I love my hardtop but damn it’s noisy

[danny]

I have a very good looking hardtop . After I remove it takes so long to get it somewhat quiet. What gives? I’m thinking most of the racket is coming from the steel liftgate. Should I ditch it and buy a fiberglass liftgate? I have a BC Broncos-soft top I bought last year and it’s not that quiet either . BC top is okay but I think it should have had zip out windows like boat canvas does . Any input on how to get a top that doesn’t rattle ?

 

[broncobuddha]

Two things.

Replace the OG tailgate hinges with cables. That helps a lot.

Replace the lift gate hinges with gas shocks.

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[Madgyver]

Use those little anti rattle bumpers

 

[DirtDonk]

All of the above
Depending upon your rig, you may have to do those and more.
Lots of stuff makes noise back there.

 

[spap]

Dyna mat on the roof, made it so much quiter

 

[AZ73]

Dyna mat on the roof, made it so much quiter

The whole roof, or just staggered placements ?

 

[dmoses42]

If it is at the bows across the roof, you can fold paper or soft drink (or beer) boxes and wedge it between the bows and the top sheet metal until you get it to stop. If you have a headliner, you would have to remove it to do this, but headliner R & R is easy. I've had to do this before.

 

[danny]

I think most of the noise is coming from the lift gate hardware

 

[Brush Hog]

I had some bad oil canning and random popping coming from my hard top. After replacing body mounts it went away. Think worn mounts were causing some flexing and movement leading to the noises.

 

[m_m70]

I think most of the noise is coming from the lift gate hardware

swapped hinges to cables and replaced tailgate bushings and really helped mine.

 

[ntsqd]

Maybe it's out there for EB's but I've not seen it. For Square Body Chevy trucks there is a tail gate hinge trunnion made with a big o-ring that the tail gate rides on instead of steel on steel. There are also trunnions made with a large urethane donut that the tail gate rides on. Like these: https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1975/chevrolet/truck/parts/152835.html

 

[tonytony9]

I have a very good looking hardtop . After I remove it takes so long to get it somewhat quiet. What gives? I’m thinking most of the racket is coming from the steel liftgate. Should I ditch it and buy a fiberglass liftgate? I have a BC Broncos-soft top I bought last year and it’s not that quiet either . BC top is okay but I think it should have had zip out windows like boat canvas does . Any input on how to get a top that doesn’t rattle ?

Replacing the lift gate weather stripping, weather stripping on the window frame and the quarters helped a lot in terms of noise. Do you have an older style hardtop with the anti-theft bar? I noticed rattling at this point. A few adjustments and the new weather strip stopped this. Also, the other member's posts on replacing the hinges makes a ton of sense.

 

[76YETI]

Maybe it's out there for EB's but I've not seen it. For Square Body Chevy trucks there is a tail gate hinge trunnion made with a big o-ring that the tail gate rides on instead of steel on steel. There are also trunnions made with a large urethane donut that the tail gate rides on. Like these: https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1975/chevrolet/truck/parts/152835.html

Yep, they make em... https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/early-bronco-silencer-tailgate-pivot-hinges

 

[lars]

Yep, they make em... https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/early-bronco-silencer-tailgate-pivot-hinges

...and they work as advertised. And they hold up. Mine are probably 25 years old.

Sometimes trying to quiet and de-rattle the inside of a Bronco feels like a game of whack-a-mole. Cure one squeak/rattle/noise and another one appears somewhere else, usually in such a way that the source is a mystery.

 

[scoutingranch]

Broncos were cheap noisey vehicles from new. And, the saying was and still is........."unsafe at any speed"
Oh you can hope all you want.......ain't gonna' change a thing. Oddly I still like em' Been in them since '66

 

[spap]

i covered the inside of the whole roof, keeps it cooler too

 

[danny]

I think most of the noise is coming from the lift gate hardware

That’s where I am hearing most of the rattle. I have the tailgate semi quiet

 

[Steve83]

Any input on how to get a top that doesn’t rattle ?

Find ONE rattle at a time, and kill it. Frank's was so quiet that he could have a hands-free conversation with the cruise set at 85mph, and the other person didn't even know he was calling from a vehicle - much less, an antique 4WD. We used Dynamat, carpet, custom upholstery & door panels, velour seats, and a common repro headliner to make it virtually silent inside.

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Maybe it's out there for EB's but I've not seen it. ...a big o-ring that the tail gate rides on instead of steel on steel.

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[abrogate932]

Find ONE rattle at a time, and kill it. Frank's was so quiet that he could have a hands-free conversation with the cruise set at 85mph, and the other person didn't even know he was calling from a vehicle - much less, an antique 4WD. We used Dynamat, carpet, custom upholstery & door panels, velour seats, and a common repro headliner to make it virtually silent inside.

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That interior is amazing. Great job!

 

[ntsqd]

It is interesting that everything that I've read that is official about Dynamat & similar products is almost universally ignored. They say that whole panel coverage is not necessary, yet I can't recall ever seeing anyone not do full panel coverage. Including me.