Is wind noise normal on a SuperCab?

[CrabGuy]

Just a quick question. I've taken a few longer trips in the Ranger now and can't figure out why the constant wind noise is so prevalent. The door seals all look fine with no cracks or visible compressed areas and there is no obvious airflow around the doors when I run my hand over them at freeway speed. It seems noisiest at the upper front corners. Is this just a normal condition on later Rangers? I have a great stereo but sometimes I just like to enjoy the quiet and suck up the scenery. My 2011 E350 is whisper quiet in comparison and that prison bus is like driving a refrigerator.

 

[Dirtman]

Yea rangers are not known for having quiet interiors. At 70mph mine is not quite tornado level but you do have to speak at a slightly raised volume to have a conversation.

 

[ElectraRider]

I have both extended cabs one a two door and a four door and yes there is more wind noise in the four door.

 

[CrabGuy]

Yea rangers are not known for having quiet interiors. At 70mph mine is not quite tornado level but you do have to speak at a slightly raised volume to have a conversation.

Thanks. Actually the physical road noise and drivetrain seems quite low for an old truck (mild MS tires). I was thinking of pulling some 1/4 poly backer rod through the void in the door seals but it sounds like the noise is just something I have to live with. I have a premium Pioneer HU and JBL speakers so SRV and my blues CD's will just need to be turned up a notch I guess.

 

[dvdswan]

Buy some 2" masking tape and start taping off gaps 1 at a time. i.e. hood to fender. If you have any type of roof rack or bed rack those are notorious for wind noise. start with one side of the vehicle then move to the other.

 

[CrabGuy]

No racks or non OEM equipment but I'll give the tape a try. If for some reason the tape test reduces wind noise at a certain location; is there a solution?

 

[Dirtman]

If for some reason the tape test reduces wind noise at a certain location; is there a solution?

Leave the tape there?

 

[dvdswan]

No racks or non OEM equipment but I'll give the tape a try. If for some reason the tape test reduces wind noise at a certain location; is there a solution?

When you find an area where the noise disappears, then you need to figure out why. i.e. If it goes away when the windshield edge is taped off, is it a bad seal on the windshield, warped molding, is a piece missing, etc. or if you tape of the passenger window seal, is the window seating in the run channel, is the run channel bad, etc.

Google diagnose wind noise. Lots of youtube stuff.

 

[CrabGuy]

Leave the tape there?

I'll give it a try, sounds like a plan

 

[sgtsandman]

There are some seals that fill in gaps between the door and the frame and the door and the rear door/extended cab frame. If one of those is chewed up or missing, you will get wind noise. There are some extra seals at the top of the door as well but I think those are more for acting like a rain gutter than for wind noise.

 

[Uncle Gump]

With highway tread... my Ranger was pretty dang quiet.

I fixed that real good by installing a set of hybrid all terrain tires.

Roof rack in the makings...

This is gonna be so much fun!!!

 

[sgtsandman]

With highway tread... my Ranger was pretty dang quiet.

I fixed that real good by installing a set of hybrid all terrain tires.

Roof rack in the makings...

This is gonna be so much fun!!!

With the KO2s, my 2011 is still pretty quiet. There is some tire noise but not much.

Roof rack, there is going to be noise. It took a while to sort out the ones on both trucks. It turned out that the ones that came with the cap for the 2011 were too wide. After reading through the recommended bar lengths, I ended up cutting about 6” off the bars and that quieted them down a lot.

The rest was getting the wind fairing width right.

 

[Dirtman]

Wind is just air that won't sit still....

 

[97RangerXLT]

My Ranger has quite a bit of wind noise, the pwertrain is pretty quiet and that is with 31" BFG KO2's

Something I noticed is if I rolled the window down and then back up again the wind noise was considerably more pronounced, but if I pressed the rubber window seal up into the door frame in the corners it is not as loud. The rubber seals aren't worn or coming apart, but they are stiff with age, so it is harder for the window to mold them.

AJ

 

[G8orFord]

On my '01, both front windows have air leaks if you don't hold them to the back as you close them. The mechanism and the wiskers are worn and the lean toward the front as they are raised. You can't really see it but it leaves enough gap to have wind noise. Hold it to the back and no wind noise. I've tried to fix it a few different ways with no success. I'm guessing all new parts is about the only way.