Rattle from rear nearside

[Nerys]

I am now on the last leg of getting Nerys (1964 2 Door) up to scratch and have decided to find and eliminate a rattle that appears to come from the rear nearside. It has been there for years and all previous attempts made by me and various garages have failed to identify the source. It sounds like a small loose tool in the boot floor and it sounds as if it comes from the rear nearside. I have removed the carpets, rear seats, rear panels, boot floor and all contents; there is nothing obviously loose rattling around. I have checked the number plate fitment, exhaust alignment, routing and fixing of the petrol line, handbrake cables, brake line and some electrics. The noise appears as soon as I move off, the frequency is variable and not related to engine speed; as speed increase it is drowned out by the other ambient noise. If anyone has any suggestions as to what the source might be or how I could go about tracing it I would be most grateful

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

Could be petrol pipe or exhaust mountings or a loose screw - it's up to you to find exactly what it is! Otherwise you'll just have to live with it (hence my signature)

[jothina]

try the drop links that link the dampers to the body, thats what my rattle was

john

[Nerys]

Thanks John, but Nerys is fitted with Spax gas adjustable dampers and is also polybushed all round including the rear spring pads.

[Boomlander]

Jethro had a strange rattle coming from behind the drivers door at floor level.
While fitting front seat belts I had removed the rear side trims exposing the trafficator slots and lo and behold the cover plate for the offside trafficator was rattling around at the bottom of the body aperture!
After replacing and tightening both trafficator guards I had managed to misalign the signal units by about a millimetre so when I switched them on neither would pop out of their slots until I had loosened them and refitted them precisely!
What a difference a millimetre makes! .
P.S. also retrieved about twenty assorted nuts, bolts and washers with a telescopic magnet thingy from the body and door apertures, might be worth checking for similar.

[bmcecosse]

Check the upper mounts for the dampers - some frame designs are known to crack - basic design fault.

[Trickydicky]

Has somthing fallen down inside the rear spring hanger void, accessible from inside the boot?

Richard

[Nerys]

I am beginning to think that something is trapped somewhere inside a void that I don 't have access to, but I don't think the rear spring hangers are open to the inside of the boot are they? I think that whatever it is and wherever it is I am going to have to get an endoscope to find it !!! The obvious one (!) is the fuel tank, has a stray piece of something simply dropped down the filler neck ?

[Trickydicky]

As far as I am aware the rear spring hangers are open and not closed off. The reason I suggested this is the openings are level with the boot floor so something could fall down there.

Richard

[Nerys]

Richard thanks, certainly worth checking, I'll have a look tomorrow.

[MarkyB]

What circumstances cause it to rattle, anything particular you can identify?
I managed to track down several rattles just by slapping panels in various places with the flat of my hand.
If you feel it's coming from underneath a gentle beating with a rubber hammer might do the trick.

[Nerys]

It starts as soon as I move off and is most noticeable at low speed because as speed rises other normal noises drown it out. I see what you are getting at though, I'll give that a try in the morning.

[bmcecosse]

Spring hangers are not open to the boot area...... Remove the rear dampers and take it for a short run to test them.

[kennatt]

if you do find it inside a section that you can't get ,at warm some waxoil up and flood the area ,when it hardens it will stick the loose bit up and stop the rattle.and the rust

[MarkyB]

It sounds like something mechanical if it happens at all speeds and regardless of speed.
Badly fitting wheel trims can make an annoying rattle too, as can stones or wheel nuts in the hub caps!

[Nerys]

Kennat, that's an interesting idea. The only inaccessible areas I can think of are the petrol tank and the inner cill; it can't be the offside cill because I've just had a new offside floor and cill fitted; are there any more areas you can think off?

[Nerys]

Well I've spent the afternoon with Nerys's back end up on axle stands and I've prodded, peered, poked just about everything I can. I did manage to remove about 1 + 1/2 lbs of loose rust and two large nuts from the bottom of the void between the outer panel behind the offside door and the inner panels, that's the side that recently had a new floor and cill etc. I tapped the underside of the petrol tank with a rubber mallet but no sign of anything rattling. As far as I can see that only leaves the inside of the nearside cill which I can't get at until I can afford a cordless drill because the outer cill cover is riveted on. In the mean time if anyone has any other ideas they are gladly welcomed.

[kennatt]

you can get the rivets off with a sharp old wood chisel,jut put it up against the head of the rivet and give it a hit with a hammer it will sheer the head of the rivet,and the cover will come off leaving the stub of the rivet which can then be punched out with a metal punch.no need to drill it.

[bmcecosse]

And ruin the wood chisel !

[Nerys]

Yesterday my daughter came over and I persuaded her to come for a short drive whilst sitting in the back on a cushion as the seats have been removed. She confirmed what I thought, noise emanating from underneath the boot floor. Today I removed the rear nearside (telescopic) damper and went for a short (200 yds) drive, noise still there! I'll remove the offside one tomorrow as well (got some work to do on that corner anyway) and repeat test but not holding out much hope! Still open to ideas for diagnosis and/or source.