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981 Cayman dash rattle driving me nuts

Motorhead

Motorhead

PCGB Member
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I doubt that a video would help Matt, but without removing bits of trim or - Heaven forbid - the IP itself and getting down to the nitty-gritty of things I doubt that you're going to get to the source of your problem. Unfortunately sound is very directional and can travel through ducting and pipework, which makes finding the source somewhat challenging to say the least. The cabin pre-filter is on that side of the car and it may be worth removing and re-seating it to see if that helps.

I take it that it's only road-induced rattle and you don't get it with the A/C fan on and the engine either off or idling?

Jeff

 
I have a rattle over rough surfaces that sounds as though it is coming from around the right hand air vent area. I have removed the vent & cannot see anything untoward there, but for the life of me cannot track down its location; pushing on the dash / trim seems to have no effect on it & it is driving me wild. Cannot seem to find any pointers, so hoping someone here has solved it.

Train station smart car had similar & solved with a beanie hat shoved deep up into the dash to stop the resonance, not as keen to do it with this. Annoyingly my wife's 981 Boxster doesn't have the rattle at all.

Any pointers great, realise as I type it that I should have made a video!

Cheers

Matt
 
Just a thought. as you are probably aware, rattles in a car can often sound as if they are coming from different areas. When I got my 981 4 years ago I was plagued by a rattle at low speed over cobbles and bumps. It seemed to be coming from all over the place. It turned out to be the passenger seat belt clip not being pushed up to the top of the belt before it retracted into the seat belt housing. Just by moving the clip up by hand every time my wife got out of the car did it stop. Just something to have a look at. sws

 
Thanks guys. Noise is only when driving over rough / uneven surfaces that starts the resonance.

I will have a look at the filter, once I have googled where it is / how to do it. Am not the most technically minded person, but can't imagine it is too tricky. Most times I end up injuring myself & drawing blood / damaging the car trying to remove pieces of trim, so will be a last resort for me. Was easier in the M4 as had rear seats to crawl about in prodding things as we went along.

Rattles drive me insane in a car, I tend to hear the slightest noise whereas others can never seem to hear them. I had read somewhere that Porsche have a cd that plays a variety of frequencies to find the rattles but imagine that is going to cost a lot to resolve. There is another one from behind my right ear when I am driving, less frequent & a much higher frequency so will get some lube spray into some plastic joins.

I've been caught out with a seatbelt before too, but the wife was sat next to me & can eliminate that one; her solution is to turn the music up, but then I miss the beautiful noise of the car & exhaust when pushing on.

 
Hi Jeff,

Just been out to the car, pre-cabin is on the left...I was talking about when I'm in the driving seat ahead of me is the front right vent lol!

The yellow clip that the cover slides into did have a little play in it, so have wedged it more solidly and will see if this affects it. Too hot today to contort myself and see if there is anything I can reach from underneath & pad it. Might take the car for a spin later to test it out, but the Boxster is more tempting in this weather!

Already had the air vent out, and nothing I can access from there rattles or is loose. Did a couple of sticky pads on a couple of places just in case but no change to it.

 
I similarly have a fetish about rattles. Anything rattling in the front compartment tends to sound as if it is behind the dashboard (which it is, really). I found on my 981 that the big plastic cover over the battery etc in the front compartment rattled over rough ground on some of the hard components underneath it. I also found some of the plastic pipes, wires etc under there could rattle on surrounding metalwork. I secured the wires etc and fixed some self-adhesive black foam padding in strategic places under the big plastic cover so that it didn't bang on the items underneath. End of "dashboard" rattles. Check also that the big plastic cover has its tabs correctly inserted under the scuttle in the right places when replacing it, and that the rubber seal around the luggage compartment is correctly lipped over the cover.

 
Hi Matt,

Unfortunately I have a 987.2 CS so I'm not familiar with the 981's filter layout, but it seems that there are 2 cabin air filters, one inside the car and the other accessed through the front compartment: http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/981_Cabin_Air_Filters.html

The link is for the US so it sounds as though the positions are reversed for a UK RHD car and I was thinking of the pre-filter rattling, but it sounds as though that's a non-starter if it's located on the LHS.

As you say, it sounds as though you're just going to attack the problem from underneath the IP. Limited access of course, but you may be able to reach in and feel if anything is loose.

Coming from a sound and vibration consulting background, the majority vehicle-related, like you I'm very sensitive to squeaks, rattles, whines and booms. The problem is that once you've heard something your senses home into it and you can't unhear it!

Good luck with your search!

Jeff

 
Rattles are a bummer to detect. As Jeff says, the sound reflects around the cabin and is often caused by something in a completely different place.

i had one rattle that sounded as if it was the dashboard, but turned out to be a 1p piece that had fallen into the seat runner channel.

I would suggest going around around the car and meticulously clearing out all loose items to empty every cavity - glovebox, door pockets, centre console, under seats (coins can fall through the gaps in the carpet onto the metal floor around the electrics). If the passenger seat is empty, do up the seatbelt. At least you have then eliminated all the easy stuff.

In the footwell you have a fuse box and the relays etc. Which should be Ok but are worth checking. Then as Brian said, start on the plenum area around the wiper mechanism, battery and servos. Are the screen washer pipes, properly secured etc. Etc. Finally, if you do start pulling the inside apart, the easiest bit to begin with is the windscreen pillar trim. Wires do run up the pillar but I am not sure whether it is left, right or both sides.

Good luck!

 
Thanks guys, first time I have removed the battery cover, so it might not have been seated properly previously. Not a fan of the yellow tab to hold it on, think I'd rather put it on the grass but guess it is useful at the road side.

Good idea on the foam pads underneath the cover, might be worth a try - had assumed it would have been isolated from inside the cabin, but clearly not. I did check wires weren't moving but a strategic pad is never going to hurt.

Will have a look into the lost coin scenario, but all other pockets are empty & the only thing in the glovebox is a cloth to dust the dash. I hate anything in a cabin that can move / cause noise. Agree completely with the 'once you have heard it, you cannot unheard', sums lots of cars up for me over the year.

Decided far too warm today, so will continue the effort when cooler. Enjoy the rest of your weekends.

Matt

 
Hi Matt

I had a really annoying rattle from the same area, tried all sorts and ended up putting the steering column to the closest position to dash and its stopped! Might just have been a coincidence but so far so good!

Cheers......Jon

 
Thanks for that, will add to the list of things to try. I find the different shoes I wear make a huge difference in this car, more than any I’ve had before.

Steering column could be an interesting one to try. I managed a perfect driving position in my wife’s Boxster that I couldn’t replicate in mine, so had to measure & replicate, perhaps time to start again. Wish I had memory seats, like my niggles for rattles, seat position is another - usually 2 settings for me depending on mood & tweak from there with other cars; am a fussy bugger I guess!

 
Had a play last weekend with some foam underneath the batter cover clips, took the car out today for the first time & I would say about an 80% improvement, can still hear a little noise every now & again, but at no point on the drive was I pushing at the dash in vain. Fingers crossed it was this & a final tweak will cure it.

Annoyingly with that one more quiet, there is another one coming from behind me (perhaps) between the seats that I can now hear :D

Thanks for the pointers all.

Matt

 
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