HELP!!! Rattling noise in the back, As the title says Options

[lingham]

I have a '98 and '94 Celica GT. I bought the '94 2 years ago and it had a slight rattle which comes from the back area. It has gotten worse lately and even though it sounds like it's coming from inside, I can't find what is causing it. My '98 has started with the same sound just recently. I've had the suspension and under side of both cars checked by my mechanic. All is in order underneath with nothing loose. The suspension and exhaust systems on both cars are solid. Has anyone had a similar problem and found the cause/solution?
Thanks in advance.



My wife's '94 is starting to make the same noise. Her car is a GT coupe with only 64,000 miles on it. It is not as loud or noticeable as mine is.

This post has been edited by lingham: Jan 17, 2011 - 12:23 PM

[4-eyed-freek]

look to see if your license plate it tight. mine wasnt and made the worst rattles ever!!!

[playboymma]

my 94 gt hatchback is doing it now. its the rear strut assembly. when the rubber seal ruptures you lose all your fluid in your shock and it rattles like its about to fall off and a lot of mechanics dont test properly for a dry shock. go to the back of your car and bounce it up and down a bit, get it really bouncing, and then just back away. if it immediately stops then your struts are fine and you have some other problem but if it keeps bouncing you have dry struts. most autozones have bilstein rear struts for around 150... and they are worth it a friend put the bilsteins on his car and the rattling stopped. when i can afford it im doing the same

[mkernz22]

i hear that rattle every once in a while when im driving slow, but never when im going fast.
I probably have the same problem

[playboymma]

its not fun cuz at any speed over highway speed limit the back end likes to hop when you hit a rough spot in the road. ESPECIALLY if youre going through a corner at a decent pace

[d3ath2009]

if its sounds like really loud and constant road noise, its the spindles... that being said, the spindles arent a crucial part that needs to b replaced, but if u have the money go ahead and check into that.. they r about $90 a piece depending on brand

[SupraKid]

Wat does it sound like?Metal hitting metal or what?How many miles are one both of your cars? Blown rear struts will make noise at slow speeds when you hit little bumps in the road.

[lingham]

Wat does it sound like?Metal hitting metal or what?How many miles are one both of your cars? Blown rear struts will make noise at slow speeds when you hit little bumps in the road.

Milage is '94=125,000 '98=135,000. When I bounce both cars, they stop right away, It doesn't sound like metal on metal. It's more like a wooden clunking sound. In both cars the noise seems to be coming from the passenger rear. The noise is most noticeable at slow speeds. At highway speeds on a smooth road there is no noise.

[playboymma]

sounds like a spindle then. best bet is ebay

[lingham]

sounds like a spindle then. best bet is ebay

With the car up on a rack we have tried to shake the suspension and there is nothing loose and no noise. It doesn't seem to be anything the suspension or chase. It sounds liken it is coming from inside the car. I took out the jack, spare tire, and everything from the rear of the car and it's still there.

[playboymma]

sounds like a spindle then. best bet is ebay

With the car up on a rack we have tried to shake the suspension and there is nothing loose and no noise. It doesn't seem to be anything the suspension or chase. It sounds liken it is coming from inside the car. I took out the jack, spare tire, and everything from the rear of the car and it's still there.

try pulling the panels out of the cargo area

[EKAn]

Maybe your gas tank is loose or exhaust system could be missing a hanger or something?

[d3ath2009]

spindles arent really noticeable unless you pull everything apart and try spinning them like bearings... plastic could b loose, but there has to b something making them rattle. spindles can and will make interior panels vibrate, which leads to what u are likely hearing. without something causing them to vibrate, the panels wont make any noise.

[playboymma]

spindles arent really noticeable unless you pull everything apart and try spinning them like bearings... plastic could b loose, but there has to b something making them rattle. spindles can and will make interior panels vibrate, which leads to what u are likely hearing. without something causing them to vibrate, the panels wont make any noise.

of course the panels themselves wouldnt vibrate but if there's something behind them it might. thats the only reason to take the panels out

[bloodMoney]

Try checking the exhaust hanger closest to the passenger side on the muffler. My bushing there is going out and it rattles like I've got loose change sitting on a sub. lol

It won't show up unless you get under there and physically move the bushing. It made no noise when I tried shaking the muffler/pipes.

[Spider77]

I know it sounds odd, but how are your rear seats (upper portion). I had a similar issue and it was driving me nuts....but yesterday when I was in the back seat cleaning the window i leaned up against the rear seat (upper) and it was sorta loose, like the latch was catching a bit....so I unlatched, and slammed the seats in....no rattle/squeak....

[barterj]

Check the spare tire, i know it sounds odd, but mine was loose and would rattle around, also as suggested above, pull the interior panels and make sure nothing has come loose behind them, maybe a loose speaker mount? loose power antenna? rattling generally means something is loose somewhere.

[delusionz]

good luck man, chasing noises is a b*tch.

[cyberblader1130]

I have the same noise, rear passenger side. Very low rpm rattle, high rpms/high speed no rattle. I would be willing to bet it's your bumper rattling against 1 of a few things: Muffler, Bumper Bracket, pretty much anything it touches. So, try checking your bumper once and see if it's hitting anything.

