Billet Grilles That Hum

[Larry Lawton]

Ques: Why do some billet grills hum?

Ans: 'Cause they don't know the words?? <G>

Seriously, there have been some complaints about humming billet grills. Mine does it. You've gotta be going more than 75 MPH, but you can hear it. It doesn't bother me very much, what the CD's pumpin' out Garth Brooks and and the Flowmaster duals rumblin' away. On the other hand, I promised to work on it, and I am.

Now, my particular grill is from Stull Industries. So far, they've been most co-operative. The lack of timely progress has been my fault. I know I promised an update in "a few days" some time ago, and haven't posted anything, but I offer a few excuses:

1. A business trip to San Antonio stretched into an entire week.

2. On the spur of the moment, we got the chance to spend eight golden days with two delightful grandchildren in Maine.

3. Of course, everything really stacked up while we were gone. I'm almost caught up at the office, have the yard almost under control, and contacted Stull Industries this week.

Stull thinks it could be a problem with more than one Tundra grill. They've had humming problems in the past, but mostly with motor homes, where the individual billets are LONG. For those motor home grilles, they developed some sound deadning inserts that go behind the grille. Just narrow strips of notched rubber, but Stull says they did the trick on the motorhome grills.

As soon as I get these little rubber pieces, I'll try them out and report.

From e-mails I've gotten, I know some of you have been holdin' off on grille purchases while my Tundra serves as a test bed. In the next month or so, I've gotta be in Salt Lake and Houston, but I'll try to move this along.

[tacksource]

I have a Trenz grill that hummed. I fixed the problem with black silicone. Just put a few beads of it between the grill and it stops them from moving/vibrating and making that humming noise. Its a quick , easy and cheap fix. Just make sure you place the beads about every 3-4 inches and from the back, so its does not show from the front. I have had mine done this way for over 2 years , so it holds up well too.

This will fix your problem!

[B]

Thanks for the suggestion. My grille is a real hummer (starts at 65mph). Do you have any pics of how you applied the silicone?

[tacksource]

Yep mine was the same way, right about 60-65 is when the humming was the worst. Sorry i dont have any pics of it, ill see what i can do to take some pics of it as it is now.

[Larry Lawton]

Alright, you guys, come clean -- what brand of grills do you have?

I've been busy again, and am about to leave for another out-of-state trip. Stull thinks I got ahold of a very early production run, and they want to send me a whole new grille.

When it arrives, I'll plug it in and see what works.

Now, I'm taking the truck with me on this trip.

Quick! where do I put the dang silicone? Sure would like to minimize the humming all across Nevada and Utah!

[B]

I have the Stull grille.

[Larry Lawton]

B,

Is yours like mine, the old style with the solid billets, or is it the new design, which has "E" shaped billets?

[B]

Hmmm... good question, little confused... how would I be able to indentify which one?

[Larry Lawton]

Well, I have the old, solid billet style. Feel one of the individual billets on your grille. If it's made of "E" shaped stock, you should be able to feel the two indentations on the bottom of the billets.

If yours is the new style, and still humms, then maybe we need to work with Stull on a mod like adding silicone in the right places.

Though I'm not sure, I think the new style also uses more billets. Mine has only ten, top to bottom.

[B]

Well I checked and I have the old style like you.