ok guys,
the rattles and squeeks in my interior are driving mr crazy...how should i go finding what is causing the noise? anyone know if there are common parts of the dash that make noise? and what about the door panels?
while some rattles are ideosynchratic on stangs, i think everyone is gonna have different sources. even something like subframes can help rattles. i normally drive along and when i hear a rattle, i push on stuff in the area of the noise till it goes away. i have used strip caulk, weatherstrip, etc to fix it. sometimes if two pieces of plastic are rubbing, depending upon how they are oriented, i will use a piece of doublesided tape or a dab of silicon to keep them quiet (on inner pieces that are not visible. i put the tape etc between the plastic pieces that are rubbing). there are many ways to fix these things.
Subframe connectors will go a long way toward fixing most rattles. Some rattles can be eliminated by taking apart the interior piece by piece and putting felt tape between hard plastic parts. Don't ask me where I found that stuff. It's been years ago, but I did it with my car and the console is now silent. As for door panels, the biggest thing that casues rattles is that little felt piece that hold the window vertical in the frame. Take off the door panel and adjust or replace it. You will notice a huge difference shutting the door with the windows down. Others???
the reason why your interior is rattling so bad is because your car is flexing, and the body is twisting all over the road, the flexing and twisting will obviously cause all of your parts to rub together. Rather than pull your whole interior apart, invest in some full length maximum motorsport subframe connectors and shock tower brace. that should solve 90% of your squeaks
Jaidedeye, I have a 90 LX 5.0 also. I found a squeak at my map light, especially with music on, I just tightened it. Also, on the outter part of the windows, there is a black strip that runs from front to back, plastic, that was a source of vibration for me, just stuff some silicone under it. I also replaced all weatherstipping and door hinge pins. In my wife's 93, her dash rattles, between the gauge cover and the windshield. Some weather stripping cures that. Good luck, and nice combo.
This may be an over simplified answer, I have a 91 vert' so I'll never get rid of all the rattles, my passenger door was rattling badly so I went to www.50resto.com and ordered a set of striker bushings for the doors (both). Replaced them and now the doors close better and not more rattles from the doors everytime I drive within 10ft of a bump. May or may not help, but for 5.00 it cant hurt.