Hood Insulation Restoration DIY

IDK if anyone may or may not find this interesting or useful but I took pics of it throughout the process of me restoring the hood insulator pad on my 97 Tacoma. Only certain optioned trucks and 4runners from years 95-2000 had these so they are pretty rare, and hard to find used in any kind of half decent shape. As most of you may or may not not know this part is discontinued and the OEM ones on Ebay fetch around $350 and aftermarket ones don't exist. So instead of buying a new one I figure I would fix it up for less than 20$ aprox.

MATERIALS YOU NEED:
CRC Spray Glue
A scissor or razor blade
Flower Bed Filtration Fabric


1.The first thing I did was I removed the insulator and sprayed it with a de greaser and gently scrubbed it with a soft bristle brush. Then I pressure washed it gently making sure I didn't wreck it any worse than it already was.

2. Next step was laying out the material to re cover the fiber glass pad. I actually had the same leftover material that was originally found on these truck I believe it matches 1 for 1 so that worked in my favor. I laid the material out over the insulator and cut a big patch over it so I had room to work with it .

3. Next step is to use the CRC spray glue and spray the insulator pad itself and spray the new fabric that would be covering it. Make sure to load up both sides with glue and let them sit for a few minutes to tack up before you press them together.

4. The last and final step was to press it down and make sure to not miss any spots. I trimmed the fabric with a razor blade to properly cover the insulator. You can flip over the insulator to the backside where the holes are found and put a little hole with a screwdriver through each one that way you can reinstall the insulator to the hood with the appropriate clips.

I didn't poke holes through mine yet because I want the material to cure overnight before I do so. It is by no means perfect but looks a lot better than before.

 

Nice looks great. My 2001 doesn’t have one. Do they help with engine noise?

 

Not sure about engine noise but it helps keep the hood cooled and prevents the hood paint from fading or getting worse. This is on my project truck so I will update the thread with my review on it. I currently have a 96 4 cylinder that doesn't have one so I will have a good comparison.

 

Here’s another idea too

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oem-air-intake-hood-insulation-solution.659861/#post-23080047