Air noise from vent window seals?

[Skunksmash]

I put those Precision brand windows seals on my truck a while back. Think we had another thread talking about them at some point. But what I'm focusing on today, is the fact that there is a ton of wind noise I need to get rid of.

You can hear it at about 35mph, but at 65mph its unbearable. Now I did seal it up pretty good with black silicon, and that took the noise level down a good bit. Bit its still too loud for my taste. You know how old vehicles can be. But I think it can be solved because it seems to only be coming from the top area of those vent windows. But it is both of them.

Are there any tips or tricks that anyone might suggest, to get rid of wind noise? I guess I could go back at it with the silicon, but I was hoping there was more I could do. Any suggestions? Oh and I siliconed those vent windows shut, by the way. I never use those anyway.

[Jake Wade]

It is possible you got the wrong ones. There is a 1 pc and 2 pc design.

[Skunksmash]

No I got the one piece, which is what came off the truck

[MountainGoat1966]

My passenger side wing vent does the same thing, and I'm not ready to tackle the seal replacement chore, so for now I just leave it cracked open a tad so it stops whistling.

[Just call me Sean]

Put a piece of cardboard behind the lock to make it close tighter.

[Skunksmash]

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

Put a piece of cardboard behind the lock to make it close tighter.

They're sealed up with silicon now, can't get em back open lol

[donut]

Is the vent window sealed in the door? Seems to me if you siliconed the glass, the noise isn't coming from there. Maybe around the outside of the window, or the door directly above the vent. This is on the assumption that the door fits properly and doesn't stick out like a side scoop into the wind.

[Skunksmash]

Originally Posted by donut

Is the vent window sealed in the door? Seems to me if you siliconed the glass, the noise isn't coming from there. Maybe around the outside of the window, or the door directly above the vent. This is on the assumption that the door fits properly and doesn't stick out like a side scoop into the wind.

Yeah that's why I'm thinking I may just need a lot more silicon. Good thing its black and matches the seals.

I've heard some people say that its just part of having an old truck, but there is a way to fix it because you know GM didn't sell them that way when they were new

[KQQL IT]

A dime and a nickel in the latch...

[donut]

Like mentioned, shim the latch. GM didn't sell them that loose or expect you to still be driving these. Latch on my '86 is sloppy, but so are the window seals. With an open window I don't notice the noise.

Picked up a door out of a garage being torn down, vent window siliconed, soo not a new problem

[carnut4real]

I just replaced mine, and they still make a little noise too.

[boatpuller]

Originally Posted by carnut4real

I just replaced mine, and they still make a little noise too.

Yeah ....mine too....However, make sure you got the outside edges overlapped against the door frame inside and out.
I played around with mine and it helped a ton.

[roger97338]

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

Put a piece of cardboard behind the lock to make it close tighter.

I concur.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Skunksmash

Yeah that's why I'm thinking I may just need a lot more silicon. Good thing its black and matches the seals.

I've heard some people say that its just part of having an old truck, but there is a way to fix it because you know GM didn't sell them that way when they were new

They were pretty bad when new. Hard to say if yours is representative, since yours sounds like it is attrocious.

But - yes - wind noise was a hearty perennial problem. We would energize a team and they'd do a bunch of testing and design changes or process changes and things would get better - for a little while - and then worse again.

When we would fluff and puff a truck for an executive to drive you knew ahead of time what you were going to have to fix:

a) Wind noise
b) Balance and vector tire/wheel assemblies
c) Rear axle whine
d) Flatten the paint
e) anything wrong that was specific to that particular truck

K

[Skunksmash]

A lot of people are saying to make the doors close harder by one means or another. Putting money or cardboard in the latch. But I've already siliconed them shut, I'm afraid. So that probably won't have much of an effect.

[ZacharyDouglas1992]

How well do your doors line up? A lot of noise coming through on my truck went away when I replaced the hinges and closed a lot of gaps. It isnt completely quiet, but a lot of the noise that I blamed the vent windows for came around the doors and through the door panels from underneath when they were sagging.

[Skunksmash]

Here is a reply I got from the autobody forums, I thought it might help some other people here:

Originally Posted by Bob K

If you want to make a test of where the noise is coming from before you start trying to fix it you can work with another person to do this. Take duct tape and go around the window sealing the gap between the glass and the door. Do both sides. Next tape seal the gap on the passenger side so that there is no way for air to get into the cab around the door. Last get in the drivers seat and have your partner seal the gap on the drivers side. Now take the truck for a drive on a quiet road where you can safely make stops. Have your partner follow you. If you determine that the wind noise is gone you can stop and have your partner remove a section of tape from the drivers door. If after you make several tests and find that the drivers door seal isn't making the noise you can continue on your own since you can now open the door and get out to do more tests. Unseal the other side door, then do the windows until you locate the source of the noise.

If you find that with the doors and windows taped up you still have noise then you can assume it is coming from some place else like the vent below the windshield, the heater or maybe the back glass or an exhaust vent opening behind an interior panel that got damaged in the rebuild. Don't rule out noise coming through the sheet metal of the roof. Do you have clearance lights or anything else that could disturb the air flow across the roof? The roof skin could be vibrating causing the sound. Hope that gives you some ideas for places to look, but door seals are the most likely. By the way are they fresh and supple or are they the original seals that have gotten hard over the years?

Bob K