Whistling Bronco Hood Deflector Fix 😎

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

Bought my wife a new ‘25 OBX. It’s our first time owning a vehicle shaped like a shoebox, so the amount of bugs on the windshield became an instant issue.

Hood deflector was the obvious fix, and I used the Ford OE model. It greatly reduced the bug issue. However, fixing one issue created another; it whistled like a SOB above 40mph. I didn’t think it would bug me, but I couldn’t stand it.

After a little testing using automotive masking tape, I isolated the source of the whistle. It was definitely the airflow on the very front edge of the deflector, in the little void between the edge and where the 3M tape sits. When I covered that with masking tape, it was quiet as a mouse.

So, I went to work finding a solution. I landed on a specific shape of weatherstripping with 3M tape on one edge. The 3M tape sits against the painted lip underside of the hood and the rubber weatherstrip wraps up around the edge of the hood deflector. Used a heat gun to warm everything up, adhesion promoter on the underside of the hood, and patience getting it to sit just right working it across.

The result looks like it came that way from the factory and the whistle is 100% gone, up to a speed of 87 mph on my test drive. (Any faster and I would have time traveled back to 1955. IYKYK)

Very happy with it. For any of you experiencing a whistle that bugs you, 9 out of 10 aerodynamics engineers recommend this solution and the 10th one is deaf.

Here’s the product I used at $12.99 for 20 feet: Weatherstripping

I have had the same deflector on for 2.5 years and have zero whistle. Very happy with it and I believe it pushes bugs/other higher up and over the windshield.

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[demos1970]

Looks great. Mine doesn’t make any whistling sound but what I do notice is when driving, the hood has a bit of movement. I didn’t notice if it did it before the installation but I need to make some adjustments.

 

[Braaap]

I also have deflector bought from Ford, self installed with no whistling, no rattling from the upper windshield caps. As for bugs, yes the deflector differently works with a noticeable deference regardless of wind tunnels results. On the negative side is it holds water and dirt, which for me is constant cleaning. Removal may be a hassle? haven't tried yet. Possible sun bleaching or fading may accrue. After 2 years mine still looks new. All people have their own personal likes and dislikes. As for me, I like the looks of the deflector on my Bronco. Good luck on whatever you decide to do and make it yours.

 

[Muffin1]

Have the same one and as others have posted no whistle and a much cleaner windshield, that's the main reason for getting it, that lack of 'rake' was a bug catcher for sure.

 

[mhtucker78]

I also have deflector bought from Ford, self installed with no whistling, no rattling from the upper windshield caps....

I have the deflector and it whistles something fierce. It sounds like it's coming from the driver's side front corner. I been meaning to see about filling the gap with something to try and deaden it. I also have a rattling in the drivers side upper caps. I think the hood deflector created that rattle because I didn't ever hear it until I got the deflector.

 

[BQuiz]

I have the deflector and it whistles something fierce. It sounds like it's coming from the driver's side front corner. I been meaning to see about filling the gap with something to try and deaden it. I also have a rattling in the drivers side upper caps. I think the hood deflector created that rattle because I didn't ever hear it until I got the deflector.

I’d suggest the weatherstripping method that I used with the stuff from Amazon. It has been perfect since I installed that strip.

for the rattling upper caps, I saw somewhere that a guy put a piece of foam under it with adhesive on one side that was just the right thickness to make the cap fit tight and eliminate the rattle.

I don’t have that issue on ours, but I would say it’s related to the redirected airflow. I notice our hood, right behind the deflector, moving around more at high speeds because of it.

 

[SkyKing]

I haven't tried it myself, so I can't disprove that they work. I'm not calling anyone a liar, but I wonder if they are wrong. And importantly, this is not important to me. But I remain in the "highly skeptical" category about these as influencing bugs on a windshield, and 100% in denial that they lead to fewer rock chips (utter nonsense). Why am I bothering to write so much? Only because it's Friday and I had a few cocktails... but:

• The manufacturers only market these as hood deflectors (they only claim it protects what is underneath from chips, bugs, etc.).
• There seems to be no supporting scientific studies available that support that they influence the likelihood of bugs hitting your windshield (and definitely not a small rock coming in at 70mph - the physics aren't even close to there).
• If there was an available study that showed they reduced the chances of bugs or rocks hitting your windshield, manufacturers would market the crap out of it. Yet... Nothing.
• Don't take this personally, but there is a natural tendency, when you buy something, to want to believe that it works.
• Us consumers can't compare our before/after experiences in a laboratory and measure the impact.
• We tend to install this after a particularly buggy start to the summer. Then we try it and judge. But bugginess and bug stickiness will vary by location, by day, by time of day, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction.
• Maybe... you had fewer bugs on your windshield that day, or days, but it is actually because bug patterns were different, and it's so hard to measure as a controlled experiment, in the real world.
• Given that every car is shaped so differently, it seems counterintuitive to expect that these shields have a similar effect for most cars, let alone the "desired" effect.
• If the hood of the Bronco had been pre-designed with this little lip in the hood, just for looks, I think people would still be adding these deflectors on top of them, just because they exist.

