Shaker 500 Dash Rattle

[Marine One]

On cold mornings when I first start out I'm hearing a loud rattle from the middle of the dash. When I apply finger tip pressure against the middle of the top of the Shaker 500 (right about the spot where the Shaker 500 logo appears) the noise stops. Once the heater warms up the interior it completely goes away. I only hear this noise on cold mornings. Any thoughts from the "duty experts" here?

 

[mustangmike6996]

well there is a tsb on a bad passanger ehaust hanger... ford remoneds fixing with a hose clamp i think it is listed as "centerstack rattle" id try that first

i have a ton of rattles from the corners of my dash and the windsheild and if its not the windshiled its the A-pillar molding. they fix it for about a day or so then all hell breaks loose again

 

[Marine One]

well there is a tsb on a bad passanger ehaust hanger... ford remoneds fixing with a hose clamp i think it is listed as "centerstack rattle" id try that first

i have a ton of rattles from the corners of my dash and the windsheild and if its not the windshiled its the A-pillar molding. they fix it for about a day or so then all hell breaks loose again

I read the TSB, but this noise is definitely coming from inside the dash. It did the same thing again this morning. It was in the 30s here when I left the house and I had to listen to this thing over nearly every bump in the road for the first 10 minutes or so. I even took the CDs out of the changer to see if that would make a difference-it didn't. Once the heater warmed up the back side of the dash just a little, the noise completely went away. So for now I'm turning my heater on to remove the dash rattle as opposed needing to warm my toes....

I'm really just interested in knowing if there is something that I should be looking for that might just need a to be tightened, repositioned, treated to a piece of foam tape or coated with some silicone spray. Based on my service experiences to date with my dealer, I will leave it the way it is before I let them near the dash of the car. Besides, by the time I get it to them the inside of the car would be warm enough that noise would be gone and we'd be in the "unable to diagnose" mode.

 

[cowtown]

My buddy had the same thing, his dash rattled like crazy, I told him to bring the TSB in and they did it and oddly enough the dash rattle was cured by fixing the clamp issue. It also makes sense that it goes away when it warms up. As the exhaust warms up it expands and probably mitigates the loose issue with that clamp.


Aside from that the piece that attaches to the right side of the centre stack is pretty easy to remove if you wanted to make sure the bolts were snug on the head unit.

 

[bamaster]

Wow. Perfect timing. I just printed this out (TSB 06-4-1). I had a MAC catted Pro Chamber installed a week ago and I was thinking it had something to do with it. Of course, my car is just a tab bit louder but the weather is colder now (Houston, TX).

Did you guys take it to the dealership or just do it yourself?

 

[Marine One]

My buddy had the same thing, his dash rattled like crazy, I told him to bring the TSB in and they did it and oddly enough the dash rattle was cured by fixing the clamp issue. It also makes sense that it goes away when it warms up. As the exhaust warms up it expands and probably mitigates the loose issue with that clamp.


Aside from that the piece that attaches to the right side of the centre stack is pretty easy to remove if you wanted to make sure the bolts were snug on the head unit.

I just took another look at the TSB, & I'm still thinking that its not the cause of my problem. The TSB addresses it as a vibration at certain RPMs (1250 & 3200 for the V-8). Mine is definitely linked to the temperature of the inside of the vehicle and hitting irregularities in road surfaces. If the car sits in the sun long enough to get some interior warming from greenhousing by the sun on cold days, the rattle isn't there. One would think that if it were as a result of a cold exhaust system, it would occur whenever there was sufficient time for the exhaust system to completely cool down. This morning, I pressed on the piece that you mention above (right side of the center stack) and the noise went away. How do I remove & replace that piece?

 

[cowtown]

Here you go, it's crutchfields sample install sheets. Thankfully for the Mustang. It shows how to disassemble the centre console so it should help you on your way.

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/graphics/download/sample_0190011-a.pdf

Good luck!

 

[Marine One]

Here you go, it's crutchfields sample install sheets. Thankfully for the Mustang. It shows how to disassemble the centre console so it should help you on your way.

http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/graphics/download/sample_0190011-a.pdf

Good luck!

Thanks. Those are great directions, by the way. It certainly gives me a starting point.

 

[djs94gt]

I have a similar noise in my car when it is cold. It sounds like it is coming from the center upper dash and also goes away when the car warms up. I looked under the dash, tied up some wires, to no avail. Then I tried pressing on the shift boot between the shifter and dash, and the noise went away. So, I may have to spray some silicone under the shift boot to see if I can make it go away completely. I hope this helps.

 

[Marine One]

I have a similar noise in my car when it is cold. It sounds like it is coming from the center upper dash and also goes away when the car warms up. I looked under the dash, tied up some wires, to no avail. Then I tried pressing on the shift boot between the shifter and dash, and the noise went away. So, I may have to spray some silicone under the shift boot to see if I can make it go away completely. I hope this helps.

Thanks. The diagrams that cowtown provided in his posting are worth a look if you're still having a problem.

 

[bamaster]

Well, I took my car to the dealership today.

They did tell me that the Pro Chamber didn't help. The installation pushed the hanger brackets to the side. But they tightened the loose bracket and presto, no more rattle!

 

[Marine One]

FIXED!

Last weekend, with the aid of the Crutchfield radio remove & install instructions supplied by cowtown, I removed enough of the dash trim pieces to tighten the four Shaker 500 mounting bolts. Each bolt required between 1/4 and 1/2 turn to snug down. The dash rattle is now history.