How to find a buzz / rattle in car?

**Spiney** · 07-29-2012, 03:29 AM

Ur 96 SVT Cobra is in excellent condition except for 2 annoying rattles. 1st there was an in the dash buzz at 45mpg-up. Now there just started a rattle from say 20mph-up. Both appear to be in/under the dash though the buzz could be firewall. Car has 43K miles always garaged, never wrecked or abused. Any tips on how to find these? Thanks, Dave

**BillE** · 07-29-2012, 07:28 AM

I can only sympathize with you...those are real bear to locate.

Start feeling around, kinda shacking things, loose screws, metal 'touching'. It will probably take awhile to find.

Good luck...

Bill

I went thru this one the wifes' car took over a year to find. Was a heat shield that was just a tad deformed. Just enough that at 1500RPM, you'd get a buzz.

**The Moose** · 07-29-2012, 08:15 AM

Have someone else drive it while you listen, feel and look for what is making the noise. Sometimes makes it easier. You may also want to try on a mustang forum, I'm sure this is a common thing over there.

**Finemess** · 07-29-2012, 08:22 AM

Rubber mallet, tap on tires and nearby metal, see if you can make it do it. It helps to have a friend listen too.

**daveinsweethome** · 07-29-2012, 09:39 AM

check under the cowl at the windshields base. i found a japanese grape soda can there once.

**dougaross** · 07-29-2012, 09:50 AM

It could be some under the hood that sounds like it in the dash. I had Subaru and it was exhaust header heat shields

**The Moose** · 07-29-2012, 10:53 AM

Considering the make and model of the vehicle ... id say the problem is probably the engine and he should have gotten a camaro.

**oldmodman** · 07-30-2012, 02:10 AM

I had an annoying buzz/rattle that would come and go.

It was a harmonic that only happened while going through 37mph, both up and down.

So I hired a neighbors daughter to find it. She was 8 years old and tiny for her age. Took about two hours for her to track it down. She crawled under the dash, under the seats, front and back. And even rode in the trunk. I found a long street in an industrial area that was shut down on the weekends and just drove back and forth going from 35 to 39 and back.

She had an orange crayon and I had her mark where she was able to stop the buzz by grabbing the part, or pushing on a panel. She found three places and I fixed the buzz by welding a poorly welded panel in the trunk, and spreading panels behind the dash apart with a plastic pry bar and putting thick pieces of flannel between them.

I paid her $40.00 and her mom told her she had found a career, since it was more than she was making.

**JBL** · 07-30-2012, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by oldmodman

So I hired a neighbors daughter to find it. She was 8 years old and tiny for her age. Took about two hours for her to track it down. She crawled under the dash, under the seats, front and back. And even rode in the trunk. I found a long street in an industrial area that was shut down on the weekends and just drove back and forth going from 35 to 39 and back.

This is brilliant and hilarious at the same time.

Provided you can't find an 8 year old to do this, make sure to start simple. I know it's easier said than done, but I'll bet people spend millions every year chasing down gremlins and fixing things only to find it's something simple.

Check any place where rubber protects the car, like your gas door or around the license plate (I can't stand that incessant rattle on peoples' cars with the mega-bass stereos....$4,000 to go deaf and you didn't spend $0.39 for rubber grommets on your license plate?)

Check the thing that holds the hood up, check to make sure the air filter box is closed and latched all the way around. Look to see if you've got loose change vibrating on some metal somewhere inside of the car.

Like I said, some of them sound stupid, but I watched a guy spend $2,000 chasing a problem down that was a bad fuel cap in the end. Lesson learned...the hard way. Always start free/cheap.

**Spiney** · 07-30-2012, 09:04 PM

Originally Posted by The Moose

Considering the make and model of the vehicle ... id say the problem is probably the engine and he should have gotten a camaro.

Ha ha, the Cobra engines are built in a total separate facility. They are built from hardened components, balanced and blueprinted, and hand assembled by a two man team who then signs and serialized them. It may be many things, but it's not the engine.