War on rattles!
05-07-2013, 11:25 AM
#1
War on rattles! I'm tired of the cheap sounding rattles, taps, clicks etc. that come from our plastic interiors. I'm starting this thread to document my attempts to remedy the situation.
My PLAN:
I'm going to buy a few yards of a Suede-like or felt material and glue it to the BOTTOM or the BACK of as much plastic as I can
. Rattles, taps, clicks etc. come from one hard surface contacting another hard surface. I'll take pics of what I do as I get to it.
First test point will be in the trunk with the two plastic cover panels, and the plastic around the rear seat belt mounting areas.
Second will be to try and figure SOMETHING out for the t-tops.
If anyone else has tried something like this let me know ASAP. This might be my weekend project
My PLAN:
I'm going to buy a few yards of a Suede-like or felt material and glue it to the BOTTOM or the BACK of as much plastic as I can
. Rattles, taps, clicks etc. come from one hard surface contacting another hard surface. I'll take pics of what I do as I get to it. First test point will be in the trunk with the two plastic cover panels, and the plastic around the rear seat belt mounting areas.
Second will be to try and figure SOMETHING out for the t-tops.
If anyone else has tried something like this let me know ASAP. This might be my weekend project
05-07-2013, 01:11 PM
#2
I found out that there is a fabric store in the shopping plaza across the street from my office so on my lunch break I just ran over there and got the supplies.
72" wide premium felt $4.99 yd
Locktite brand commercial spray adhesive $12.99
For a $20.00 investment and an hour or two of time, this is probably going to be worth it!
72" wide premium felt $4.99 yd
Locktite brand commercial spray adhesive $12.99
For a $20.00 investment and an hour or two of time, this is probably going to be worth it!
05-07-2013, 10:24 PM
#3
having gutted my interior and done the raamaudio sound deadener material to my car, i can tell you the following,
- the doors can resonate pretty good and you would want some of their bxt ii or similar to keep the sheet metal from rattling,
- the interior door handles are held to the door by a single rivet, when you get the interior door panel off you can see it. I sheet metal screw through the bracket to tighten it to the metal underneath works wonders. i had that rattle since day 1 of my 2002.
- the flat trunk area under behind the rear seats is one big resonation point. not so much a rattle but you want to stop that with some kind of stiffener or the raamaudio bxt ii.
- my driver t-top started rattling a year ago, pretty sure the solution was bending the brackets on the car downward so when the t-top pins engage to lock the t-top down to the car it is snug against the roof and that seal. previously when i turned the handle on the top to lock it in, it engaged very easy without having to push the top down a little or anything which was a good sign that it was not held snug to the car. you want to undo the plastic caps on the car were the tops lock into, you'll see a cheap shiny metal bracket already bent 90°, bend it to like 110° to snug the top. the other thing is where the tops fit under the center roof bar, you want to get some kind of shim in there to help push the top down more. some gray rtv which dries hard can be placed under the top lip of the roof bar to act like a shim and will be out of sight. you don't have to line the whole underside front to back, only the front and back corners and maybe a dab in the middle.
- also check your 3rd brake light on the spoiler, mine where the screws go through it was all cracked and was rattling around. not sure if it was audible but was close to hanging off the car by the wiring. some plastic epoxy was able to salvage it and mount it snug. also check the tightness of your door mirrors, will be able to access them when you remove the interior door panel.
- the doors can resonate pretty good and you would want some of their bxt ii or similar to keep the sheet metal from rattling,
- the interior door handles are held to the door by a single rivet, when you get the interior door panel off you can see it. I sheet metal screw through the bracket to tighten it to the metal underneath works wonders. i had that rattle since day 1 of my 2002.
- the flat trunk area under behind the rear seats is one big resonation point. not so much a rattle but you want to stop that with some kind of stiffener or the raamaudio bxt ii.
