Rattle in rear end from loose trunk shocks - Anyone else?

Jenns01TA · Sep 23, 2006

Hey guys,

Before my warranty is up (still have a little while - Bought 11/28/04 - have 14,540 miles) I need to take the Lil Stang back in to have them look at the trunk shocks. It has taken me since about Mid-05 to realize my annoying sloppy clunking sound emitting from the rear end is actually from the trunk shock mounting slopping around.

I had already taken it to the dealer October 05 and at that time the Ford Diagnostic Savants told me it was my CNC machined license plate frame rattling. Well, being a lady and knowing it was nothing in suspension or axle/gears, I simply thanked them for their time and wandered off to ponder.

In the last few months it has gotten worse, so Thursday I finally asked a girlfriend of mine at work to drive slow and careful in our Coporate Plaza parking lot for me. In full executive professional dress, I pop off the plate and frame and have my girlfriend drive as I flip down the split bench and crawl into the trunk. Although she was a tad nervous, she was a tropper. I listen for a good 10 minutes as she drives over speed bumps, parking lot to road transitions and LOW AND BEHOLD the sound seems to be coming from the sides of the trunk right where the shock assembly sits inside the trunk lip rim. So, we park and I have her pop the trunk. Sitting in the trunk I am wiggling the shocks and they are as sloppy as a well used...... Nevermind. You get the picture.

Does anyone else have this unexplained/undiagnosed sloppy popping clunking coming from the rear of their Stang? Or am I special?

bigcat · Sep 23, 2006

i have a CLANK from the rear, usually when backing AFTER parking for a while. loud metal to metal sound. have not been able to track it down, but a ford dealer swapped the e-brake cables to fix it needless to say, its still there. i will check into the shocks and see if they are tight.

my sound usually happens under a few conditions. all while backing up. either when i hit a small bump, or apply the brakes. distance is usually not the same, so i dont think its the e-brake like ford thought.

hopefully its something simple like yours. are you going to tighten them yourself to see if it goes away, or are you planning on another fiasco with the service department?

The Fang · Sep 23, 2006

Jenns05Stang said:
Hey guys,
slopping around.

Well, being a lady and knowing it
dress,
my girlfriend drive as I flip down the split bench and crawl into the trunk. Although she was a tad nervous, inside the trunk lip rim. So, we park and I have her pop the trunk.
Sitting in the trunk I am wiggling the...
... Nevermind. You get the picture.

Or am I special?

Remember that selective memory thing we talked bout.

shooterm1 · Sep 23, 2006

Jenns05Stang said:
Hey guys

Does anyone else have this unexplained/undiagnosed sloppy popping clunking coming from the rear of their Stang? Or am I special?

Yes, I've heard it emanating from there recently on an especially rough stretch of hwy that I travel daily.

hasn't gotten too bad, but @ nearly 25K miles I'm beginning to think about upgrading my rear shocks already

bat24 · Sep 23, 2006

The Fang said:
Remember that selective memory thing we talked bout.

I enjoy the jokes as well as the next guy but lets not run of Jenn I enjoy here post to much .

Infinity · Sep 23, 2006

I wonder if that is the same noise I've been chasing? I still feel mine is a poorly adjusted tailpipe, somewhere. I cannot find it, though.

APowers · Sep 24, 2006

Rattle in the back

I was having this rattle sound in the back of my car when ever I backed into a parking space. It really didnt show up unless the car had been driven a while.
I have driven a truck (F150 extended cab) for years, so the trasition to keeping everything in the trunk was different to say the least.

See I got this pickle jar I throw my pocket change into cause I dont like it in my pocket. It is wedged between my briefcase and an overnight bag containing a change of underware and such. Dealership gave me this plastic jug that they get popcorn in to use instead of the glass pickle jar. Problem solved under warranty. Hope this helps you guys with your problem

Jenns01TA · Sep 25, 2006

APowers said:
I was having this rattle sound in the back of my car when ever I backed into a parking space. It really didnt show up unless the car had been driven a while.
I have driven a truck (F150 extended cab) for years, so the trasition to keeping everything in the trunk was different to say the least.

See I got this pickle jar I throw my pocket change into cause I dont like it in my pocket. It is wedged between my briefcase and an overnight bag containing a change of underware and such. Dealership gave me this plastic jug that they get popcorn in to use instead of the glass pickle jar. Problem solved under warranty. Hope this helps you guys with your problem

Well, at least you aren't keeping eye balls and goat testicles in the pickle jar, AP. OMG. That is the funniest thing I have read this weekend.

