bowdoe

Hey!

There has been a rattling sound coming from the rear right of my car for months now. Sounds like very thin metal on metal rattle that is pretty loud and happens at every little bump or pothole on the road.
I have read a bunch of forum posts about it and a lot of people said changing the brake pad hardware helped them. Well, it didn't help me. Replaced all the little metal parts between and around the pads that hold them in place, but no luck.
The bushings are pretty old in the rear, but I've checked many times and nothing is loose, and seems mostly fine other than some creaking and squeaking, but that's only on the right side too...
I hope someone has some tips on what to check because I'm pretty much out of ideas at this point.

Thank you!

TrueGS300

Could it be the exhaust or heat shield above that muffler?

bowdoe

When I did a muffler delete to replace the totally rusted out stock mufflers we removed the right side heat shield because it was just flapping around. The left one was already missing.
We thought it would be either the muffler or it's heat shield doing it too, but sadly that didn't help either.

TrueGS300

The rear lower knuckle bushings can make some pretty nasty noises when they go bad. You can have someone jounce the rear up and down and side to side to inspect the area. Id be looking at those, sway bar links and bushings, and the control arms for noisy bushings.

bowdoe

Got it, thank you!

bowdoe

Jacked the car up again today, only thing I found so far is a very worn out sway bar bushing on the rear, but still, nothing else is loose, and couldn't find anything else that could make a sound like this. Gonna order the new parts for the sway bar and we'll see what happens I guess.

naluloa

That might be the guy you’re looking for. When my front sway bar bushing and end links were worn, they would clunk at every bump in the road. Please update on whether or not it fixed it!

bowdoe

Tried recording it too, hope you can hear it properly.

lexo98

iTrader: (2)

Bad strut?

JonGS3

That's a tough one. Do you have a set of ramps? I'd back the car up on them, get under it, and try to bounce the car by pushing up on the floor of the trunk....or find someone to help you and bounce it while you listen underneath.

I had that issue with my old 300 using aftermarket brake pads. Even after going to OEM hardware the brake pads would still make clanging sounds going over bumps. If you want to double-check that to rule it out, find a bumpy road where you know the car will make the noise and then just lightly ride your brakes while driving over it. Pressure from the caliper will keep them from moving around if there's any play in their fitment.

bowdoe

Riding the brake doesn't make any difference. I'll have access to ramps next month probably.

bowdoe

It's possible. I have no idea when they were changed, or even if they've been changed at all. What exactly would make a sound like that on a strut?

bowdoe

So my shifter linkage fell apart somehow, car is stuck in reverse sitting in my backyard. Looks like I'll have to postpone diagnosing the rattling

bowdoe

Finally found the problem. It's the parking brake. Applying it just ever so slightly instantly made the sound go away.