Rattles and clunks can come from the darndest places (1 Viewer)

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rattles drive me a bit nutty and when I can't find them its even worse.

if your chasing a rattle that you just can't track down, try this.

cut 2x 3"(or so) pieces of 5/8th(or so)heater hose. (you can trim them down latter if it works)(or use smaller or larger hose as you need may be)

open the hood, place a hose under each of the hood hinges, so they sit in the rain chanel on the body side, close the hood.

drive and see if any of those crazy rattles are gone.

For me, this worked on all my 40 series.

on my 45LV, I have has this thing for 13 or so years, its always had a "clunk" under the driver floor or the trany hump, for years I checked and messed with stuff, it really sounded(and you could feel it) like the 3 on the tree linkage was hitting the floor under my foot, everyone(mechanic's included) that has been in it agree'd....it had to be under the floor. I can't tell you how many times I tried to adjust or do something to try to make the linkage not clunk(even though there was no real obvious spots it seemed to be rubbing or clunking)

So last summer I put a OME suspension on it, part of me hoped(but knew better) it may take care of the "clunk" it didn't, but it did get rid of a bunch of other little rattles and stuff. I was aware the hood hinge(pins) were a little loose but the hood didn't move or rattle, had new bumpers, rubber and hold downs.

One day(after I had burned my knuckles again from messing with linkage) for no real good reason I put a piece of hose under the hinges........and the clunk went away, its GONE GONE GONE GONE!!!! and its still gone :) (got 3000 miles on it since, still no noise)

on my 82 fj40, its all original and never has had many rattles but last year a "clunk" also started under the tranny hump, I looked and nothing I could find under it seemed to be causing it. Few weeks ago I redid all the window felts/rubbers(but not the door to body seal) and readjusted the doors, those rattles were now gone., now it was time to find the "clunk" Odd part was it didn't make noise when I would 1st drive it it, but it did if I parked it for a short time((but was still warm) and then drove again........how odd is that? then I remembered a few year ago I had another odd noise(sounded like a bad speedo cable) that only started after the 40 had warmed up, in that case it was the hood hold downs, they were new but I forgot to put new bumpers on the body, new rubber and the noise was gone. It seemed that the springs once they were warm....got looser and started to make this crazy noise in the cab, it was like something coiling and uncoiling(and speed, gear etc wouldn't change it)

So back to the floor clunk in the 40.....this morning I cut 2 pieces of hose, put under the hood hinges(which were not worn out or loose) and guess what? the clunk under the tranny hump is gone :)

on the 45LV I did a similar trick on the door limiters, they were the last of the rattles I had, I took some hose, split it and slipped it around the rod so when the door is closed the rod is now covered in rubber and doesn't rattle. I need to open up the doors again and this time I will just slip the hose over the rod(and not split it)

my 100 series has more rattles now than my 40/45's :) (but i cured a few of those too)

if this helps great, if not thanks for reading.
 
Wow!!!! I have had a clunk in the floor of my Troopy for some time now. Did all the normal things, thought for sure it was worn out spring bushings. It does it in sweeping long turns left to right and right to left. I do feel it in the floor. So I guess the front hood/body is shifting on the front clip? Makes sense. I will try the heater hose and report back. This will make my day as I too hate rattles and noise!
 
I have the same clunk and have been going out of my mind trying to track it down. Thanks for the tip Landpimp! 👍
 
This gives me an idea on my T100. While driving on gravel roads there is a tapping, rattle noise in the cluster area, noticed it some on the wifes 80 series too. I thought it was the plastic wiper trim piece rattling on the windshield, we had a Forester where the piece was cracked and made noise against the glass, but my truck piece is solid. It sounds like your keys banging on the plastic ignition surround, but they are not. Does not change with tension on the steering shaft, unlike my FJ60 which clunks through the slip joint in the steering shaft in the dash. Now you have me wondering if it is the hood hinges. The T100 does not have assist springs on the hood, just small hinges, drivers one being in the area I hear the clunk. I wonder if it is a similar scenario, now how to pad that on a T100.

Great tip for a 40 body, my hood hinges bounce up and down hard at times.

