Like many V70 owners of this era, I've experienced more than my share of both the tailgate rattling and the trim around it. I went with the new, improved OEM solution, using metal plates, screws and new clips. The problem is the clips. They don't hold up long, and are brittle. My last solution was to just remove the interior panel and stow it in the attic.
The long, arching plastic trim above is very light weight, makes quite a bit of noise when simply scratched with a fingernail and also seems to rattle.
The third problem is with the tailgate latch. After a few thousand closings, it wears, becomes loose and rattles itself. I've wrapped the post in electrical tape, duct tape and silicone tape. It lasts for awhile, then its back to more noise.
Acousticians hate noise as much as The Grinch.
So what to do?
While cleaning recently, I found several items I'd forgotten about and they all pointed towards the rattling tailgate. I even found the inner panel while putting away the Christmas decorations. I've been removing other thorns in my rear lately, it's time for this one.
So here's what I found:
A nice big piece of thick, acoustical pad. I think this was from an old loudspeaker project. It was completely unsuitable and overkill, and thus wasn't used. It has a self-adhesive layer, a thin layer of foam, an 1/8" layer of what appears to be MLV (mass-loaded vinyl), more foam and a thin, scrim layer to protect the foam.
These thin pads have a sticky layer, perhaps some MLV and a layer of foam on top. No manufacturer ID on them. I think I bought them from a auto-shop at a steep discount years ago.
Next up is another attic find: Owens Corning Miraflex fiberglass insulation, wrapped in a pink plastic envelope. It's no longer manufactured. Encased in the bag, it was touted as being 'much easier to handle and nearly itch-free'. I noted when using it that it'll break into tiny, tiny pieces and become air-borne. My arms were a bit itchy after using it. So I'm skeptical. I've noticed that newer fiberglass is much better at not "breaking" like this and tends to remain in long threads and truly be 'nearly itch free'.
This is a very thin, dense mat made of recycled fibers. Similar material is commonly seen inside under carpets or in the trunk.
This is what I call "poor-mans MLV": Oatey 40mil PVC SPL (shower pan liner). I tried to find a local supplier of MLV, but no joy. Due to its weight, it's very expensive to ship. So the thought occured to me to try SPL as a easily available alternative. It's tough, heavy, easily cut, relatively inexpensive and can be glued. All the box stores carry it. Plus, I didn't want to add too much weight to the tailgate, thus putting additional stress on the two struts holding it up.
I also found some strips of what I think is butyl adhesive. This has the benefit of not hardening and is very useful to tack plastic pieces together that tend to SQUEEK and make noise. It's quite heavy and easily adds mass to a lighter object to quiet it down. Very good for using on something that rattles (if you can find the rattle...).
So I'm going to use a combination of these things, as well as a few more, to quiet down the tailgate, fix the rattles, reinstall the inner panel and dampen the noise from it as well. Quite a tall order given that this is the infamous rattling V70 (850) tailgate we're talking about. Hopefully you'll find something here to help you in your quest for a quieter tailgate of your own.
The long, arching plastic trim above is very light weight, makes quite a bit of noise when simply scratched with a fingernail and also seems to rattle.
The third problem is with the tailgate latch. After a few thousand closings, it wears, becomes loose and rattles itself. I've wrapped the post in electrical tape, duct tape and silicone tape. It lasts for awhile, then its back to more noise.
Acousticians hate noise as much as The Grinch.
So what to do?
While cleaning recently, I found several items I'd forgotten about and they all pointed towards the rattling tailgate. I even found the inner panel while putting away the Christmas decorations. I've been removing other thorns in my rear lately, it's time for this one.
So here's what I found:
A nice big piece of thick, acoustical pad. I think this was from an old loudspeaker project. It was completely unsuitable and overkill, and thus wasn't used. It has a self-adhesive layer, a thin layer of foam, an 1/8" layer of what appears to be MLV (mass-loaded vinyl), more foam and a thin, scrim layer to protect the foam.
These thin pads have a sticky layer, perhaps some MLV and a layer of foam on top. No manufacturer ID on them. I think I bought them from a auto-shop at a steep discount years ago.
Next up is another attic find: Owens Corning Miraflex fiberglass insulation, wrapped in a pink plastic envelope. It's no longer manufactured. Encased in the bag, it was touted as being 'much easier to handle and nearly itch-free'. I noted when using it that it'll break into tiny, tiny pieces and become air-borne. My arms were a bit itchy after using it. So I'm skeptical. I've noticed that newer fiberglass is much better at not "breaking" like this and tends to remain in long threads and truly be 'nearly itch free'.
This is a very thin, dense mat made of recycled fibers. Similar material is commonly seen inside under carpets or in the trunk.
This is what I call "poor-mans MLV": Oatey 40mil PVC SPL (shower pan liner). I tried to find a local supplier of MLV, but no joy. Due to its weight, it's very expensive to ship. So the thought occured to me to try SPL as a easily available alternative. It's tough, heavy, easily cut, relatively inexpensive and can be glued. All the box stores carry it. Plus, I didn't want to add too much weight to the tailgate, thus putting additional stress on the two struts holding it up.
I also found some strips of what I think is butyl adhesive. This has the benefit of not hardening and is very useful to tack plastic pieces together that tend to SQUEEK and make noise. It's quite heavy and easily adds mass to a lighter object to quiet it down. Very good for using on something that rattles (if you can find the rattle...).
So I'm going to use a combination of these things, as well as a few more, to quiet down the tailgate, fix the rattles, reinstall the inner panel and dampen the noise from it as well. Quite a tall order given that this is the infamous rattling V70 (850) tailgate we're talking about. Hopefully you'll find something here to help you in your quest for a quieter tailgate of your own.