Creaking / clacking rattle - any ideas?
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 4,929
Likes: 2,339
From: Etobicoke (Toronto) Ontario
Creaking / clacking rattle - any ideas?
I posted this same question in the intro section along with some pics, but maybe best to post it here as well.
There's a pretty annoying sound best described as a 'clacking', or 'creaking' rattle - seems to be coming from under the seats. Happens when the road is a bit bumpy. The last time I heard anything like this was when the spherical rod end on one of the rear control arms was gone, on my old Aurora. My wife, from the passenger seat, thought it might be coming from the targa top clamps, but they are properly engaged, and it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly where the sound originates. That wonderful exhaust note kind of overlays everything.
It only has 21K miles on it, and there's no evidence of it being abused. The underside is pristine.
Any ideas, while I can still get the dealership's attention, 'cause I'm going to need to get them to reprogram the key fobs too? They lost the original key (#1), and got me another brand new one, but it won't allow me to change any options, so I'm guessing they just added it as fob #3 (or 4). I'm not sure to how to tell which number it is.
There's a pretty annoying sound best described as a 'clacking', or 'creaking' rattle - seems to be coming from under the seats. Happens when the road is a bit bumpy. The last time I heard anything like this was when the spherical rod end on one of the rear control arms was gone, on my old Aurora. My wife, from the passenger seat, thought it might be coming from the targa top clamps, but they are properly engaged, and it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly where the sound originates. That wonderful exhaust note kind of overlays everything.
It only has 21K miles on it, and there's no evidence of it being abused. The underside is pristine.
Any ideas, while I can still get the dealership's attention, 'cause I'm going to need to get them to reprogram the key fobs too? They lost the original key (#1), and got me another brand new one, but it won't allow me to change any options, so I'm guessing they just added it as fob #3 (or 4). I'm not sure to how to tell which number it is.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,735
Likes: 412
From: WV
Your wife could be correct,( just don't tell her) , the sound could be the top creaking.. My top creaked when I first got my car and I couldn't tell where the sound was coming from.. This is a known problem on C6 Corvettes..To see if thats your problem, remove your top and go for a ride , if it doesn't creak you found your problem..There's a bunch of threads on this forum telling how to resolve the problem... Just do a search on "creaking top".. If my creaking top theory is wrong, jack up the car and look for the exhaust touching something , or maybe a heat shield rattling or touching something.. Omega's suggestion above about bad endlinks is also something you should check out, this is also a well known problem...Good Luck.. ..WW
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Last edited by WW7; Oct 9, 2017 at 07:12 PM.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 4,929
Likes: 2,339
From: Etobicoke (Toronto) Ontario
Your wife could be correct,( just don't tell her) , the sound could be the top creaking.. My top creaked when I first got my car and I couldn't tell where the sound was coming from.. This is a known problem on C6 Corvettes..To see if thats your problem, remove your top and go for a ride , if it doesn't creak you found your problem..There's a bunch of threads on this forum telling how to resolve the problem... Just do a search on "creaking top".. If my creaking top theory is wrong, jack up the car and look for the exhaust touching something , or maybe a heat shield rattling or touching something.. Omega's suggestion above about bad endlinks is also something you should check out, this is also a well known problem...Good Luck.. ..WW
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EDIT: Fixed it today: It was the top, since the noises disappeared after I removed it. I used the O-ring method on the front pins, as described elsewhere in the forum. Didn't have 1/2 x 1/4 x 1/8 O-rings in my collection, but did have some 1/2" OD with 3/32 wall thickness, so a bit thinner. Nonetheless, they worked just fine - fixed and tested it about 10 minutes ago. Didn't even need to remove the top - I just undid front and rear latches and raised it up at the front enough to slip on the rings. Took all of 3 minutes. Creaking, popping and clicking all eliminated, at least for now.
Last edited by FatsWaller; Oct 24, 2017 at 01:36 PM. Reason: Solved the problem
