Rattle from the back

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 1:50 pm

So my neon drives me CRAZY at the moment ... i can hear a terrible rattle from the back of the car.

when the windows are shut and the system up there is no problem, but when i take my grandparents out they dont like the music and insist on having the windows open.

with the window open there is a damn awful rattle coming from the rear passenger side of the car, with the window shut you can just hear it but not much. I've checked everything in the trunk and nothing there is causing the noise so im sure its coming from the outside

i know its from the back because it happens when the back of the car goes over a bump.

have spend a couple hours under the car tightening everything up and inspecting everything for tightness and noise when moving and found nothing whatsoever, even tied up the rear wheel well covers to make sure.

any ideas what it could be? im stuck for ideas

Gnuserup · Post by **Gnuserup** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 4:19 pm

Will that noise still be there if you step on the brakes ?
Changed the rear-pads sometimes ?

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:27 pm

i changed the rear discs and pads about 18 months ago.

i'm not sure if it goes away when i brake, i will try this tomorrow.

althought i have check the brakes and everything seems secured

TheDirtyBomb · Post by **TheDirtyBomb** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:22 pm

If your drop springs are progressive then its possible that the rattle you are hearing is them clanking together. My tokico springs that came with my illuminas are progressive and they rattle together over some bumbs.

It could also be your top hats are going out since you dont have them on aftermarket struts.. Make sure your strut assembly(strut mount nut) is torqued down properly. I had forgoten to torque it down once and it was clunking over the smallest bumps.

Also check all your rear bushings for cracks or wear.

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:24 pm

^I'm thinking tophats too

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:25 pm

I never even considered that it could actually be the suspension itself

i didnt think it would be the spring as it only happens on one side.

when you say Tophat ... is that the same as a strut mount like this:

C1DoG · Post by **C1DoG** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:27 pm

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:40 pm

awesome, i guess its easier just to take the assembly off and have a look at which part looks like sh*t

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:28 pm

I would think the top hats would be fairly audible on the inside too. Most things that are touching the body will transmit noise quite well.

You could check with the rear seats down to see if it sounds like it is from the trunk area.

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 2:40 pm

I have found the problem.

it is the rear suspension

when i took the rear strut assembly out i could move the spring around freely without having to compress it.

OB · Post by OB » Mon Aug 29, 2011 2:44 pm

That could be because once the load is off of it, the spring is too short to fit snugly between the top hat and perch of the strut. This would make sense that it would make noise going over bumps that cause the suspension to unload. The only real fix is new springs.

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 3:53 pm

When i look at the front suspension the springs were tight between the strut perch and the top mounts.

I guess the rear spring has sagged .

i guess i deserve it for buying British Made not American Made

OB · Post by OB » Mon Aug 29, 2011 3:56 pm

Not necessarily, the front spring/struts are shorter than the rears, and are also higher in rate. When I had my TEIN/Tokico HP setup on the car, I could remove the rear springs without a compressor, since they were so short and relatively soft. The front were tight within the strut and required a compressor. Totally normal on these cars.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:24 pm

I installed all 4 without a compressor. Granted, the fronts were a bit nip and tuck, but doable. (Twice even)
Safety note:
Removing the stock springs does require a compressor!

Check also to see if the spring didn't break at the last part of the coil. My Eibachs both broke on the front, one top, and one bottom coil. The bottom wasn't so noticeable at first. After I took it apart, I then understood why the car sat level.

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:14 am

i did give the springs a thorough checking over and they seemed ok apart from a little surface corrosion.

although ... i think the strut might be sticking a little coz when i compressed it by hand it was a bit jerky when extending

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:57 pm

Gnuserup wrote:Will that noise still be there if you step on the brakes ?
Changed the rear-pads sometimes ?

I finally got round to doing some research.

i had a friend hanging out the back window down the bumpy roads and he says it's definately coming from the rear wheel somewhere.

and i also discovered that yes the noise disappears when the brakes are applied ???

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 6:27 pm

If the noise stops when the brakes are applied it's not your strut that's making the noise. Nine times out of ten that would be bad slides on the rear caliper. However the top strut mount in the rear will clunk on almost every neon if it's not filled.

JeffM · Post by **JeffM** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:33 pm

LilSparkPlug wrote:If the noise stops when the brakes are applied it's not your strut that's making the noise.

+1

There was also a post over on SRTforums about the rear pad clips coming loose and allowing the pads to bounce around. Take a look at the clips that hold the pad in. If one is broken, it may allow just enough room for the pad to go Free Willy.

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 12:56 am

about the pads- replacing the rear pads and getting new tophats when my Stage 2's were installed got rid of the noises from the rear of my car that had been infuriating/embarassing me for years.

Donkeypuncher · Post by **Donkeypuncher** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:02 pm

Rear drum brakes FTW.

DodgeEvo · Post by **DodgeEvo** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:20 pm

When you are driving and you hear it over a bump, did it sound like if the exhaust was rattling or hitting something. The reason why I ask is because after reading this post I have the same thing. Its when a going down a bumpy road or backing up some times. Not as much anymore since I took my rear strut bar off.

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:52 pm

DodgeEvo wrote:When you are driving and you hear it over a bump, did it sound like if the exhaust was rattling or hitting something. The reason why I ask is because after reading this post I have the same thing. Its when a going down a bumpy road or backing up some times. Not as much anymore since I took my rear strut bar off.

yes it does sound like the exhaust is rattling, however, i have been underneath and checked the exhaust and its all secure, also you can move it around by hand about 10x more than it would move normally and it dosen't hit anything

DodgeEvo · Post by **DodgeEvo** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:11 pm

Ya am having the same problem as you. That's what it sounds like to be not it isn't.

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:53 pm

since doing the testing yesterday im sure that its from something in the rear brakes.

i go on vacation for 2 weeks on monday and i doubt ill get a chance to look before i go but ill have a good going over when i get back.

in the meantime ... if you find anything let me know

DodgeEvo · Post by **DodgeEvo** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 5:49 pm

Ya I will.

Spanky · Post by **Spanky** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:24 am

I have this problem from my rear pass. strut.The top hat is a bit loose and it moves around.Its a very common thing with neons and everyone i have been in with stock strut mounts has had this problem.

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 1:25 pm

LilSparkPlug wrote:Nine times out of ten that would be bad slides on the rear caliper

Can someone please elaborate on what the slides are?

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 2:11 pm

Either the pins the caliper slides on, or the part the pads slide in. with either, the rattle will disappear with brake pressure.

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 5:42 pm

cant see anything wrong with the pads, especially the clips that hold them into the caliper

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 5:16 pm

had a closer inspection at the weekend and found the problem to be the brake pad after all

it was the pad that goes into the caliper piston, the 3-clips were worn and the pad could spin in the bore of the piston causing it to knock against the caliper and other parts.

i managed to bend the clips out to hold it in better and now the noise seems to have gone