Thread: Help... Rattle!

Check engine and gearbox mounts, radiator/ intercooler mounts, Uni joints. All of these will develop rattles when worn/broken/loose.
Cheers Scott

Have a look at all the pipe work under the bonnet. I have seen one that the air con pipe running across the bulkhead had a loose/missing nut on a bracket

Originally Posted by ev0lution

Ok, so I have just purchased a 1994 300tdi Defender.

So I am well aware of the squeaks, rattles, clunks and moans from these, but I have a rattle that comes on around 50-60kmh, mainly accelerating or decelerating, and seems to only come on around that speed range. It sounds like an alloy plate or something loose, I initially thought it may have been the stone guards on the front wheels a bit loose, but after playing with them and eventually removing them the rattle is still there.

It sounds like its coming from the engine bay area, but all the banging and clanking with a rod trying to find it has proved fruitless.

Could it be in the diff or gearbox? It sounds a bit forward of the box tho. Any ideas? Its going to be the death of me if it persists!

I have a good mate that worked for a Ford retailer and latter became a cop FWIW.
They had this new Fairmont Gia that had a little rattle which could not be solved at the dealership.
It cost Ford thousands where they replaced everything imaginable in this car and it still rattled away on the road.
While replacing the wiring harness they found a nut tied with fishing line under the dash with a piece of tape saying. got'ya.

It is something I always keep in the back of my mind when complaints are made regarding to a rattle.

Found the front drive shaft flange bolts were loose, tightened those up and got excited thinking I had fixed the rattle, but alas, no.

Very prevalent around 50-60km/h especially decelerating and esp downhill.

Checked gearbox and engine mounts, uni joints seem ok.

I was going to say could easily be a small nut or even a coin that has fallen behind the dash....

Check the alternator heat shield, if it is loose it could be the rattle you are searching for?

Decibelcore

Originally Posted by Flipper

I have a good mate that worked for a Ford retailer and latter became a cop FWIW.
They had this new Fairmont Gia that had a little rattle which could not be solved at the dealership.
It cost Ford thousands where they replaced everything imaginable in this car and it still rattled away on the road.
While replacing the wiring harness they found a nut tied with fishing line under the dash with a piece of tape saying. got'ya.

It is something I always keep in the back of my mind when complaints are made regarding to a rattle.

My old race car mechanic was an absolute straight shooter and the lead hand at a prominent Sydney Ford dealership.
In the early nineties they had a rattle in Falcon they couldn't pinpoint other than somewhere in the B pillar area.

After lots of mucking around Ford finally Ok'd the B pillar be cut open and inside was a spanner with a little tag "you found me !"

Sounds like the same bugger on the line

He said a common one was hand fulls of nuts thrown inside the main rails, a big squirt of sound deadener inside the front of the rails and a big brake test fixed that.
He said they battled the production line 'tricks' all the time.

hi I had the same sort of rattle from my 300 tdi 110, on idle give it a few revs and see if the noise is coming from the top of the gear box transfer case area also had a good clean out inside found a few bits of broken plastic in the air con vent tunnel mine is gone thank goodness good luck