Losing my mind trying to find "The Rattle"

adamnitti · adamnitti's Garage

I absolutely for the life of me cannot figure out what is rolling around somewhere behind my front seats. It sounds like a nut or bolt is loose and rolling around as I make sharp turns.

1. It is not anywhere on the floor boards.
2. It is not anywhere under the rear deck. (I removed it to see)
3. It does not appear to be anywhere in the engine compartment.
4. It does not seem to be coming from the underside of the car.

Here are the only things I can think of:

1. Is there a space or void underneath the rear seat cushion bottoms that could harbor a bolt?
2. Could a nut or bolt that attaches the rear tail to the decklid get lodged between the inside of the tail and the lid?
3. Could the inertia seatbelts be making a noise like this?

Does anyone have any ideas? This drives me crazy when I drive through twisties!!!!!!!!!!

Mifintifin · 03-06-2002, 06:42 PM

Probably in the floor channel where the shift tube and stuff are. Take off the access plate under the carpet at the rear of the "hump" in the back floor. Try fishing around with stick magnet to find it. Those kinds of things drive me crazy to!

Mifintifin

82 SC Coupe
83 SC Cab

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

I had a piece of a window regulator (Thanks John Walker!) rolling inside my door. It drove me nuts for the better part of a year every time I cornered hard or stopped quickly.

Remove most of the door panel, carefully pull back the vapor barrier, then fish around.

Don

LeeH · 03-06-2002, 07:55 PM

I had a used '85 RX-7 when I was in college. Same thing... always the sound of something rolling around. Drove me nuts.

After several years of ownership I was cleaning the car up to sell and noticed their was a small box built around the hatchback release mechanism. I felt inside and pulled out a golf ball! ARRGGHHHH!

turbo dave · turbo dave's Garage

Try gently pulling up on the handbrake lever when you are driving- if the sound goes away (even temporarily), you might have what I had: a broken plasic hanger for the handbrake cable at the rear wheel. Would just rattle like crazy, and a super easy fix.

chuckr · 03-07-2002, 03:43 AM

It is kinda funny you bring this up now, I just found a rattle in my car that I have been chasing for weeks ! It was the support tube for the rear deck latch cable.This is a metal tube inside the right rear wheel well almost at the top of the wheel well going to the latch from the pull handle inside the driver door jam.One other thought... have you looked under the shift coupler access between the rear seats ? Good luck !

rob911 · rob911's Garage

Check the void under each saet mount rail, I found two pencils 37 pence in small change and a very hairy boiled sweet when I changed my seats.
Oh and several washers, nuts and dog hairs

expat · 03-07-2002, 06:26 AM

So Rob, you can't leave us with that - what flavour was the sweet

Cheers
Mark

rob911 · rob911's Garage

The nearest I can describe it was "like a dog's bo***cks", but even the dog spat it out

adamnitti · adamnitti's Garage

guys, i just spent 3 hours trying to find this noise. i checked all of your suggestions... still can't seem to figure it out!!! i even took the rear tail off to see if there was something loose under the grilles. i fished around the tunnel with magnets, i took the rear deck off again, i looked in all the seat rails, etc. does anyone have any other ideas?

Bill Douglas · 03-07-2002, 04:02 PM

Adam, my contribution: Find a nice empty road, get a passenger with a good ear, drive at 60mph, put the car in nuetral (sp), turn the key off - but be carefull not to put the steering lock on, and get the passenger to clamber around the car with their ear to the floor etc while you weave around tying to recreate the noise. If you don't find the rattle it still could be fun.