Long shot - Mondeo - hugely annoying rattle

Long shot - Mondeo - hugely annoying rattle

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Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Wednesday 29th May 2013
quotequote all
I appreciate that asking this is going to be a bit of a long shot, but..

I've got a really annoying rattle/creak emanating from what sounds like to be behind the dashboard/below the windscreen in my Mondeo (ST220). It does it while driving along normally, and you can make it click/creak by shaking the car gently from side to side with the steering wheel while driving.

It sounds like plastic rubbing on plastic and it sounds like it's coming from toward the passenger side and probably underneath at the back of the dashboard. But as is usually the case with these noises, I could be completely wrong.

I've had the glovebox out and been under there and had a poke around as much as humanly possible and taped up loose bits of wire and sprayed bits with silicone grease and all sorts.

Taking the glovebox out doesn't help, taking off the wobbly bit of plastic scuttle panel trim on the outside doesn't help either.


Has anyone experienced this?

The centre vent (with the little round climate control sun-load sensor in) creaks a bit but grabbing hold of it or moving it doesn't stop or affect the rattle.



Any ideas?! It's driving me potty! So potty, that I'm going to offer £5 via Paypal to the person who most closely directs me to the cause of it!


Edited by Howard- on Wednesday 29th May 08:13

LuS1fer

41,145 posts

246 months

Wednesday 29th May 2013
quotequote all
Have you sprayed silicon spray along the edges to see if that makes a difference?
If not, check neither of your front road springs have snapped a bit off as this can create creaks and rattles and is often hard to spot but the spring no longer seats properly.

Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Wednesday 29th May 2013
quotequote all
I have sprayed along the edge of the dashboard under the windscreen yes, but I can press and bend down that part of the dash and it doesn't make a noise. Same with the sides. I can thump, bash, shake and tug at the dashboard til I'm blue in the face but I can't reproduce it without driving the thing.

I did think it was something 'external' and I've had a look at the springs and they seem fine. It sounds like plastic on plastic rubbing, not like the metallic rattle I could hear through the dash when my brake pads were rattling. I haven't taken out the wheel arch linings and looked behind them yet. I'm slowly working my way round dismantling the entire car hehe Stupid thing is annoying me with its rattle and braking issues!


Podie

46,630 posts

276 months

Wednesday 29th May 2013
quotequote all
It's not the leather seat on the centre console?

Took me bloody ages to find that on mine. Hobbycraft do some sticker backed felt... put some on the centre console and problem solved. smile

Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Wednesday 29th May 2013
quotequote all
Podie said:
It's not the leather seat on the centre console?

Took me bloody ages to find that on mine. Hobbycraft do some sticker backed felt... put some on the centre console and problem solved. smile
No that's separate and yes it does it when I have passengers. Good shout on the felt, will do that.

But that's not the rattle. It's definitely coming from under/behind the dashboard frown


Podie

46,630 posts

276 months

Wednesday 29th May 2013
quotequote all
Howard- said:
Podie said:
It's not the leather seat on the centre console?

Took me bloody ages to find that on mine. Hobbycraft do some sticker backed felt... put some on the centre console and problem solved. smile
No that's separate and yes it does it when I have passengers. Good shout on the felt, will do that.

But that's not the rattle. It's definitely coming from under/behind the dashboard frown
Take the head unit and clock surround out - worth checking behind there for a loose / unclipped / rubbing cable.

Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Wednesday 29th May 2013
quotequote all
Podie said:
Take the head unit and clock surround out - worth checking behind there for a loose / unclipped / rubbing cable.
Done that. Had the HU out and drove around sticking my hand in and whatnot, no difference. Couldn't get the clock surround fully off without feeling like I was going to snap it - how do I do that?


One possible explanation, certainly for the passenger side of the dash, is that something has got stuck in one of the ducts leading to/from the blower motor assembly or something.. Doesn't look easy to remove that though :/


One of the little ball joints on the wheel for opening/closing one of my dash vents has broken off and fallen inside somewhere.. god knows where though, and I doubt even that would rattle that loudly frown That's probably just gone onto the carpet somewhere though as that's where it'd fall.


