ron45

It sounds like the glass window hitting something metalic. It's not the window or loose door hinges or something under the seat. when I was angry about it I thought of drilling a whole thru the quarter panel and tighten a nut from both ends of the threaded rod till rattle goes away. Not the ideal solution..... and may not stop the noise. then I thought of the foam. That seems like it would have a good chance of silencing the rattle, even if I have to repeat the process in different spots.

There are some gotchas..... too much foam could pooch out the metal exterior or interfere with somthing I'm unaware of. I have removed all the cheap paneling from the area and it revealed...... nothing. I've had mechanics under there with pry bars looking for loose frame parts. The holes for the foam would all be in the interior and hopefully under the cheap card board paneling. Help me shoot some holes in my plan or add a new twist. I realize a body shop guy could maybe find the source of the noise, that would not necessarily fix the problem and it would be expensive. Hence the desperate measures.

There are different grades of foam expansion so it seems possible to not wind up with a rolling wart farm. WADAYA think?

Ron

tacklebox

I've seen this work and not work. It all comes down to where you are shooting the foam. If the area is enclosed too much you will likely end up with at least a portion of the foam the doesn't cure or takes weeks to cure. The foam needs a certain amount of air to kick off so it is possible the middle area wouldn't cure or will take forever. Additional holes may make this a non issue...IDK

bad_idea

Expanding foam in a vehicle is a terrible idea. It traps moisture and causes rust.

jordan96xj

Bad_idea is right. Expanding foam used anywhere directly against the vehicle's metal is a terrible idea. It hold moisture nearly indefinitely, and will rot out anything its touching in short order. However, plumbers use a trick to quiet down shower pans and tubs, where they use a garbage bag (or other plastic bag) under the pan and then fill that with expanding foam. It contains the foam, and keeps it sealed from moisture. So if you feel compelled to try foam, at least do it in a bag.

However, from your post I still can't make sense of the location you are talking about. From what I read, I take it that your noise is in one of the doors? If that is true, I'm sure you can figure it out without using foam. Inside the door is fairly straight forward and there are only so many things that can be touching/rattling. A little lubricating spray (like fluid film) would probably tame a screechy noise. If you put foam in there blindly, your are almost certain to conflict with the operation of the window glass.

Rogue4x4

I have a general rule of thumb.

"If you can buy it at Home Depot, it probably doesn't belong on or in your car."


X2 on trapping moisture.

When you pulled the panel, did anything fall out, or was there anything laying in the bottom of the door interior?

Have you tried removing the opposite panel, and checking for differences between the two?

If it sounds like rattling glass/metal, check all the rails that the window rides in, maybe a piece of felt/rubber came loose, check all hardware nearby to make sure nothing is coming loose, stuff like that. Noggin' pokin' time, haha

ron45

Glad I asked, thanks everyone, The rattle is in the rear passenger quarter panel. Not in a door.When I removed the rear quarter panel's panel there was nothing there but evidence of how cheaply they build vehicles these days. I have a feeling it's some spot weld that didn't hold and probably next to impossible to get at.

Ron

TrailerTrash

is it high? like the window area? or mid or low?

could be a retainer clip to hold the wire harness in place that came loose

could be inside the seatbelt reel

could be a coin laying loosely in a crack somewhere

pop the panel off and have someone ride back there while you either drive it or whatever you gotta do to make it rattle

investinwaffles

are you talking about in the trunk area?

I used some sound deadening when I installed my cubby subwoofer and it took care of a TON of rattles.

of course those rattles were drowning out other rattles that I can now hear

ron45

None of those options fit the sound I hear, from driver's seat you'd swear if you got in the back and leaned against the passenger side cargo area window the sound would stop. It does not. Several people including me have ridden back there and can't locate or stop the noise with any kind of pressure.

it's very nice of everyone to take the time to help. I'm greatful for so many people willing to help.

Ron

andrewmp6

Could be a bolt some yahoo dropped in there years ago and is rolling around.A friend of mine bought a 2 year old car that had a odd rattle sound inside the drivers door.So i took the door panel off and the plastic which looked like its never been touched,I feel around inside the bottom of the door and find 2 small bolts that probably been there since the car was made.

jordan96xj

Have you taken out the taillight assemblies (3 bolts) and looked into the quarter area with a flashlight to see if anything is fishy? don't forget to look down into the "fishbowls" just behind the rear wheel wells and see if anything is banging around down there. They are a very low spot, so things tend to work their way down into there.

tacklebox

I have a mystery thump / rattle as well. I'd have sworn it was the hatch for the longest time but it isn't. Only would happen over certain bumps. Ended up being a rear shock mount and judging by where the sound APPEARED to come from you'd never have suspected it or thought to even look in that area. Sound can be deceiving.

extrashaky

Have you ridden back there with the cover off? Do you have a mechanic's stethoscope you can poke around with to see if that helps track down the source?

ron45

THIS is a very good idea. I have not and will do it.

In terms of pitch, I'm a musician, this is a mid range noise with a very sharp transient, it alwasy sounds exactly the same and the periodicity is dictated by the road surface. If you took a small hammer and wrapped it in a leather work glove and from an inch away gave the window a good tap you'd hear something like I do. I'm with you on the deceptive-ness of noise sources.

A life long mechanic went thru the underside of the XJ with a pry bar looking for loose, anything. So far it's still a mystery waiting for its eureka moment.

The fish bowl thing sounds worth looking into also. Thanks Jordan and all who are patient enough to help with this quest for quiet. My thanks to ALL of you trying to help.

Ron

TrailerTrash

I will be watching this thread.

I gotsta know