AlnCorey,
I just went through exactly the same thing.
Loud and HOT!
Do you have the dghse "hold down brackets?"
Many people dont have them. In 2 or 3 places around the dghse there are little brackets that get screwed into a plastic insert in the floor and they hook onto another little bracket-bar that is riveted onto the dghse. As you tighten it pulls the dghse down and seals it to the floor. I have 3. I replaced 2 from the JY, using a well placed screw and washer in the dghse itself because I was missing that part too but couldnt find it.
Also, the exact rubber seal for the dghse is still a dodge part. I have the number somewhere. It is not in the regular parts book, it is in the archives. I had to call multiple places to get the info. Nevertheless it is $60 or 80 dollars so i passed.
I looked everywhere for a replacement. It is basically door seal, but I couldnt find it anywhere except through dealers. No at auto body supply, auto supply, big box, online, even jc whitney didnt have it. My jeeps doorseal is almost a dead onl match so that is a good option at the JY. I actually just used for mine a $4 garage door seal over the old seal.
I replaced my carpet and the floor is thick so the extra width that comes out is a perfect match to seal the carper dowm around the dghse.
I was worried about heat issues, hence my search for oem, but it seems to be a non issue as the garage door seal hasnt melted yet!
The replacement of the carpet has made a big difference in sound and heat. I put 3 layers of felt, then a layer of foam/polyfill (from a bed or some thing I found) then an old ikea (but nice and thick) rug that i cut up as the carpet. It turned out very well. One piece and I was able to use the bound edge where needed.
I also changed out the loooooong tranny dipstick tube for a shorty. This gives a little more airflow and keeps the pass side cooler.
