QUERY: screen rattles et. al

[yan]

Since acquisition of a 996 Turbo ('03 Tip. 5000 miles) I have experienced creaking/rattling in the vehicle which can be quite irritating. I am quite aware that the vehicle has a hard suspension but have driven vehicles with harder suspension and less problems.

The OPC have been very helpful in spending many days fiddling about with the windscreen (front and back + rear passenger window), trim and under dashboard but the problems always seem to recur after short distance (~10 miles). Their approach seems to be to put tape under the screen surround but also use some sort of grease I think which has to be polished off the bodywork. Regarding the trim I am guessing the same but don't know.

QUESTION: am I wasting my time on this matter, i.e. should I expect rattles at low speed which turn into vibrations on the motorway in such a vehicle? I've looked at various parts in the car and from what I can see Porsche have tried to cope with all sorts of such problems: rubber seals on screws, foam padding to name but a few...

The OPC are waiting for me to bring the vehicle back but I have lost confidence in their ability to fix the problem rather than just poke about. Any direction to how to fix the problems myself might be a better alternative?

Yours hopefully,

 

[sailor]

J
Can only give you limited help, since I drive a 993 turbo.
However I was plagued by an annoying light rattle coming from the dashboard area, rather like the grinding noise made by a wearing speedo cable. Thought it was that until I found that the speedo was electronic!
The actual cause was a slightly unseated windscreen. Because the screen is a stressed and integral part of the car's structural rigidity, it has to be properly seated. The cure was to reseal, using a special tungsten lubricant.
Sounds as though your OPC has done that.
Hope this helps.
JohnC

 

[PGAdamopoulos]

J
I developed the same problem since I took mine to the OPC Guildford to replace my leaking rad, couple of weeks ago.
I sounds like there is a rat loose somewhere between dashboard and windscreen.
I will have it investigated at next scheduled service but I am sure they will do nothing more than poke around.

 

[Guest]

I have a varied assortment of rattles.
Not often the same one two days running though.

They are worst on cold days. On hot days the car is usually quiet. Similarly some of the noises will stop once the car gets warm.
I think it is mostly down to thermal expansion. My car was built during July, so I guess everything was tightened up when it was warm, and when it is less warm the gaps open up (at least that's my theory).
I had one bad rattle when I picked it up, which was clearly something wrong. The rear wiper relay had not been fitted correctly by the factory and was loose (10 mins fiddling by the OPC resolved it).
They said there was another noise from the centre console but I left it and it has gone away.

Trying to fix every noise may well not be worth the effort. Each time you move a piece of trim you run the risk of making another piece loose and a source of the next noise.
Maybe I should be more demanding, but whatever you do some noise will appear sooner or later. I haven't had a car that didn't rattle.

The only irritating thing is the passenger seat.
If you have in a middle sort of position (not fully forward or back and the back rest partly reclined) the seat belt buckle vibrates against the side of the seat. If you have the sports seats with the plastic backs, it makes some noise.
Additionally, at tickover the engine is at the resonant frequency of the passenger seat back rest (I am not the only person to notice this). You need to move the back rest forward or back to stop it vibrating itself to bits.

I suppose given the amount of gubbins that goes into a car now, making it silent is quite hard. Open the window/sunroof and floor the throttle and it doesn't seem to bad.

 

[PGAdamopoulos]

ORIGINAL: Stuart Martin
I suppose given the amount of gubbins that goes into a car now, making it silent is quite hard. Open the window/sunroof and floor the throttle and it doesn't seem to bad.

and put the music up.... []

 

[gaxor]

Rear Quarter windows are known to rattle like mad. OPC fixes it temporarily, but usually returns after a few weeks. I can actually see the glass moving in the seals