Hey guys, long story short:

I've got water leaking from the cowl in front of the windshield on my 96 Blazer and am going to pull the carpet (lots of mildew smells), find the leak and replace the carpet. My question is, what is under the carpet? Is there some padding that may also be damaged that I should also replace with the carpet? If so, where do I find it? Just use Dynamat?

Thanks guys.

 

You should find some padding/deadener attached to the carpet itself. If the carpet is moldy, it will be too. There is also, usually, something similar to dynamat in places. It should be ok. Personally, if I were going to all the trouble of replacing the carpet, I would use a dynamat like product, as well as some mass foam and vinyl barrier. BTW, everyone has their preferences, but I like the second skin products for deadening. I especially like Spectrum, a liquid deadener that replaces dynamat.

 

yes carpet on crappy pad.

aslo the "deadener" mentioned above (factory crap) looks like baked roof shincles with no sandy bits (read as: tar plates) they are a PITA to get off, but if you do, herculine the inside and never worry about moisture again

 

Thanks guys. I'll look into that stuff. Whats the best place to get it?

 

Your pad is probably jute. Personally I like the stuff. It's pretty heavy and does a good job of killing road noise and heat. Something under that and the carpet would really quiet things down. If you get the carpet from some outfit like LMC it already has a jute backing. GM has been using the stuff for years. Not sure on yours though.