P.S. I keep my change in the freebie "Thanks for Buying from Us" - aluminum Blue Oval Certified Dealer award mug they gave me instead of another gold quick release key chain. Hmmmm.. Thank God I am not violent or I could see me back handing some poor inept service technician in the future.

shooterm, bigcat has the same idea as you. I showed him picks of the shock mounting pins and he said they are pretty sloppy. I would be better off upgrading them instead of playing with the dealer again. (Yeah. That should prevent a mark on my permanent record having something to do with an angry woman with PMS and a change filled aluminum coffee mug ).

Thanks for the feedback fellas at least I know I am not alone.

Jenn

Infinity · Sep 25, 2006

Jenn,

Can I see a pic of where you think the sound may be coming from? I spent 2.5 hours under my car Saturday night looking for where a rattle may intermittently be coming from (no small task, I'm 6'4 240#). I found NOTHING. :banghead:

Jenns01TA · Sep 25, 2006

Infinity said:
Jenn,

Can I see a pic of where you think the sound may be coming from? I spent 2.5 hours under my car Saturday night looking for where a rattle may intermittently be coming from (no small task, I'm 6'4 240#). I found NOTHING. :banghead:

I feel your frustration Infinity. Without Jackstands, Ramps or a Pit sliding under Da' Stang is a challenge.

Click on the PDF below. Shows Upper and Lower clamp mounts on the pins. If you give these little guys a slight wiggle you will find that they are sloppy at best. I checked with Bigcat and he says that they are designed and installed to compensate for flexes in the trunk lid. I agree with him. Unfortunately, it also makes for a reallllllyyyy annoying "clank-chunk-rattle-rattle-tap" at low speeds and bumpy roads.

Infinity · Sep 26, 2006

Ok, I noticed those. I thought you found something with the shock mounts (suspension). My rattle almost seems like the exhaust pipes hitting the floorpan occasionally. Not a banging, but a rattle/slow buzz. I can't find the source yet, but others have heard it.

steedastang06 · Sep 26, 2006

Jenns05Stang said:
I feel your frustration Infinity. Without Jackstands, Ramps or a Pit sliding under Da' Stang is a challenge.

Click on the PDF below. Shows Upper and Lower clamp mounts on the pins. If you give these little guys a slight wiggle you will find that they are sloppy at best. I checked with Bigcat and he says that they are designed and installed to compensate for flexes in the trunk lid. I agree with him. Unfortunately, it also makes for a reallllllyyyy annoying "clank-chunk-rattle-rattle-tap" at low speeds and bumpy roads.

Ive got this EXACT SAME noise and at first i thought it was some little flying saucer looking thing that is bolted on the right side of the inside of the trunk about 12 inches from the lights but i bent it out so that it isnt hitting the body and i still get that rattling noise up until about 2500 rpms... I take it there is no way to fix it without taking them off, if that is even a possibility...

slammer1 · Sep 26, 2006

WOW! What a Woman! I have same noise will check this weekend! I have also had parking brake cable slap from loose cable. Stangs are great cars but small issues like this are exactly why hordes of people are driving Beemers, Infiniti's Scion's..... The american manufacturers MUST go the EXTRA mile when it comes to engineering and fit!!!

Jenns01TA · Sep 27, 2006

steedastang06 said:
Ive got this EXACT SAME noise and at first i thought it was some little flying saucer looking thing that is bolted on the right side of the inside of the trunk about 12 inches from the lights but i bent it out so that it isnt hitting the body and i still get that rattling noise up until about 2500 rpms... I take it there is no way to fix it without taking them off, if that is even a possibility...

I need to check with bigcat, but if they are clamp-over-pin design they would require a specific claming tool. Now, I guess I could pull out the 14" pipe wrench and beat them on there real good, then have a beer, but somehow I don't think that will work well.

Let's get bigcat in here with all his books and knowledge. (IM sent)

Oh and Bigcat, I had a similiar noise as what you are indicating in my 03 GT. That was a cracked LCA and the crack was in a position where the flexing of the control arm only under similiar conditions as you state would create the pop/crack sound you have. Peek at the control arms.

Infinity said:
Ok, I noticed those. I thought you found something with the shock mounts (suspension). My rattle almost seems like the exhaust pipes hitting the floorpan occasionally. Not a banging, but a rattle/slow buzz. I can't find the source yet, but others have heard it.

Are you sure you do not have a cracked baffle in the muffler? LOL No joke. I just went through all this with mine, the exhaust tech swore that it was not exhaust and it was a vibration from the cross member that I was hearing. Mine would rattle real quick and then buzz like a little ricer when I "got on it" and ESPECIALLY when the muffler was cold. Since metal contracts when cold allowing enough room for the cracked/weak baffle weld to get sloppy and buzz/vibrate I would usually hear it in the morning and once the car sat for about 4+ hours. Once heated the metal expanded and the little turd would set tight enough so that it would not emit any audible noise.

