Unidentified Rattle

[Keith Stafford]

:confused: 2.0 SRi.....For a while now I have noticed a rather annoying rattle which is proving very hard to pin down, but seems to be coming from the rear end of the car and is more of a 'solid' rattle, rather than a 'tinny' one. Only noticeable when the driver's window is down and the rear end of the car goes over any bump - definately sounds as though something is loose. I have checked and repaired the heat shield where the fixings have worn through with modified steel washers, so that isn't it. I thought it may be a loose baffle in the exhaust, but when I get under the car and vigorously shake the exhaust I can't replicate the rattle. I am replacing the exhaust in the next week but not convinced that is it either (knackered anyway). I have had the car up on the jack and wheels off, shaking, probing, tapping etc - cannot identify but, get this - if I slam the rear offside door, the rattle can just be heard. I seem to be drawn to the rear wheel hub for some reason - something hidden from view, perhaps? It's driving me mad and if I have to add to the 2.5k I've already spent in the last two months I think Hari-Kiri might be an option! Please help. :cry:

[p595tck]

Hello.
Just a quick reply, I have develpoed that same rattle on my P reg 2.0l Gls. my mechanic friend was also baffled and like you pinpointed it down to the rear drivers side drum. He took it apart cleaned it and put it all back together. Problem solved. Well for now altough i am not entirely convinced that it has solved it. Even the main dealer couldn't help. Mind you they were the ones who told me my veccy didn't have a car alarm. Untill one day i replaced my key fob battery. and found out it was alarmed. I would like to know if you find out what the rattle is though if you ever find out cheers. P595tck (Paul)

[Colin1]

For a while now I have noticed a rather annoying rattle which is proving very hard to pin down, but seems to be coming from the rear end of the car and is more of a 'solid' rattle, rather than a 'tinny' one. Only noticeable when the driver's window is down and the rear end of the car goes over any bump - definately sounds as though something is loose. I thought it may be a loose baffle in the exhaust, but when I get under the car and vigorously shake the exhaust I can't replicate the rattle. I am replacing the exhaust in the next week but not convinced that is it either (knackered anyway). I have had the car up on the jack and wheels off, shaking, probing, tapping etc - cannot identify but, get this - if I slam the rear offside door, the rattle can just be heard. I seem to be drawn to the rear wheel hub for some reason - something hidden from view, perhaps?
SRi - so that rules out the rear bearing cap, you'd only get those on drums; they can come adrift and rattle around behind the alloy capping
Doubt it's a baffle, they're all up the front of the system and the silencers at the rear would sound tinny
If you twang your handbrake cable against the rear beam, does that reproduce the noise you're hearing?
When you had the car up on the jack, did you take the disc/drum assembly off? It sounds like there's a bit floating around in there, although if anything's come adrift I'd have thought you'd feel this in your park brake
Anti-rattle device in your offside rear pads escaped?
I don't think it's something in your door - you wouldn't have to slam it to reproduce it
A few ideas to chew on

[kr1s1991]

Have you checked the suspension coil, i had a similar problem. Everytime i went over a bump i could hear a noise coming from the front wheel which sounded that something was loose, tried hitting different parts under the car to see if i could find what was loose, when i hit the wheel the sound appeared, took the wheel off and nothing seemed loose until i found a piece of the coil had broke off and was loose resting on the strut.

[DrMega]

I've got the same annoying rattle on my 1.8LSi. I think in my case there are a number of minor things that all add up to make it sound worse than it is. I know the fuel tank is on its way out because you can hear the fuel splashing about quite significantly, but no leaks so I'm going to live with that for a while. My mechanic freind bent a bracket that the exhaust is suspended from so that there is now a good inch and half clearance between my exhaust and the bottom of the spare wheel well, because the exhaust was our first suspect. Violently bouncing the back end of the car didn't reproduce the fault, which suggests the suspension is fine. I was convinced for a while that it was coming from the nearside rear wheel, and guess what: having checked my tyre pressure it was 37PSI on that wheel. Let some air out and ten times better, but not fixed. Put a passenger in the left hand side rear passenger seat, and the car sounds perfect. Fold the back seats down and it rattles like mad. My next line of investigation is whether or the door and boot hinges/latches are all solid, and whether the seats themselves are bouncing about (which my back seat passenger test would seem to suggest). Will let you know if I crack it.

[veccylad]

Have you checked the heatsheild above the rear silencer mine rattled for ages before i sussed out what it was

[tsl1200]

It sounds like the famous rear trailing arm bushes, usually worse on cornering over uneven road surfaces. You wont always be able to detect play in them, just replace em. Easy to do especially if you can lay your hands on that special tool (other wise you need to completely remove links & have the bushes pressed out & new ones pressed in).

[fixit]

i had a problem like that only coming from what i thought was under the front wheel arch not a tinny rattle but more like a heavy metal to metal rattle turn out to be a broken door pin on drivers door. also check your door lock catch for any movement.