NYC GS4

iTrader: (2)

I've heard of problems the 4th gens have with rattles way before I bought my 97, and it turns out I have one. Its relatively minor, however when I hit a bump, I start to hear it and it really bothers me. After listening to it closely, it sounds like its most likely coming from the center of the dash area(Stereo, Climate Control).
I guess I just wanted to know how you guys went about fixing these rattles or if you somehow learned to live with it(Seems hard).

Another question, I've heard some of the people complaining about the manual tranny's on 4th gens. In some cases, I heard of people mentioning a whine. On mine, when I'm in first gear and the rpms get a bit over 3K, it sounds kind of like when its in Reverse( Somewhat of a whine). Wanted to know if that was normal or perhaps a problem?

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

I think this should qualify as THE CLASSIC 4th gen rattle. It seems like its the dash when it's not. It is your exhasut. Check your exhaust around the cat, y etc. Shake it around.

I had the very same thing. It was my heat shield banging on the cat.

DW

NYC GS4

iTrader: (2)

I know exactly what you mean, my fathers 95 240SX had that twice, my friends 95 Altima also had that twice and now his 96 Pathfinder had that as well. Thats something I could also expect in the near future, but for now, thats not the case. Any other suggestions?

paco

yea pump the radio when u drive....then u cant hear nuttin.... thats what i do...

NYC GS4

iTrader: (2)

Actually thats all I've been doing, the BOSE sounds great. Thats the reason I only discovered the rattle now. Your right though, with some good music blasting, you forget all the worries.

190hpKiLLA

iTrader: (11)

Dont worry your tranny is fine. Mine does the the same thing. Or maybe we both have the same problem. LOL

NYC GS4

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, my pops already calmed me down about that.

I wanted to let you try mine at the meet, but then I realized that I had to be at work in an hour and a half so I had to leave. I'm gonna give you a call one of these days so hopefully you'll have time to help me out with the clear/red tails and also try it out and see what you think.

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

Ever since I dropped my Maxima I have had 3 rattles - driver's side A-pillar, passenger's door, and what seems to be the A/C control panel. Take my advice and never lower your car it kills the Max!

Tai Mai Shu

I lowered my car, no problems..but maybe that cause i got an I30, i dunno

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

By what means did you lower your car? I went with Sprints and now I am regretting it...

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

I'm running H&Rs with Toks now and I'm cool. Completely rattle free? no, but not dying with rattles, either.

For your setup, let's diagnose;

From your sig, you're running sprints springs,known to be somewhat hard, and on top of that, you have 215/45/17 tires. You realize you chose a tire that gives you the least amount of sidewall height?? That means that your Sprints are riding even harsher than they should be.

You see, with 215/45/17s, you've got a sidewall height of 96.75 mm
Had you used 225/45/17s, you'd have a sidewall height of 101.25 mm
Or, had you used 235/45/17s, you'd have a sidewall height of 105.75 mm

As a comaprison, the Stock 16" SE tire,215/55/16, has a sidewall height of 118.25 mm

The greater your sidewall height, the more cushy your ride will be.

DW

FameMax

It's not b/c u lowered it u only think that, take it to ur dealer and tell em they should be able to find the source of the prob, seems like a lot of people r experencing the same thing

NYCe MaXiMa

iTrader: (9)

I have 2 rattles, one from the passanger door and 1 from the rear deck. I just put carbon fiber on my dashboard (more particular the piece around the stereo, shifter etc..) it is easy to remove, perhaps you can get some of that styrofoam or whatever stuff the audio freaks use to sound deaden or to reduce rattles on the trunk.. I heard a better way is to apply pressure, I made sure to tighten up all screws really hard when I took it apart.. Maybe u have 1 that is loose. But in general, the way it is put together there are certain places with bigger gaps and the plastics feel crappy so I would expect some rattles, but I think you should have a friend listen to it closely, or like Daniel Martin used to suggest.. have him hold a tube and apply it to different places as u go over uneven surfaces to attempt to locate exactly where the rattle is coming from... then work your way from there, take apart the center console and jerk around the various components in it.. There is a lot of big wires and other non-sense in there which may smack against the inside of the dash as u run over things. It might be a good idea to tie them down also...
But be happy you have a nice BOSE to play!!! My stereo sounds like **** so i can either listen to crappy sound quality or rattles, which aren't that bad anyways..

AndyXXL

It may sound strange but all my rattles disappeared after I lowered my car...weird, isn't it?