- my driver t-top started rattling a year ago, pretty sure the solution was bending the brackets on the car downward so when the t-top pins engage to lock the t-top down to the car it is snug against the roof and that seal. previously when i turned the handle on the top to lock it in, it engaged very easy without having to push the top down a little or anything which was a good sign that it was not held snug to the car. you want to undo the plastic caps on the car were the tops lock into, you'll see a cheap shiny metal bracket already bent 90°, bend it to like 110° to snug the top. the other thing is where the tops fit under the center roof bar, you want to get some kind of shim in there to help push the top down more. some gray rtv which dries hard can be placed under the top lip of the roof bar to act like a shim and will be out of sight. you don't have to line the whole underside front to back, only the front and back corners and maybe a dab in the middle.
- also check your 3rd brake light on the spoiler, mine where the screws go through it was all cracked and was rattling around. not sure if it was audible but was close to hanging off the car by the wiring. some plastic epoxy was able to salvage it and mount it snug. also check the tightness of your door mirrors, will be able to access them when you remove the interior door panel.
05-08-2013, 01:15 PM
#5
Pretty good success even though I did not use my original idea. A while back I went to Michael's and got some foam material for making gaskets for my speakers. This stuff is less than $1.00 if I remember correctly
I also used LOCTITE brand adhesive
you will need a pair of scissors a pencil and a tape measure if you are that **** retentive:
Cut the strips to length spray the back of them with adhesive and apply to the edges:
I took the hatch piece off but noticed the design doesn't allow for any "padding" as the edge is what contacts the hatch. Either way, here is a pic incase anyone needs it for reference of how these are attached:
NOW - the BEST PART!!
I made a template for the ends of the T-Tops out of paper:
Then cut the foam to fit and glued to both sides of the t-tops on both sides of the car. These are not noticeable and do not get in the way of anything:
I went for a test drive and 99% of ALL the rattles are gone! Every once in a while if you hit a decent bump in the road or twist the car with a driveway etc you will get a t-top rattle, but other than that it's quiet as can be! Don't take my word for it tho... here's the vid!!
I'm pretty excited about this. I'm also going to eventually get the Raamat like mentioned above to kill the road noise. This was well worth the hour of my time and the $13.00 I spent on materials! Let me know what you think. I might cut a bunch of this stuff up and put it in a "rattle free" kit to sell.
I also used LOCTITE brand adhesive
you will need a pair of scissors a pencil and a tape measure if you are that **** retentive:
Cut the strips to length spray the back of them with adhesive and apply to the edges:
I took the hatch piece off but noticed the design doesn't allow for any "padding" as the edge is what contacts the hatch. Either way, here is a pic incase anyone needs it for reference of how these are attached:
NOW - the BEST PART!!
I made a template for the ends of the T-Tops out of paper:
Then cut the foam to fit and glued to both sides of the t-tops on both sides of the car. These are not noticeable and do not get in the way of anything:
I went for a test drive and 99% of ALL the rattles are gone! Every once in a while if you hit a decent bump in the road or twist the car with a driveway etc you will get a t-top rattle, but other than that it's quiet as can be! Don't take my word for it tho... here's the vid!!
I'm pretty excited about this. I'm also going to eventually get the Raamat like mentioned above to kill the road noise. This was well worth the hour of my time and the $13.00 I spent on materials! Let me know what you think. I might cut a bunch of this stuff up and put it in a "rattle free" kit to sell.
05-08-2013, 06:52 PM
#6
- my driver t-top started rattling a year ago, pretty sure the solution was bending the brackets on the car downward so when the t-top pins engage to lock the t-top down to the car it is snug against the roof and that seal. previously when i turned the handle on the top to lock it in, it engaged very easy without having to push the top down a little or anything which was a good sign that it was not held snug to the car. you want to undo the plastic caps on the car were the tops lock into, you'll see a cheap shiny metal bracket already bent 90°, bend it to like 110° to snug the top.
This was f-ing genius by the way. Simple, takes less than 5 minutes, FREE and very effective!
