...suspected, most road noise comes from the doors. someone here suggested removing the loose tools from the back. that helped a lot,too :)
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cleaned out the crankcase ventilation nipple on the injection manafold and replaced the valve cover gasket which was rock hard. hopefully, that was the cause of higher oil consumption (1qt/700mi @3300 rpm) on the interstate..

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now i gotta save some money to get the seats redone...