Worlds worst rattle -HELP!!!

[stehanson]

Hi Guys,

As per one of my other posts, having bought the Z nearly a year ago, i'm finally starting on getting the things done that have niggled me since taking ownership! Sorry this is a bit long winded, but i'm lost.... well and truly!

One is a rattle that I just cannot trace exactly hence can't cure, it;s steadily getting worse as time goes on and is now driving me totally insane and actually ruining the experience of driving the car each time. The rattle in question is more a plastic on plastic rubbing sound, a kind of plastic friction culminating in a squeeking noise, and with the suspension being hard is always there unless the road is newly tarmacked :thumbsdown:

The area it is coming from has been traced to the following area as shown in the picture, (the flash on the phone has picked up grease marks,its not actually dirty)

However the exact spoton the panel remains a mystery, I have tried filling out the voids where the two pieces of trim meet, but it has not eased the problem and it appears to be coming from a slightly higher point as shown by the arrow in the next picture

When driving if I pull the passenger seat forward so I can get my arm behind and I grip the trim at the point where the arrow is in the next pic, and pull it towards me the rattle goes, so its deffinatly this trim area that is the problem,though its not that actual point as its where the rubber is inserted

The noise goes when the hood is dropped,I can only assume that it is around the point I have indicated which is then pushed on by the hood in its lowered position,so if anyone has had this same rattle please,please let me know what cured it, or your thoughts!

N.B. Its not the wind deflectors, its not a roll hoop, its not the lowering roof stowage shelf, its not the belt mechaniism, its not the itemin the cubby hole, nor is it anything in the centre console - it is something to do with the trim panel pictured and I believe it to be the area where the arrow is in the 2nd pic....... HELP!!!!!!!!

 

[Merrsh1]

I had a similar problem for months and convinced myself it was trim rattle and it turned out to be the rear shock mounts...

How many miles has the car done?

 

[dario]

this used to happen to mine. You might try putting the passenger seat forward and tiling the backrest forward. this used to give me room to put my arm across and press areas of the trim that i thought were causing the squeak.

once found, remove trim and stick thin felt on to one of the mating surfaces so that the plastic on plastic situation is removed.

Thats what BMW used to do the teh E85 interior trim to eliminate the incessant squeaking!!

 

[Russ59]

Mine did exactly the same, over my left shoulder.
There is a thread lurking in the archives somewhere on the subject but I cant seem to find it.

 

[trickadero]

If you remove the little ventilation grill on the right of the first picture you may find a loose wire (I think it's something to do with the roof control module) that bangs against the trim over bumps and resonates. I have a similar annoying rattle and discovered this last week, tucking the wire away removed the associated noise... I've not yet decided on how to secure it properly.

Worth a look as it was driving me mad as well! I thought it was the roll hoops for a long time which shows how deceptive the source can be.

 

[simvaughan1]

You need one of these:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/05/kaist-sound-camera/

 

[stehanson]

I had a similar problem for months and convinced myself it was trim rattle and it turned out to be the rear shock mounts...

How many miles has the car done?

Car is on 65K now

 

[stehanson]

this used to happen to mine. You might try putting the passenger seat forward and tiling the backrest forward. this used to give me room to put my arm across and press areas of the trim that i thought were causing the squeak.

once found, remove trim and stick thin felt on to one of the mating surfaces so that the plastic on plastic situation is removed.

Thats what BMW used to do the teh E85 interior trim to eliminate the incessant squeaking!!

Thats what I mentioned doing in the post,and I have the trim panel thats making the noise and pulling where the arrow is eliminates it,till I let go, however the panel is large and the actual rubbing point could be anywhere (though I think I have narrowed it to the rear area of the panel) hence the post to see if anyone else has had it

 

[stehanson]

Mine did exactly the same, over my left shoulder.
There is a thread lurking in the archives somewhere on the subject but I cant seem to find it.

I have searched but cant see anything either ....

If you remove the little ventilation grill on the right of the first picture you may find a loose wire (I think it's something to do with the roof control module) that bangs against the trim over bumps and resonates. I have a similar annoying rattle and discovered this last week, tucking the wire away removed the associated noise... I've not yet decided on how to secure it properly.

Will have to have a look at it and see - Thanks!

You need one of these:

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/05/kaist-sound-camera/

Veryhigh tech

 

[teamemmenracing]

I had a plastic rattle drive me mad for months .....
It was a loose piece in the roll bar covers .....

 

[ap208_1988]

Did you try pulling the belt connector in front of the seat so that it does not rub against other plastics? I get a major rattle from that piece unless i pull it on the seat. However, i think even when i do that the major rattle goes away but there is also a smaller one from that area.

