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Subwoofer Rattle? I think I gotter licked.
- Thread starter Theherofails
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Now seeing https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/tsb-for-subwoofer-rattle-issue-23-2241.78643/ it makes sense why the original fix posted here works. (putting tension on the existing fasteners)
I did that as well plus the inner skin of the fender plus the entire backside of the plastic trim panel. Absolutely no rattles with my Kicker 8" sub and Key 500 amp.
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Very nice! As you obviously noticed, the rattling occurs even without the factory panels installed, so I believe that the Ford TSB to fix the rattle with a new clip design will not be satisfactory.I did that as well plus the inner skin of the fender plus the entire backside of the plastic trim panel. Absolutely no rattles with my Kicker 8" sub and Key 500 amp.
Pros:
Well I got back in there and did the Kilmatt and let me say it sounds awesome now. Fully love the BO system and glad I didn’t have a heatstroke in the Texas sun doing this.
Well I got back in there and did the Kilmatt and let me say it sounds awesome now. Fully love the BO system and glad I didn’t have a heatstroke in the Texas sun doing this.
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Cons:
I somehow sheered off one of the bolts to the sub housing. It’s one of the two big one long ones coming out of the metal that you put the nut and washer in to. I was tightening it up and it just broke through the metal of the bronco. Now Before you ask I am not the hulk so not sure how this could happen I wasn’t even going at it too hard. Hopefully the dealership will fix it under warranty as a fault weld or something cause no way this should have happened.
Im going on a road trip next week so I just turned it upside down and stuck it back in the hole with some loctite and some kill Matt over it just to hold it in place and not rattle.
Already have to take it in when I get back bc of an issue with the 360 camera not displaying properly so I’ll just show up and act stupid about this and hope they take pity on my two month old bronco
I somehow sheered off one of the bolts to the sub housing. It’s one of the two big one long ones coming out of the metal that you put the nut and washer in to. I was tightening it up and it just broke through the metal of the bronco. Now Before you ask I am not the hulk so not sure how this could happen I wasn’t even going at it too hard. Hopefully the dealership will fix it under warranty as a fault weld or something cause no way this should have happened.
Im going on a road trip next week so I just turned it upside down and stuck it back in the hole with some loctite and some kill Matt over it just to hold it in place and not rattle.
Already have to take it in when I get back bc of an issue with the 360 camera not displaying properly so I’ll just show up and act stupid about this and hope they take pity on my two month old bronco
My 2023 WT with B&O still rattled after the shop towel hack. Ended up being the 10mm bolt (or fastener on the backside actually) I torqued it down very snug (sorry didn't use torque wrench). Viola, no rattle.
On a side note, noticed a slight rattle from the rear roll bar trim piece. Shifting some pressure around, was able to get it to stop. Gotta think of how to address that. I think some double sided tape will handle it.
On a side note, noticed a slight rattle from the rear roll bar trim piece. Shifting some pressure around, was able to get it to stop. Gotta think of how to address that. I think some double sided tape will handle it.
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You would think paying 59k for a new vehicle. You wouldn’t have to worry about rattling noises or having to use double sided tape
VERY true!You would think paying 59k for a new vehicle. You wouldn’t have to worry about rattling noises or having to use double sided tape
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- Wildtrak
This is where your rattling is coming from guys, those two nut plates in the square holes:
They rely on the bolt passing through to expand them and hold them solid in the square hole. It has four tiny little legs that expand out to contact the edges of the hole, and if you take one of the nut plates out you'll likely notice that the legs are getting worn down from all the rattling as a result of them being loose. It's likely only a matter of time before they wear down regardless of how well they currently fit, there's just hardly any contact area between those little legs and the thickness of that body panel. If those legs have lost some of their spring tension and the nut plate doesn't exert enough tension when the bolt is properly torqued, no amount of additional torque will make any difference and the entire nut plate will rattle inside of that square hole. As a result, sometimes simply tightening the bolt will not have an effect at all, and if it does, it won't address why it ended up being loose and will likely come back. Adding kilmat to the surrounding panel will reduce the vibration, but it doesn't address the root cause of it. The other fasteners on the bottom are not as critical, as the sub creates forces going sideways rather than up and down when it's working, plus you're dealing with solid hardware instead of nut plates, so as long as they're relatively tight they shouldn't cause any issues.
