Sounds like a really cool tool at this point if I did not find the noise I am ready to pay the dealer the hour to find it if they will no loan the tool. I could chase this for months and never find it. I still think it sounded like egg crate in the bumper but happy so far.
Dave

 

Glad to hear you got your rattle figured out, Dave.

I got under the car again today, since this rattle is driving me nuts. I checked over all my Banski suspension pieces, just to be sure that all the rod ends were tight and rattle-free. I re-indexed the LH toe rod since the rod ends were positioned such that they were unable to rotate. This did nothing for my rattle, however.

I decided that was enough for the day, and washed the car, and while I was working near the LH rear quarter panel/bumper area, I was able to produce a rattle sound. I immediately removed both taillights on the LH side, and found the problem!

The power antenna mounting bracket was rubbing against the framerail extension!

The bracket was bent when I backed into a fencepost over the summer, and when i fixed the damage, I didn't re-bend the bracket quite properly. I now re-bent it to give about 1/8" clearance to the frame rail extension, and stuck a strip of foam tape in the gap just to be sure.

 

I hope is fixed now too! Went for a short ride this morning and i think success for me. I have to say I like the firmer rear bar and need to get the new front bar on as well. The rear on got rid of 90% of the rear body roll with no loss in ride quality and if anything rides better. It is the VBP 26mm one with poly bushings and have the 32mm bar sitting here unused, bought them over a year ago and never got around to putting them on. I am thinking the front might be better at 30mm like the factory picked though rather have a bit of understeer given a choice so maybe a good pick anyway. I am reasonably accompliched behind the wheel though not enough seat time in a long time driving close to the edge and will settle for spirited street driving at this point in my life and the understeer to remind me I need to chill a bit..LOL

I am thinking the lager bars with the softer FX3 springs might be the best of both worlds, fairly compliant with less body roll. I need to have business to pick up so I can get back to doing the heim joints in the rear though no way I will buy a kit it is way too cheap to do them yourself with off the shelf parts. I had dogbones and camber rods all made up and sold them last year when money got real tight and just need to do a new set.
Dave

 

Argh! I went for a test drive after my last post, and the problem is NOT fixed. Apparently the antenna bracket was causing a different noise, but the main problem I'm hearing is still there! It sounds like almost a growling type rattle, I can hear it even at speeds as low as 2mph in my driveway.

I tightened the door striker, which was loose -- no improvement there.

A good thing, though, is that I haven't had any Service Ride Control lights popping up since adjusting the gear spacing. I used to get that at least once a day.

I am wondering if the hub / bearing could be a source of such a noise... It has less than 10k miles on it, it was a NOS part from corvette recycling...

I did notice that the lower bushings on my rear shocks are in poor shape, lots of cracks. I ordered a new pair from Doug Rippie. I don't really think that's the problem, though.

 

Steelman Chassis Ear tool you need.
End of guess work on squeaks, rattles, thumps, groans, funny howling noises.

 

Yep, I'll put it on my to-do list sometime down the road... Thanks for the tip!