Investigating Dash Rattle Today And...

FIXED!!!

So my plan of attack worked out and I have zero rattling now. I updated the photo of my disassembled dash to show what I used and where. Under the dash itself I wedge some weatherstripping between the attached venting.



As with the majority of the projects I undertake, I have left over parts. Only two bolts that didn't find a home, maybe they were causing the rattling all along...




Original Post:

So I decided I would finally get around to tracking down that incessant horrible dash rattle today. One thing led to another and...



I plan on looking over everything I can think of since I've come this far. I'll check for loose bolts, if there are any blue loc-tite will be applied. I plan on putting weatherstripping between any possible plastic on plastic connections. Going to wrap the points that hold the dash against the yellow receivers in electrical tape or something simliar in case those points are the culprit.

Any other areas I should be looking at while I'm in here? I plan on playing around with this for the next 2-3 hours before I start to button things back up so any tips or advice in that time frame would be appreciated.

I'll make sure to post an update once she's road-worthy again.

 

Damn...

You should probably take the carpet and seats out also, they might be rubbing, creating friction causing you to get shocked when you enter or exit the vehicle

 

Don't tempt me! The rattle is seriously about to drive me insane so I felt like I had no other choice aside from complete destruction of the dash. I know it's coming from somewhere behind the radio area. At the start of all of this I removed the headunit and all of the easy bits and took it for a drive. The noise was much more noticeable with the headunit blocking the rattle. So that's my area of focus.

Oh yeah, this morning I also tried wedging weatherstripping between the windshield and dash which only gave me false hope.

 

Dash is gonna rattle more now

 

I just went through your write-up with the flashing 3rd Brake Light, I wish I had seen it sooner! I searched all over hell trying to find a kit like that for my motorcycle after seeing it on an ambulance. I eventually found a kit but I bought it without being able to find any reviews or information on it. They are a great idea for bikes!

 

Minus well cage it now...

 

Had to take that chance to fix it.

The flasher was one of the first things I put on my bike when I got it, also a headlight modulator. I'd like to think that both help me to be seen by drivers playing on their cellphones.

 

Interesting... never heard of a headlight modulator, had to google it. I don't think I can use them since I'm running HID's but I like the idea. I went HID's for the same reason though, obnoxiously bright.

 

I had a noise coming from the same area. I also had the same issue on my 2003 Tundra. I fixed the Tundra by sticking backer board (1/2" foam roll) between the dash and the base of the windsheild (as suggested by the folks at TundraSolutions). Decided to try it on the Tacoma. Turns out is fixed 99% of all the noise. Couldn't hurt to try it along with the other items you have mentioned.

 

Tried the foam roll this morning. Used 3/8" that did nothing so I folded it over on itself and it still didn't do anything. Pretty disappointed since that would have been much simpler than what I'm into now.

I'm nearly positive that it's coming from the radio area. Noise was much more noticeable when I removed the headunit and went for a quick drive.

 

I'd order insolite and start putting it everywhere you can. I hate rattles and after I pulled the dash in my Integra Type-R and put it back, there was more rattles then when I started with.

 

Two ideas:

1- check INSIDE the air vents in case something ended up down inside and it causing this issue - that sound would travel, too, seeming to come from locations it ain't in.

2 - a can of spray foam? Spray the entire space, slap the dash back over it, cut of any excess... If you do this...time lapse photography, please...

 

Sidebar: with the extra driving lights on my FJR, my headlight modulator and my yellow jacket, most drivers think I'm a police officer when they see me coming. They pull over. It's uncanny, weird and sometimes useful. Sad, though, how many remain totally ignorant and just keep chatting away on their cell phones. For them I need the hammer modulator mod to "tap" on their window...

 

I prefer to think of it like preserving everything back there... Like a bug in amber. Could even be preventative in stopping future rattles from working loose. Imagine the joy you'll have when watching the mechanic at the shop open the dash for a wiring fix in 5 years?! That reaction alone would be priceless!

 

Awesome! I've taken my dash out before too... years ago. I hope you find that dash rattle. I can't stand noises like that either. Good luck!

 

If it were my dash rattling, I'd just plastidip the entire truck and leave it in my driveway for 3,000 years!

 

And it's fixed!!! No more rattling making my truck sounds like a cheap POS.

Sorry to disappoint all of you that were hoping I'd really lose my mind and break out the spray foam. For what it's worth, I was about to consider doing it.

 

But...but... WHAT WAS IT?! What was causing the rattle?! You've built us all up...don't leave us hangin!

 

OP, I had the same deal and swore it was coming from the radio area. After having the radio out for at least a half dozen times and finding nothing one time while the radio was out I started hitting the top of the dash just to the right of the radio. I could replicate the rattle doing this. So I took out the glove box and started looking with mirrors while hitting the top of the dash.

On mine it was the air bag in its mount. The air bag kind of floats a little bit in its mount and there are a bunch of metal tabs that surround it. The factory was supposed to put felt strips between the metal tabs and its mount to keep it from rattling but missed almost all on mine and the tabs would hit the plastic mounting. I just got some sticky-back felt pieces and using mirrors wedged them between the metal tabs and the mount. Problem solved. I believe there is now a TSB on this.

 

Hanormally when troubleshooting I would only change one thing at a time in order to pinpoint the problem. In this case the dash was too much work so I just changed everything at once. My guess is the five points where the dash meets the body. Plastic points on plastic holders bumping up against each other. Could have been anything though, all I know is that it's fixed. Woo!