Here is a weird mystery I cannot solve. 84 FJ60, 250K miles, stock, stock, needs some TLC. When you get in, the springs off course move with your weight, you can even shake the truck. You push the clutch in, start it, it revs up with high idle and choke. Can be anywhere from a couple seconds to many seconds later, maybe even a minute, there is a loud twangy thump and a feeling under the drivers footwell. It feels like a large spring loaded item comes undone. It is a heavy sound, not tinny, but solid and can be felt. Never feel it while driving, but it does sometimes re-occur after shutdown too. I cannot find anything loose, beyond reason, leaf spring is good there. I wonder if there is a spring in some EGR valve that has that much force to pop after the truck runs a second, but that is all mounted to the engine. Maybe it too is a hood hinge shift? Very weird, though, done it for years.
 
This gives me an idea on my T100. While driving on gravel roads there is a tapping, rattle noise in the cluster area, noticed it some on the wifes 80 series too. I thought it was the plastic wiper trim piece rattling on the windshield, we had a Forester where the piece was cracked and made noise against the glass, but my truck piece is solid. It sounds like your keys banging on the plastic ignition surround, but they are not. Does not change with tension on the steering shaft, unlike my FJ60 which clunks through the slip joint in the steering shaft in the dash. Now you have me wondering if it is the hood hinges. The T100 does not have assist springs on the hood, just small hinges, drivers one being in the area I hear the clunk. I wonder if it is a similar scenario, now how to pad that on a T100.

Great tip for a 40 body, my hood hinges bounce up and down hard at times.

Here is a weird mystery I cannot solve. 84 FJ60, 250K miles, stock, stock, needs some TLC. When you get in, the springs off course move with your weight, you can even shake the truck. You push the clutch in, start it, it revs up with high idle and choke. Can be anywhere from a couple seconds to many seconds later, maybe even a minute, there is a loud twangy thump and a feeling under the drivers footwell. It feels like a large spring loaded item comes undone. It is a heavy sound, not tinny, but solid and can be felt. Never feel it while driving, but it does sometimes re-occur after shutdown too. I cannot find anything loose, beyond reason, leaf spring is good there. I wonder if there is a spring in some EGR valve that has that much force to pop after the truck runs a second, but that is all mounted to the engine. Maybe it too is a hood hinge shift? Very weird, though, done it for years.
That's not a broken drivers side engine mount, is it?
 
I found the same loud, annoying rattle on my '76 FJ40 last year. Got out of the vehicle while it was running and opened the hood to see where the sound was coming from. Turns out the loose hood hinge pins were causing the back of the hood to knock around on the cowl. I ordered a set of custom hinge pins from @SMG, they'll be going on my '71 FJ40 build.
 
On the 60, The only spring I can think of is on the manifold for the flap that opens, cant remember the name of the darn thing...but there is a coil spring that opens and closes it.

Great tip for a 40 body, my hood hinges bounce up and down hard at times.

Here is a weird mystery I cannot solve. 84 FJ60, 250K miles, stock, stock, needs some TLC. When you get in, the springs off course move with your weight, you can even shake the truck. You push the clutch in, start it, it revs up with high idle and choke. Can be anywhere from a couple seconds to many seconds later, maybe even a minute, there is a loud twangy thump and a feeling under the drivers footwell. It feels like a large spring loaded item comes undone. It is a heavy sound, not tinny, but solid and can be felt. Never feel it while driving, but it does sometimes re-occur after shutdown too. I cannot find anything loose, beyond reason, leaf spring is good there. I wonder if there is a spring in some EGR valve that has that much force to pop after the truck runs a second, but that is all mounted to the engine. Maybe it too is a hood hinge shift? Very weird, though, done it for years.
 
New pins(or hinges)would be the correct cure. But on my 45lv, it was painted right before I got it and hate to tear up the hinges and repaint(not sure what color white it is)

On my 82 fj40...the body has never been apart and the paint is originally and in great shape...again I dont really want to remove them to replace the pins.

So my hose fit will be staying



I found the same loud, annoying rattle on my '76 FJ40 last year. Got out of the vehicle while it was running and opened the hood to see where the sound was coming from. Turns out the loose hood hinge pins were causing the back of the hood to knock around on the cowl. I ordered a set of custom hinge pins from @SMG, they'll be going on my '71 FJ40 build.
 

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