedrug, but only do the mass loaded vinyl underneath on the floor and just not worry about the verticals since it is quite tuff to get it to stay on them without using a bunch of adhesive I don’t want everywhere.
Long drive review to follow after I get it on the freeway for at least an hour. Really need a passenger inside to talk with to be sure. It might be much quieter, but hard to tell.