It really is quite a prominent noise.

sean x

57 posts

160 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
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Front nearside anti roll bar bush?
Does the Mondeo have a brake reaction strut - if so, then maybe the bush on the end of that (I had a car with this rubber completely gone, the rattle drove the previous owner mad and it sounded like a ball bearing in a tin can in the glove box).
Also very recently sorted 2 of really irritating sqeeks and rattles, one was a fuel tank strap missing rubber padding, and the other was £1:27 in change in the centre air vent. The kids had been playing in the car while I was washing it and paid the parking money into the vent solts - must have been a fun game for them but drove me insane for a few weeks!
Sean

Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
I can't see it being a worn bush - Last saturday the car flew through its MOT without a single advisory or mention of anything from the tester, and it really doesn't sound like that sort of noise. I know what you mean with them being deceptive though but this really does sound like plastic creaking smile

LuS1fer

41,145 posts

246 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
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Top strut mounts tend to be plastic.

Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Thursday 30th May 2013
quotequote all
Hmm. Any way to test / prove that it's these?

Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Friday 31st May 2013
quotequote all
I managed to get a sound clip that quite accurately portrays it.

Turn the volume up loud, and listen from 10 seconds in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANM7_NmxZvI&hd...



I also sat in the passenger seat and had a crawl around whilst being driven to see if I could localise it - pretty sure it's not coming from the actual dashboard, but I then took the nearside front wheel off and had a poke around under there and couldn't feel anything make the noise frown


Grr frown

LuS1fer

41,145 posts

246 months

Friday 31st May 2013
quotequote all
Several things spring to mind.
(1)Have you removed the plastic round the wipers to make sure nothing is rolling round in there
(2) Is the cabin filter or air filter not clipped in properly (assuming they clip in).
(3) Have any clips dropped off in the doors allowing a lock rod to vibrate.

Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
quotequote all
LuS1fer said:
Several things spring to mind.
(1)Have you removed the plastic round the wipers to make sure nothing is rolling round in there
(2) Is the cabin filter or air filter not clipped in properly (assuming they clip in).
(3) Have any clips dropped off in the doors allowing a lock rod to vibrate.
My suspicion is the plastic scuttle panel stuff - unfortunately I can only remove the offside one - the wiper arms won't budge! Going to try again with some Plus Gas...

Cabin filter plastic surround is also a bit wobbly but I don't think it's that.

Sound isn't coming from the doors.


It's odd. Sounds very much like plastic on plastic rattling/creaking. Does it when the car 'flexes' a lot i.e. sharp wheel turns or last night when I went to the pub and had to park up on a kerb so I drove the car (very gently so nothing got damaged) up onto a kerb and as the wheels went up, it creaked tongue out

LuS1fer

41,145 posts

246 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
quotequote all
To remove wiper arms, remove the nut then get a large screwdriver wrapped in a rag and lever up opposite the arm and it will flip off.

Howard-

Original Poster:

4,953 posts

203 months

Saturday 1st June 2013
quotequote all
I'M SO HAPPY I COULD CRY biggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrin

I found it biggrin


Turned out to be the bonnet hinges/brackets. Bit of oil and lubricating later and it's silent.


biggrin


hehe

labis

1 posts

72 months

Saturday 19th May 2018
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The post is old but it worths, Many Mondeo owners are looking to solve such problems, a small brrrrrrr appeared , the sound was like something is rattling inside or behind the gauge dashboard, something like a kind of vacuum valve or pump, terrible noise! The sound was following the engine, when accelerating the pitch was more high, i have a mondeo station wagon mk3. I read many cases on the internet but no solution...
Finally after my inspection i discovered that the sound was coming fom the throttle wire or the auto pilot throttle wire.... Yeah, that easy! The wire had contact with the plastic cover of the engine and was rattling...the noise was been transferred by the throttle wire inside the cabin and under the windscreen or behind the dashboard, yeah it stopped finally.. unbelievable but true....