I e-deaded my back wall and I'm wondering if I should put the inner lner back on or not. I was originally going to leave it off to allow a little more air back there for my amp, but I'm wondering if the e-dead is going to give me the same amount of acoustic insulation as the liner did.

Anyone done this?

 

If you are referring to the thin grey carpet liner on the back wall, the edead will give you a lot more damping than that liner did. It really will not hurt a thing leaving it off.

 

Great, thanks. I taped and e-deaded the flappers too. That made a massive difference. Maybe the seat brackets will stop rusting now...

 

The only way for them to stop rusting once it has already started is to replace them. BTW I left my liner off too. It really did nothing for the accoustics of the truck anyway.

 

Can't I just grind the rust off? It's really just in the early stages.

 

You could try, But i bet it's in there deeper than you think.

 

Well, I went home on lunch and got out the Dremel with a wire brush bit and it's not going to be too bad. I'll do the best I can and spray it with Rustoleum when I'm done.

I found a thread on leaking 3rd brake lights which got me thinking that maybe that was where the water was coming from, but I pressure-tested the cab (fan on 4) and the only place that air is escaping is through the bottom of the side window gaskets, which makes sense. I sprayed soapy liquid around the 3rd brake light and there weren't any bubbles at all, so I'm hoping that the flappers were the culprit. The rust is worse right in front of them and that's also where the carpet is wet. Now that they're taped and e-deaded, I'll try a car wash and see what happens.

Yes, this is turning into a rust and water thread.

 

cool, maybe I'll get my dremel out when I get home

 

Took the rust off last night and painted the brackets with Rustoleum Hammerotone.

Before:



After:



It's been raining for about 12 hours now and everything behind the back seat is nice and dry now that the flappers are covered.

 

sweet

 

unprotected metal will rust in high humidity you know.

 

True, but the rust wasn't evenly distributed accross the brackets. There wasn't any at all on the inside brackets, and it was concentrated around the vent flaps. The carpet was dry in the middle and wet on the outside corners.

If humdity is causing the INSIDE of our cabs to rust after 6 months, then shame on Ford for leaving exposed steel unfinished.

 

yea I was surprised to find that bare metal back there the first time I pulled the seat. It was rusted some but I pulled that middle seatbelt out to make room for my amps. My kids don't sit in the middle so it's ok. I'll paint it before it goes back in.

 

Anyone know what the vent flappers are for? They must serve a purpose... I'm thinking of sealing mine up too ('07 Extended Cab).... but Id like to know if I am hurting anything....

 

Two reasons that I know of: To let fresh air in and air pressure out. They also let moisture in, causing your seat brackets to rust, which is why I covered mine. Some have covered them completrely, like I did, and others have partially covered them. If you cover them completely, you will notice that it's more difficult to close the doors. Because of this, I installed vent visors on my rear windows and I keep them cracked 1", all the time.