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i have noticed lately that my car is full of rattles. its probly a stupid question, but their driving me nuts, does anyone know possibly where they could be coming from, like key areas they could be coming from, i just wanna get them all tightened up.

thanks

well it is a neon..

but seriously where does it sound like theyre coming from? would be easier for someone to tell you what could be causing the rattles.

Yeah need to know where the sounds are coming from... Neons are pretty well known for dash and sunroof rattle if thats where it's coming from.s

- This might sound obvious - But is your glove compartment or center full of stuff ? stuff in there could be rattling

Diablo0 wrote:Neons are pretty well known for dash and sunroof rattle if thats where it's coming from.s

You can say that again!

J8t4m wrote:- This might sound obvious - But is your glove compartment or center full of stuff ? stuff in there could be rattling

So true. 4 bangers make noises.

long time ago i read somethin on the other org about the steering column area getting a bad rattle, and sure enough, mines had one since like 2000 miles. gets worse and worse. my gf's neon does it too, and im pretty sure most other ones have this common neon rattle.

a stock neon will rattle but not half as bad as a modded one. my exhaust makes EVERYTHING vibrate, and it makes exisitng rattle sound like a train is passing by when they act up. CAI gives off some vibrations too when you get on it.

its a neon. not only that, its a low budget economy car, and you get what u pay for in terms of comfort/luxury. If anyone knows of a way to fix the steering column rattle that would be sweet cuz it does get annoying.

oh yeah and check for stuff like pens and other metal objects in the door storage places too, and in the cupholder/changeholder area. the silent vibrations from the car will get super noisy if you have anything that can jumble around a bit.

ya mine rattles like heck too, partly because of my subs, other part because its a neon. this summer im gonna try to put some foam on the back of all the panels where they make metal contact and try to reduce most of the rattles. i havent installed my new exhaust yet but im assuming it will rattle too. ill just get some jlm hangers for that and problem solved.

lol i keep my car spotless, the only thing in my centre console is a bottle of lacoste, the pockets in the doors have nothing in them and the only thing in my glove box is the owners manual and my insurance info.

the rattles sound like they are coming from the rear of the car...there IS one in the sunroof im taking car off but these sound like their coming from the very back maybe trunk...

also sometimes i hear a pop when i turn the wheel left, has anyone experienced this before?

I hear rattles around my back seat when I have my system up, the seat moving i think

and my steering colum...and dash, mostly that because of the motor mounts in low RPMs

but either way, I dont concern myself w/ them too much, since after all, rattles are a neon thing. They all have them.

I used to have a rattle from the rear of my car that was pretty loud. I got out of my car and found out that it was the trunk. There are 2 springs on the trunk hinges that you can rehook to a hole further up the hinge. I did that and my trunk no longer attacks me when I am parked on a hill and the rattle from the rear of my car is mostly gone.

only rattels i have are some were in the passinger side dash sounds like somthing to do with a fan. and when im going above 75 mph my steering wheel rattles quit a bit.

mine comes mainly from the sunroof... maybe the passanger A pillar... who knows.

I just turn the stereo lauder

Mine rattles and sqeeks cuz of body flex. The dash area was the frist casualty after the car was lowered. Go up a driveway at an angle, get up on two wheels high-centered, creeeeeeek snap pop. The more you stiffen the car the more rattles your gonna get. Fill your tranny/motor mounts = rattles. Lower the car further = rattles. Weld seems in trunk area = creaks and moans. Trim frame pieces for air-scoop = BIG squeeks.
You get the idea. Its not a Cadillac dude. Its a Neon. Finish and Fitment were not part of the marketing campaign...
Weld in a rollcage and add $1,000 worth of dynamat. You won't here a thing.

grambo wrote: Its a Neon. Finish and Fitment were not part of the marketing campaign...
Weld in a rollcage and add $1,000 worth of dynamat. You won't here a thing.

That's freaking sweet!