 

[drewski]

I haven't tried it myself, so I can't disprove that they work. I'm not calling anyone a liar, but I wonder if they are wrong. And importantly, this is not important to me. But I remain in the "highly skeptical" category about these as influencing bugs on a windshield, and 100% in denial that they lead to fewer rock chips (utter nonsense). Why am I bothering to write so much? Only because it's Friday and I had a few cocktails... but:

• The manufacturers only market these as hood deflectors (they only claim it protects what is underneath from chips, bugs, etc.).
• There seems to be no supporting scientific studies available that support that they influence the likelihood of bugs hitting your windshield (and definitely not a small rock coming in at 70mph - the physics aren't even close to there).
• If there was an available study that showed they reduced the chances of bugs or rocks hitting your windshield, manufacturers would market the crap out of it. Yet... Nothing.
• Don't take this personally, but there is a natural tendency, when you buy something, to want to believe that it works.
• Us consumers can't compare our before/after experiences in a laboratory and measure the impact.
• We tend to install this after a particularly buggy start to the summer. Then we try it and judge. But bugginess and bug stickiness will vary by location, by day, by time of day, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction.
• Maybe... you had fewer bugs on your windshield that day, or days, but it is actually because bug patterns were different, and it's so hard to measure as a controlled experiment, in the real world.
• Given that every car is shaped so differently, it seems counterintuitive to expect that these shields have a similar effect for most cars, let alone the "desired" effect.
• If the hood of the Bronco had been pre-designed with this little lip in the hood, just for looks, I think people would still be adding these deflectors on top of them, just because they exist.

No, some do promote protection of the windshield. See Bugflector and below. AVS Bug Deflectors Comparison

 

[allagash24]

No, some do promote protection of the windshield. See Bugflector and below. AVS Bug Deflectors Comparison

I think his point was the lack of actual scientific data or evidence of their effectiveness. What you posted is just a description from the manufacturer.

 

[SkyKing]

No, some do promote protection of the windshield. See Bugflector and below. AVS Bug Deflectors Comparison

This says nothing about changing the airflow. It is only referring to deflecting a direct hit to the big screen. You could make the same argument that your entire front grill and hood have the same effect. They choose their words carefully.

 

[Jazer]

I haven't tried it myself, so I can't disprove that they work. I'm not calling anyone a liar, but I wonder if they are wrong. And importantly, this is not important to me. But I remain in the "highly skeptical" category about these as influencing bugs on a windshield, and 100% in denial that they lead to fewer rock chips (utter nonsense). Why am I bothering to write so much? Only because it's Friday and I had a few cocktails... but:

• The manufacturers only market these as hood deflectors (they only claim it protects what is underneath from chips, bugs, etc.).
• There seems to be no supporting scientific studies available that support that they influence the likelihood of bugs hitting your windshield (and definitely not a small rock coming in at 70mph - the physics aren't even close to there).
• If there was an available study that showed they reduced the chances of bugs or rocks hitting your windshield, manufacturers would market the crap out of it. Yet... Nothing.
• Don't take this personally, but there is a natural tendency, when you buy something, to want to believe that it works.
• Us consumers can't compare our before/after experiences in a laboratory and measure the impact.
• We tend to install this after a particularly buggy start to the summer. Then we try it and judge. But bugginess and bug stickiness will vary by location, by day, by time of day, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction.
• Maybe... you had fewer bugs on your windshield that day, or days, but it is actually because bug patterns were different, and it's so hard to measure as a controlled experiment, in the real world.
• Given that every car is shaped so differently, it seems counterintuitive to expect that these shields have a similar effect for most cars, let alone the "desired" effect.
• If the hood of the Bronco had been pre-designed with this little lip in the hood, just for looks, I think people would still be adding these deflectors on top of them, just because they exist.

I put one on mine because I had a big rock hit my windshield, cracking it, that this deflector likely would have protected against. It skimmed the front edge of the hood just enough that it would have hit that lip and deflected away (most likely). However I definitely don't think the wind flow change will do anything against rocks. It definitely helps with bugs. Less across the entirety of the windshield and the ones that do hit are more towards the top 1/3rd. I noticed a difference immediately after install.

 

[drewski]

I think his point was the lack of actual scientific data or evidence of their effectiveness. What you posted is just a description from the manufacturer.

Yes, which refutes the claim that manufactures only claim it protects what is underneath. I understand there is no presented evidence of effectiveness. MY point is his first statement was incorrect.

 

[drewski]

This says nothing about changing the airflow. It is only referring to deflecting a direct hit to the big screen. You could make the same argument that your entire front grill and hood have the same effect. They choose their words carefully.

I am not saying anything about the effectiveness of the deflector or how it works. I am saying your first statement is wrong. They are not just claiming to just protecting what is underneath the deflector but that it helps "shields " the windshield.

 

[SkyKing]

I am not saying anything about the effectiveness of the deflector or how it works. I am saying your first statement is wrong. They are not just claiming to just protecting what is underneath the deflector but that it helps "shields " the windshield.

That's fair. I should have written that any object in front of your windshield can deflect something (including you hood, grill, lights etc). They could deflect things into your windshield too. You could put a giant piece of plexiglass up and deflect everything. But I don't see anything supporting that they redirect the airflow in a way that reduces chances of something hitting your windshield.

so I am suggesting the deflectors only have an effect on objects that hit them directly, But no effect in the trajectory of the objects in the airflow above or below them. Which means a 1" deflector is only affecting about 1/24 of the objects that might hit your 24" tall windshield.

So even if it was even 50% effective, which is probably very generous, you would see a 2% reduction in bugs.

so they protect what's under them and deflect things that they hit. Needs to be on mythbusters.

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