[lingham]

I have the same noise, rear passenger side. Very low rpm rattle, high rpms/high speed no rattle. I would be willing to bet it's your bumper rattling against 1 of a few things: Muffler, Bumper Bracket, pretty much anything it touches. So, try checking your bumper once and see if it's hitting anything.

Thanks for the tip but thats not it. Everything is solid both underneath and the bumper shows no movement at all. The exhaust system and everything else is rock solid. Did fixing your loose bumper cure the problem? What you are describing sounds like what I have.

[SupraKid]

sounds like a spindle then. best bet is ebay

With the car up on a rack we have tried to shake the suspension and there is nothing loose and no noise. It doesn't seem to be anything the suspension or chase. It sounds liken it is coming from inside the car. I took out the jack, spare tire, and everything from the rear of the car and it's still there.

The problem with that is that your not putting the force onto it that the car does when its on the ground. :\ So it may not produce the noise.

[cyberblader1130]

I have the same noise, rear passenger side. Very low rpm rattle, high rpms/high speed no rattle. I would be willing to bet it's your bumper rattling against 1 of a few things: Muffler, Bumper Bracket, pretty much anything it touches. So, try checking your bumper once and see if it's hitting anything.

Thanks for the tip but thats not it. Everything is solid both underneath and the bumper shows no movement at all. The exhaust system and everything else is rock solid. Did fixing your loose bumper cure the problem? What you are describing sounds like what I have.

Not yet, i'm missing a clip on my bumper so it has some movement and it's hitting against my Muffler. I also have side skirts that are cracking, so i'll be taking those off soon too. They are noisy as well.
Does the noise happen only when you are driving or can it be heard while your parked and revving?

[playboymma]

sounds like a spindle then. best bet is ebay

With the car up on a rack we have tried to shake the suspension and there is nothing loose and no noise. It doesn't seem to be anything the suspension or chase. It sounds liken it is coming from inside the car. I took out the jack, spare tire, and everything from the rear of the car and it's still there.

The problem with that is that your not putting the force onto it that the car does when its on the ground. :\ So it may not produce the noise.

yeh the best way to tell whether or not its the strut is to bounce the back of the car up and down. if it stops suddenly, theyr fine. if it keeps bouncing, ur riding on springs. thats what mine is and if im cornering hard and hit a bump the tail hops around on me

[lingham]

I know it sounds odd, but how are your rear seats (upper portion). I had a similar issue and it was driving me nuts....but yesterday when I was in the back seat cleaning the window i leaned up against the rear seat (upper) and it was sorta loose, like the latch was catching a bit....so I unlatched, and slammed the seats in....no rattle/squeak....

Thanks for the info but it does it with the seats both up and latched and down.

I have the same noise, rear passenger side. Very low rpm rattle, high rpms/high speed no rattle. I would be willing to bet it's your bumper rattling against 1 of a few things: Muffler, Bumper Bracket, pretty much anything it touches. So, try checking your bumper once and see if it's hitting anything.

Thanks for the tip but thats not it. Everything is solid both underneath and the bumper shows no movement at all. The exhaust system and everything else is rock solid. Did fixing your loose bumper cure the problem? What you are describing sounds like what I have.

Not yet, i'm missing a clip on my bumper so it has some movement and it's hitting against my Muffler. I also have side skirts that are cracking, so i'll be taking those off soon too. They are noisy as well.
Does the noise happen only when you are driving or can it be heard while your parked and revving?

Only at low speeds.

[lingham]

sounds like a spindle then. best bet is ebay

With the car up on a rack we have tried to shake the suspension and there is nothing loose and no noise. It doesn't seem to be anything the suspension or chase. It sounds liken it is coming from inside the car. I took out the jack, spare tire, and everything from the rear of the car and it's still there.

The problem with that is that your not putting the force onto it that the car does when its on the ground. :\ So it may not produce the noise.

We have tried shaking the car from side to side and up and down with the weight on it. The suspension seems tight with no movement whether on the rack or with the weight on it. The noise sure sounds like it is coming from inside the car. I have removed the spare and everything else from the rear of the car and the rattle is still there. No one can seem to find it or figure it out.

[b22ri22an]

i had a rattle from the back of my car i had trouble finding, it turned out to be bad emergency brake shoes and worn hardware, would only hear it at low speed cause at high speed road noise from the tires would be louder then the rattle after replacing the e brake shoes and hardware the noises have stopped

[barterj]

is all the plastic tight? rear strut mount maybe?

[BK94ST]

I had a bad clunking noise in the back also. When driving over bumps and potholes it sounded like the whole rear end was falling off. I checked everything but nothing was loose. My problem was the sway bar end links. I could not move them when the car was on the ground or on a lift. When I replaced the rear struts and put lowering spring on I replaced the end links and the clunking noise was gone.

[Stambo]

check the rear latch, on my coupe mine isn't as tight as it used to be and the trunk clunks ever so slightly every once in awhile over a decent bump. Just another thought of checking

[richee3]

Have somebody ride with you while you go for a drive and have them sit in the back seat and search the car top to bottom for the noise.