There are three solid options to cure this.
-Find a way to get some actual nuts on the back side to replace the nut plates along with a big washer, and use loctite. Looks like it would be a pain to do and annoying if you have to remove the sub later on, but it would be a guaranteed fix.
-Weld a nut to the panel...also a pain to do, not to mention having a welder and all the prep and cleanup and priming you'd have to do after the fact.
-Take the nut plates out, cover the square holes with kilmat, push the nut plate back through (it's a lot easier than it sounds), and then re-install with loctite. Use your thumb to push against the kilmat and you'll see a square outline to push the nut plate through. The kilmat will provide a level of compliance and eliminate the metal on metal vibration causing the rattle.
-Bonus fourth option...there might be a more reliable nut plate out there to replace it with, something more robust, but I haven't shopped around for any. Let me know if you find one.
Also, there's usually a module hanging on the side of this panel just in front of the wheelwell (in this pic it's just in front of the seat belt tensioner, but the 2dr has it closer to the sub). If the panel starts vibrating, it can act like a tuning fork and resonate. Put some kilmat between the bracket and the panel then tighten the module back down, problem solved. This may be just a 2dr thing, but check it out on the 4dr as well if you've got the panel off.
They rely on the bolt passing through to expand them and hold them solid in the square hole. It has four tiny little legs that expand out to contact the edges of the hole, and if you take one of the nut plates out you'll likely notice that the legs are getting worn down from all the rattling as a result of them being loose. It's likely only a matter of time before they wear down regardless of how well they currently fit, there's just hardly any contact area between those little legs and the thickness of that body panel. If those legs have lost some of their spring tension and the nut plate doesn't exert enough tension when the bolt is properly torqued, no amount of additional torque will make any difference and the entire nut plate will rattle inside of that square hole. As a result, sometimes simply tightening the bolt will not have an effect at all, and if it does, it won't address why it ended up being loose and will likely come back. Adding kilmat to the surrounding panel will reduce the vibration, but it doesn't address the root cause of it. The other fasteners on the bottom are not as critical, as the sub creates forces going sideways rather than up and down when it's working, plus you're dealing with solid hardware instead of nut plates, so as long as they're relatively tight they shouldn't cause any issues.
There are three solid options to cure this.
-Find a way to get some actual nuts on the back side to replace the nut plates along with a big washer, and use loctite. Looks like it would be a pain to do and annoying if you have to remove the sub later on, but it would be a guaranteed fix.
-Weld a nut to the panel...also a pain to do, not to mention having a welder and all the prep and cleanup and priming you'd have to do after the fact.
-Take the nut plates out, cover the square holes with kilmat, push the nut plate back through (it's a lot easier than it sounds), and then re-install with loctite. Use your thumb to push against the kilmat and you'll see a square outline to push the nut plate through. The kilmat will provide a level of compliance and eliminate the metal on metal vibration causing the rattle.
-Bonus fourth option...there might be a more reliable nut plate out there to replace it with, something more robust, but I haven't shopped around for any. Let me know if you find one.
Also, there's usually a module hanging on the side of this panel just in front of the wheelwell (in this pic it's just in front of the seat belt tensioner, but the 2dr has it closer to the sub). If the panel starts vibrating, it can act like a tuning fork and resonate. Put some kilmat between the bracket and the panel then tighten the module back down, problem solved. This may be just a 2dr thing, but check it out on the 4dr as well if you've got the panel off.
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Also FYI, you dont need to cover the entire area with noico/killmat. The point of that product is to stop the resonance of the body panels so even just putting small pieces around things stops it.
OP
OP
- Thread starter
- #102
I’m glad my original fix from 2021 has helped so many people find ways to silence their sub rattle. That same paper towel is still folded up and stashed behind the panel, and I’m still squeak free 2 years later!
You guys and all your Kill Mat "kill" me. All you have to do is stuff some rags down there and put tension between the plastic housing and the actual frame of the car and the rattles go away. I had some nasty rattles, took the advice of this post (used rags) and it was fine.
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I did this trick with a shop rag and it worked really well, even turned up to 18 or 20 with the lux OEM woofer it doesn't have any rattles.
I tried the towel thing, I stuffed the entire compartment with as many towels as I could fit in there but it didn’t really seem to help my problem at all. The kilmat on the other hand solved 99% of it thankfully
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