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

Dwapenyi you are right it is partly my sidewalls as well. Next time I will make sure to get taller tires , but I have these on before my Sprints and I only had one rattle (the one on the A-pillar). Ever since I got them put on, I have had the rattles. But no need to fear, I plan to hunt down and kill every rattle I have, not just ignore them and turn the music up (well atleast not anymore )...
AltezzaMikeGTR I took it to the dealer when I had the A-pillar rattle and they said they couldn't do anything, and would probably create another just trying. Maybe they are just lazy (go figure), but it doesn't matter because my mechanic will take care of them for me...hopefully tomorrow (Friday the 2nd). I'm going down to him to ask him about my JWT ECU anyway so I'll let you know how it turns out. Can the rattle ever die? We'll see...
-Cyrus

paco

the first number in the tire size is the how wide the tire is isnt it?...... i thought the 2nd # was the sidewall!!

NYCe MaXiMa

iTrader: (9)

You thought right because that is how it is!

X / X / X

tire width / sidewall height/thickness / wheel diameter

The bigger the middle # is, the more "cushy" the ride is, the 1st # has pretty much no affect on it, although the bigger it is, the more surface it will cover so as you ride over harsh roads, more tire actually rouches the surface.. If I was to ride over a rough road on pizza cutter 6" wide rims, the ride would definately be less harsh.. but for the most part it is all about the middle #..... Still, if the car is build well, it will not have retarded interior rattles which you would expect in a Kia or something... After all, there are 740i's which come with 45 profile tires on 18s and their interiors are completely silent.

AdMax98

Im having rattle problems too with my passenger door. Isnt there any kind of spray or lubricant for plastic to prevent it from cause the squeeks and such?

MaximaEX

I have 95 GXE and it was ok until I bumped over a rock and tore up my Y-pipe flex section.
Now the car rattles every time I make a turn.
It really bothers me and my friends, who all own Hondas, are talking sheeet about my Max.

Seems like I'll have to get down and tighten few bolts here and there myself.
And I also bought this rubberizing coat spray which claims to deaden the rattling noises, but haven't tried yet.
If it works, I'll post the good news

AdMax98

Maybe some debris flew into your exhaust system when you tore up your Y-pipe...just a thought

Lkldraw

thanks for the tip on the heat shield and exhaust...
have the same "clonk" noise every time i go over a bump.

but, i had a harsh rattle from the front part of the dash
and placed some cardboard between the front of the dash
and the base of the windshield and it took a lot of the
smaller rattles away.

Lkldraw

thanks for the tip on the heat shield and exhaust...
have the same "clonk" noise every time i go over a bump.

but, i had a harsh rattle from the front part of the dash
and placed some cardboard between the front of the dash
and the base of the windshield and it took a lot of the
smaller rattles away.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Here's the formula;

Say you have 225/45/17 tires

225 mm is the width of your tire.

45 means that your tire 0.45 * 225 = 101.25 mm
In other words, your tire is 45% as tall as it is wide.

The 17 simply means that the tire is meant for a 17" rim/wheel.

DW

maxwillden

I had major rattles in the "cockpit" area of my 96 Max. I found the idea to eliminate them on here. Go to home depot and buy a bag of Air Conditioner Weather Stripper. It's foam about 1" thick, and grey. Tear a piece off, squeeze it against the A-Pillars, and using a key, or a small blunt object, wedge the foam between the cracks of your A-Pillars, and dash. Do the same on your Climate Control/Stereo area. I did it earlier this week, and I have no more rattles or squeaks. Best $1.99 I have spent on my Maxima.

Paradoxish

Yeah, I've got one there too and it annoys the **** out of me. I'm thinking of having someone else drive the car ( ) so I can pinpoint where it's coming from myself. I'm worried that it's not going to be particularly easy to fix, though...

Paradoxish

Is the foam noticable or have you managed to get it completely hidden? If it's possible to hide the foam pretty well I just might try this as well.