Frustrating for me to track down and even worse for the shop tech at the dealer. lol It got worse over about 8 months time and after ruling out all other mechanical areas the sound could be coming from I wiggled one last time under the butt of the stang and knew that somewhere inside that poor little stock muffler, a baffle was very unhappy and my exhaust had started to leak out of a hairline crack in the weld to the inlet pipe of the muffler. lol

slammer1 said:
WOW! What a Woman! I have same noise will check this weekend! I have also had parking brake cable slap from loose cable. Stangs are great cars but small issues like this are exactly why hordes of people are driving Beemers, Infiniti's Scion's..... The american manufacturers MUST go the EXTRA mile when it comes to engineering and fit!!!

You would think after 3 Mustangs I would learn to just insert my Pennywise CD into the player and jack the volume up until all these annoying rattles and knocks are drowned out. I think it is the challenge, like when I wasa kid and searching for lost treasure in the backyard. It just transitioned to me hunting down engineering issues and mechanical failures in my Stangs.

Good luck in your quest to "Find the Rattle" fellas. I am right there with ya' in the illness.

Jenn

Infinity · Sep 28, 2006

Jenns05Stang said:
Are you sure you do not have a cracked baffle in the muffler? LOL No joke. I just went through all this with mine, the exhaust tech swore that it was not exhaust and it was a vibration from the cross member that I was hearing. Mine would rattle real quick and then buzz like a little ricer when I "got on it" and ESPECIALLY when the muffler was cold. Since metal contracts when cold allowing enough room for the cracked/weak baffle weld to get sloppy and buzz/vibrate I would usually hear it in the morning and once the car sat for about 4+ hours. Once heated the metal expanded and the little turd would set tight enough so that it would not emit any audible noise.

God I hope not. I've already had horrible service from MRT with this axle-back. If I can find that's what it is, I'll pull it off and go with something else. But, yeah, it's usually when it's cold (not everytime I start it), or when I do a warm start, like after being in a store for 1/2 hour or so. I do still need to check the area around the Prochamber for contact points, but I'll keep those baffles in mind.

Jenns01TA · Sep 28, 2006

From Bigcat: "I didnt click the link, but if its the trunk struts, then you put a little screwdriver under the silver clip. pry it up, and then pop the strut off the trunk."

K - So how do we tighten the little suckers? (I guess that pipe wrench is doable afterall. Hmmm do I complement this beating with an Ale a Pilsner or Stout?)

tomustang · Sep 28, 2006

Jenns05Stang said:
From Bigcat: "I didnt click the link, but if its the trunk struts, then you put a little screwdriver under the silver clip. pry it up, and then pop the strut off the trunk."

K - So how do we tighten the little suckers? (I guess that pipe wrench is doable afterall. Hmmm do I complement this beating with an Ale a Pilsner or Stout?)

add paper/napkin/tissue/thin cloth over the socket where it pops out of, make the gap smaller, might work

but since they're easy to remove you should just eliminate them from the trunk and drive around and see if that is the pinpoint area

could also be a crap job spot weld

bigcat · Sep 28, 2006

tomustang said:
but since they're easy to remove you should just eliminate them from the trunk and drive around and see if that is the pinpoint area

DO THIS FIRST!! this is the best way to isolate the parts as a cause for the noise. better to be sure than to destory a part funtioning normaly.

let me know what happens with them off the car. after reading some of the other posts around here, you better leave them in the garage, so they dont rattle around in the car when they are off.

Jenns01TA · Sep 28, 2006

Thanks Tom and bigcat. (She sticks her thumb on the end of her nose for the Nah-nah finger sign) HEY! We all have our sickness. I was kidding about beating on it guys.

Now that we have some options, I am thinking that a Tom-Tom Combo would work better. I am going to use a couple small pieces of rag to wind around the pins and the mounting clamps. I will wind enough duct tape around those MOFOs so there is NO WAY they can flex and then I am off for a test drive. And THEN, I am having a Tall Guiness Stout. Much easier than removing them but an effective way to isoloate "Da' Rattle"!

After the week I have had I am SOOOOOOOOOOO glad it is my Friday. Only 5 more hours until I leave here. THANKS TOM! Suspension Master in an Audi can still isolate the rattles even with Trunk shocks. WOOT!

Jenn

Infinity · Sep 28, 2006

Question, if this would still be considered On Topic:
How do I test/isolate for the muffler baffles?

Also, I wrapped a couple of small pieces of silicone tubing around my trunk shocks just to see if they were rattling against anything when closed. No problems on mine.

Rattle in rear end from loose trunk shocks - Anyone else?

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start with the upper hole, and if more traction is

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start with the upper hole, and if more traction is

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