Help me from going insane: Most annoying rattle (1 Viewer)

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Aug 3, 2014
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Aspen
Ok I think I’m going to drive my 80 off a cliff. This rattle is driving me insane. It’s coming from outside the car towards the passenger front. It sounds like it’s an exhaust rattle and that’s what I’ve put it off as for the longest time. It’s been there forever.

So long it’s been there for two sets of shocks, coils, front end rebuild, new tie rod ends, and castor plates.

It didn’t bug me for a really long time but now it’s all I can thing about. Anyways, my exhaust was beat to hell so I just assumed it was a loose bracket, or something came loose in the cats.

Just took it in and got new cats and new brackets welded on front to back and the rattle is still there! I have zero idea what it could be now.

It isn’t there at idle, or revving in idle. It’s only there at speed. Prolly 45 or over it is and it is louder on deceleration. It fluctuates a lot with throttle input and when there is a high load it’s really not there.

What the hell could it be?! It really seems like it’s right around the passenger footwell but I can’t think of anything else that’s down there.

Any input is greatly appreciated

Thanks!
 
Does the frequency or the tempo of the rattle change with speed?
 
Also look to make sure the exhaust doesn’t touch the cross member where it goes over in the rear. That will make a rattle too
 
How about your fender flare rattling on the fender? Is the gasket thing between body and flare gone? My RR did this for months before I figured out what it was. I originally thought it was a loose shock mount.
 
I still need to plasma a section where my cats shield (or whichever & all over there) - are hitting on a slider arm(s).

I’m lazy, but I know that’s my “tinny” high-pitch rattle.

The “clunk” is my panhard bushing in the axle shell mount.

-Is yours a high pitched sound like the exh shield, or a lower “thunk-clunk” like my bushing?

FWIW, I hear my panhard bushing on PS potholes/washboard or deceleration/brake tapping coming to red lights where our state highways have 4-way stoplights, so 55-60mph down to rolling trafficjam/stops.

If you can tell if it’s high- or low- pitched, that’ll help narrow it.



It’s getting scary how well we each know our personal 80’s............yeah?
 
I have a rattle as well. Mine happens on acceleration as the vehicle passes through a certain rpm range. I had the shields removed and it toned it down a bit, but it's still there. Sometimes it does it lightly at idle, so putting the parking brake on and listening from the outside with it stuck in drive I think I narrowed it down to the muffler. Could it be possible that your muffler internals are actually rattling? That's what I think mine is.
 
I changed my headlights over to the depos and the appropriate corner lamps this weekend. While I had the corner lamp off I found the original air intake tube just sitting inside the guard. Must have been there since the snorkel was fitted. Which means they removed it, fitted snorkel and then chucked it back in there. It wasn’t really rattling around though.
 
I had an internal muffler rattle and a tail pipe section hitting the frame rattle. Both super annoying and now fixed. Every rattle I ever had was somewhere in the exhaust or heat shields.
 
I have rock sliders and the cage to protect the catalytic converter hits the cage constantly when driving. I just ignore it
 
Dash is attached by one bolt on the right side, bottom. Hold the dash still and see if the noise remains. I cleaned up the hole and put a bolt in. See if this could be the cause.
 
Dash is attached by one bolt on the right side, bottom. Hold the dash still and see if the noise remains. I cleaned up the hole and put a bolt in. See if this could be the cause.
I 2nd this. I also had the same thing cause a rattle. Also double check the exhaust, sway bar links, and the body mounts
 
Check the exhaust around your sliders. Not sure about your Slee sliders, I have WK and they are so close to the exhaust at one point that they touch on the PS when the engine is rumbling at a certain RPM. Shoved a piece of welding cloth in there...been good since.
 
It’s getting scary how well we each know our personal 80’s............yeah?

It's called personality ;)

I just taught my boy to drive in my manual 80. He now has his licence and bought a manual Subaru Forester.
He commented how easy and boring his is to drive :rofl:

I had a rattle coming from a fuse panel I installed under the dash. It was rattling against the surface I screwed it too. Putting a washer behind fuse block stopped my rattle
 
Isn't there a heat shield on the firewall, around where the A/C drain is? IIRC that was the culprit for some rattles on our '93
 
I had a rattle from the intake plumbing on that side. Some of the bits had backed off and were finger tight. At certain rpms the portion inside the fender would vibrate.
 
Once had a rattle no one could figure out, turned out to be the transmission cooler pipes which had not been routed correctly by the previous owner/mechanic, they were rubbing and vibrating against a floor panel.
 
Rock somewhere it doesn’t belong? I had a rattle on a gm truck, several rocks in the frame.
 
Check the exhaust around your sliders. Not sure about your Slee sliders, I have WK and they are so close to the exhaust at one point that they touch on the PS when the engine is rumbling at a certain RPM. Shoved a piece of welding cloth in there...been good since.

Nice never thought of welding cloth. I tried some left over fiberglass exhaust header wrap I use on my Thruxton. It doesn’t melt or burn on my Thruxton but for some reason it would melt and get brittle underneath my vehicle. Any particular welding cloth that will last without burning and breaking down over the long run?
 

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