Toolrocks

iTrader: (1)

I've got tons of rattles too. I have eliminated some and probably caused others For the pillars I removed them and lined the backs with the weatherstripping foam tape stuff mentioned above. I also shaved a little bit off of the pillar with a sharp utilitly knife. The windshield facing sides of my pillars at the bottom were slightly touching the windshield so I removed some material from there. NO MORE RATTLES FROM THAT B****. For the center vent area, I have a theory, I think that since the dash material is wrapped in vinyl and the the vent/clock piece is hard plastic the two expand/shrink at different rates. My vent even seems to bulge out soem in the dead center, right under the clock. TO try to fix this I put some dry lubricant (graphite I think) in the seams between the vent and the dash. Seemed to help. I don't think that is a permenant fix but it works for now. Passenger door squeaks near the latch end of the door. I've removed the door panel several times and think that the clips no longer hold the panel completely snug, also I think the foam behind the door panel may be too thick. I'm gonna try to cut that down a bit, and will probably put some weatherstripping foam behind the panel along the inside edge. I think that will take care of it.
All these rattles drive me crazy and nobody else in my car can hear them. I know my car inside and out. hehe
If my rattles get too bad I may just gut the interior or get a bigger amp.

Paradoxish

I know how you feel. I've take my car to the dealership twice since I've gotten it to complain about an annoying rattle from SOMEWHERE on the passenger side door (or the pillar). They swear there's no noise, even though I've pointed it out to them while one of their techs rode in the passenger side...

...sigh.

maxwillden

Completely Hidde. Just stuff it down below the dash, keeping it between the dash and the A-Pillar trim. Same on the windshield. It blends in real well with my Black dash. If yours is not the black, just make sure to get it below the dash... I swear by the stuff...

Rattles/Squeaks gone= Priceless... (o.k., so it cost me two bucks...)

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

My moonroof rattles alot. I got rid of that little spring loaded wind deflector. That was part of it. However, since I did not have the optional wind defelctor, the dark sunshade that goes on top, High speed driving with the moonroof open had airflow coming back down and buffeting the moonroof. I'm pretty sure that's what caused the roof to loosen up as it has. Now that I have the wind deflector, the air flow, no matter what speed, comes down after the moonroof. I'll have to find some time to tighten up all the moonroof connections one day.

DW

Paradoxish

Great. I'll be going down to home depot today to pick some up I guess. Hopefully this'll kill the tiny bit of rattling I'm getting from the front dash (and keep any other squeaks from starting up). Now I just have to figure out what to do about that weird rattle coming from the passenger side door.

jiaxima96

I've had one rattle for a long time, from left side of dash. It comes and goes. If I push up the dash surface next to the fuse cover and the hood release handle, most of time the rattle will go. Yesterday when I was driving, I removed the fuse cover and touched the parts immediately behind the dash cover/fuse cover area with my finger, and found it is the square shaped thing (relay I guess) that makes this rattle. It's loose. My finger's slightest touch on it will stop the rattle. I'll fix it, should be very easy.

cerumo

iTrader: (2)

just get a new y pipe and your problem is solved like I did.

dobiegillis

Everyone thinks I am crazy and totally obsessive because I have the rattle from the dash defrost vent and noone cares enough to listen for it. Its like a nail in my temple--I hear it constantly!! I have to get it fixed before I go nuts or kill myself. I am going to try the weatherstripping idea before I wrap the car around a tree one day banging on the dash while driving.

Anyone else have success stories? I need back up ideas.

JMAXIMA

anyone have a problem with the pieces behind the door handles... and pockets in the door armrests rattling? i know what causes it... my speakers in the doors. i've tried the spray on Dynamat... didn't help much @ all. i'd try the foam tape, but i'm afraid that it might be too thick and keep the plastic pieces from fitting correctly. any suggestions?

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

I had a rattle in my dash. It turned out to be the heat shield on the catalytic converter. You'll be surprised. Check it.

DW

nadir_s

for all the ppl that has an aftermarket sound system and the car rattles... get dynomat!! u line that stuff inside your doors and whatnot and voila, no more rattling and you're car will become more "air-tight" meaning you won't hear outside road noise.

endus

iTrader: (1)

I just wanted to add that I have had 2 really really annoying rattles sqeaks. One was from not putting the jack back solidly....the thing squeaked forever and I could never figure out what it was. Now I wrap a rag around it to make sure it stays quiet. The other one was when my bass hit (forget all the rattles in the trunk, no money for dynamat at the moment ) I had a rattle from my passenger door. That one was the little handhold thing rattling around. I put some foam around it and crammed it back in and no more rattle.

dobiegillis

This worked FANTASTICALLY! I was worried because the weathering stripping I bought had tape on one side, but my wooden spatula from the kitchen stuffed it right down into the dash. It took only 2 mintues total and doesn't show at all. And best of all, NO MORE DASH RATTLE!! Its like I have a new car! THANK YOU!!