My car does n ot rattle, it shimies and shakes and moans and groans... I believe it is complaints from all the "stiffness" in her chassis... man that sounds perverted.

i forgot to mention, my ebrake rattles fiercly when i start the car up, usually goes away shortly afterwards, but its noisy as hell and if i rest my hand on it it stops. damn neons.. lol

^^ LoL

Yeah my Ebrake on my 03 did that - Annoying

My R/T doesnt rattle as bad as my 03
I think alot of it has to do with the fact its garage kept - so the interior peices and such dont get rigid from the cold as bad . . . . .

flhmfd wrote: also sometimes i hear a pop when i turn the wheel left, has anyone experienced this before?

i hear it too, I inspected the from suspention and turned out that the lower control arm ball joint on both sides had the bushing ripped so it was squeeking and poping cuz it had no greas. i sprayed it with wd40 and it went away. i could turn my wheels while stoped and no squeeks.. plus the handling was sharper and smoother.. its only a temp fix until you replace them .. i have to spray it evey 3 weeks...

half_twisted wrote:

flhmfd wrote: also sometimes i hear a pop when i turn the wheel left, has anyone experienced this before?

i hear it too, I inspected the from suspention and turned out that the lower control arm ball joint on both sides had the bushing ripped so it was squeeking and poping cuz it had no greas. i sprayed it with wd40 and it went away. i could turn my wheels while stoped and no squeeks.. plus the handling was sharper and smoother.. its only a temp fix until you replace them .. i have to spray it evey 3 weeks...

thats actually good news to me...the mechanic told me they needed to be replaced so at least its not a new problem, should have that taken care of soon

My steering wheel rattles a lot around 85mph, like I'll hold on to it and my arms will shake too lol. Does this mean I need to balance the tires or what? I don't think it used to be this bad.

2003 Dodge Neon SXT
2.0L
Automatic

Bad rattle obviously coming from the trunk area. I keep my rear seats folded down because no one ever rides with me and I have my subwoofers pointing towards the front of the vehicle. With stereo off, blower motor off, and going over bumps in the road there is a terrible rattle from trunk. No clue as to what it is.

Also, I've noticed that the rear driver side piece of trim that goes along side the rear glass rattles near the headliner. Have not messed with that to quiet it down, but does anyone have any idea what could be rattling in the trunk? The springs seem to be really tight, by the way.

Also, there is a pop and bad, bad, bad squeak on the driver side front of my car. My dad believes it may be the transmission mount or something along those lines. I pumped the brakes every couple seconds while my dad listened outside the car. He is completely positive it is loudest on the driver side from underneath. My friend and I at first thought it may have been the struts, but the car now has four new struts and it still does it just as bad as ever.

Thanks!

Holy post resurection!

But you did it in a good way.


Were the top hats - rear and upper bearing - front replaced with the struts? Those can be a source of rattles when moving.

Yeah, I'm relatively new here and have been surfing old posts. lol I didn't even look at the post dates before I submitted. Felt dumb for a minute!

Since I didn't know top hats, rear and upper bearings existed, I'm gonna' say that I did not replace them. Haha

I know there was a rattle coming from the trunk before I did the strut swap, but I swear it has been amplified by ten! The easiest thing to do may be to get someone to ride with me while I drive down a bumpy road and they scope things out, as far as the trunk rattle goes anyhow.

Thanks!

Is your suspension stock? Struts aftermarket? I'd check the torque on the strut shaft nuts; those rattle, creak, and pop like crazy when loose. There are only strut bearings on the front top hats, and those too have been known to make some pretty strange sounds when failing. The front top-hat bearings are a very common failure too, so it's not unusual at all.

Also, since the new struts should be stiffer, any play in the mounts will be more pronounced.

There is a thread somewhere here, that shows how to fill the rear top hats with silicone or something like that, to prevent the trunk rattles.

OK, found it:

viewtopic.php?t=9606

viewtopic.php?t=18557&postdays=0&postor ... ts&start=0

There are a few spots to check for rattles in the rear.


- The car seat anchor covers on the rear deck.
- The hinge points for the rear upper seat.
- Emergency release handle on the trunk lid.
- Random wires running through the trunk lid.
- Upper part of rear bumper (more noticable with bass)
- Trunk lining, it's cheap and flexible so it rubs and vibrates.
- Door panels being loose.

I'm experimenting with velcro strips for most of these spots, which so far has worked quite well. I can get velcro by the foot dirt cheap, so it's been a cheap fix so far. The dash is going to be tricky, but I think using the soft velcro side should work nicely.

Thanks for all the new information, guys!

I think I will check out some of Donkeypuncher's stuff before I pull the struts back off. They were a pain!

First thing I really need to do is have someone ride back there, unbuckled, and climb around searching for my rattles.

Appreciate those two links, occasional demons. However, my car seems to be more a rattle than a thump. Will definitely keep all these things in mind, though.

Tomorrow I'll have my small friend climb around back there and scope things out. lol

Muchas gracias!

The easiest way is to have a friend grab or push against suspect areas while they rattle. I only listed the most common spots, I'm sure there are a few more to check. The front interior has so many places to check, it's more of a listen and search mission.