 

[trickadero]

If you remove the little ventilation grill on the right of the first picture you may find a loose wire (I think it's something to do with the roof control module) that bangs against the trim over bumps and resonates. I have a similar annoying rattle and discovered this last week, tucking the wire away removed the associated noise... I've not yet decided on how to secure it properly.

Will have to have a look at it and see - Thanks!

Definitely worth checking, if I pulled the trim where your arrows indicated I also stopped the noise as the cable would get trapped rather than free hanging. It's quite a thick cable, like a HDMI cable diameter, hence the noticeable noise as it hits the trim. I was surprised I hadn't read about it being an possible cause when investigating rattles on the forums, I suppose it could be a quirk of my particular car but that would seem odd.

 

[stehanson]

Did you try pulling the belt connector in front of the seat so that it does not rub against other plastics? I get a major rattle from that piece unless i pull it on the seat. However, i think even when i do that the major rattle goes away but there is also a smaller one from that area.

Yes tried that as it is around that area- but didn't cure it!

If you remove the little ventilation grill on the right of the first picture you may find a loose wire (I think it's something to do with the roof control module) that bangs against the trim over bumps and resonates. I have a similar annoying rattle and discovered this last week, tucking the wire away removed the associated noise... I've not yet decided on how to secure it properly.

Worth a look as it was driving me mad as well! I thought it was the roll hoops for a long time which shows how deceptive the source can be.

Took it off but cables were tight, moved a few and still there!!

I have further traced the area its coming from to be the panel mentioned and.... the roof mechanism?- when the roof is up and the window up it's horrendous drop the window 5-10mm and its much less evident (but still there slightly) put window up and its back to un-bearable!
Drop the roof and window and it goes completely!
So it would appear its got something to do with the window being up,but since the seal is rubber im further confused!

I wonder if anyone else had found this at all?? or any ideas??? -as I say push on the panel it goes (maybe panel is then pressing on the squeeky part) ?????

 

[stehanson]

Following on from a pm received from one of the posters here is some further info relating to this problem!

Pm Sent: Mon Jul 29, 2013 7:08 pm
by trickadero

Did you make any progress on your rattle? Mine has come back with a vengance - I suggested the loose wire behind the vent - this was obviously just coninciental :S
Hi mate,


My Reply:-

Sorry I haven't replied, not been on for a bit as im so busy with work!

Mine comes and goes now, normally after the roof has been down it is gone,which got me thinking a few weeks back that it may be something to do with the roof mechanism, if I push into the fabric internally where it goes over the folding mechanism (passenger side) while driving I can almost make it go, another weird thing I have found is if you drop the window a few mm it almost completely goes, put it back up fully and it comes straight back.
The window presses on a rubber seal so its very strange as it cant be that area, so I wonder if it pushes something when right up- will have a play when I get time over next week and get back to you-will also post this in the forum for others!

Anyone got any feedback on my latest findings??

 

[stehanson]

Another pm received from Trickadero regarding his rattle which is similar to mine (but no the same) for your information if you end up with a similar rattle in the future guys ......


Cheers for the reply,

The severity of mine varies depending on the weather, I assume when it's hot the plastic trim expands and everything tightens up. I don't have the same characteristics as you regards dropping the window, it does go when I drop the hood but I think because the wind noise masks the squeak.

My suspicion is that where the trim behind the seat lips over the trim facing the roof mechanism, I don't think the join is tight and the two rub over uneven roads. I've slipped some old bike innertube into the lip to pack it out, one piece parallel with the roll hoop and one piece close to the door frame. The innertube is folded to give make it a couple of cm think. Initial impression is that this has damped the squeak/rattle down to acceptable levels (only squeaks over very rough roads), but the suns been out so much I haven't had the roof up much to check properly

Rear top mounts get mentioned a lot but looking at where they are and the trim around them I think any sound due to a failure hear would be totally different, so I don't think this is the cause in my instance.

Anyway, will see how I get on and look out for your thread revival. If I've anything of value to add I'll jump in.

 

[Georgio]

Just a hunch, but try dropping the hood to it's halfway point and then lubricate every roof joint you can see with your favourite oil be it WD40 or 3-in-1. When I first got my car it had a rattly squeak in that general area and zapping all the roof joints cured it and as a bonus made the roof operation a lot smoother getting rid of the GGNNnnnnnnuur-flap-CLuuunk I was getting as the roof went up.
Worth a try if you've never lubed the joints... :roll: