Anybody have a solution to reduce all of the noise that well broke in thirdgens create?

I swear going down the street at 35mph sounds like I'm off roading.

Havent had time to chase this down, hopefully this weekend...seems like most of the rattling comes from the dash and the squeaks from the doors/a-pillars.

Looking forward to fixing this, any inputs are appreciated.

-Brandon

 

SFC's will do wonders for problems.

 

I might have to look into getting a set of them...

That will stiffen everything but doubt it will cure all creaks. Do you know of any posts about/members making modifications to doors or dashes to mitigate noises?

First thing that came to mind was securing the door lock rods etc, and adding foam around the perimiter of the dash..Thoughts?

 

SFC's will help drastically

re-grease everything that can be



some other ideas:

spray some WD40(or your choice of lubricant spray) on anything that moves

wipe anything that moves in used motor oil(not the best choice but it works)

 

Plenty of the rattles come from the doors on my '85 T/A. That's because I need to replace the hinge bushings. This may also be one of your problems. I also had squeaks coming from the dried out sway bar bushings. Replaced those in front and back and it made a world of difference.

 

Oh man this was a fun problem to tackle! It's a total pain in the *** but once you hunt them all down it makes driving your car fun again.

 

explain what SFCs mean exactly? I am annoyed with my rattles aswell.

 

Subframe connectors, you can do inners, outers, or both

The door rattles can get annoying, I actually found a piece of wood in the bottom of my door from previous body work

Replacing anything rubber will help like crazy

 

they are unibody braces that run from the rear control arms (where you bolt them onto the unibody not the rear end) up to the front floor pans and subframe , they don't go past the firewall . Imagine a sheet of plywood, twist it and it will twist . Attach two 2x4's in a longitudinal way and try twisting again and it won't . That's pretty much how they work on our cars . Check where your B pillar meets the roof, if there is a crack, you need SFC's .

 

Forget the SFCs ! I doubt they are gonna cure your interior squeek and rattle issues.
Start with the EASY and most likely noise culprits FIRST!

Its best to start with the rear side panels and check the big plastic holding screws and the clips that they screw into are prob. broken out of their holders. Cheap and easy to replace!

Then you need to Install a few well placed interior trim screws with washers in the plastic panels (next to the rear seats and speaker openings) as the plastic clips that hold them in are usually broken and its a PIA taking the rear seats out to get at them. The trim screws are a quick easy squeek/rattle fix and look factory if placed correctly.


The doors are all another animal. Take the door panel off and check
and snug up all nuts and bolts and make sure the door handle/lock rods are placed in their "holders". Spraying all slide areas/hinges/etc. with some white grease helps too.


The dash is more complicated and its easier IMO to just take the dash top off and working from the top or underneath and not tearing the whole dash out.

Face it that these cars are OLD and rattleboxes no matter what you do! good luck!

 

[QUOTE=sonjaab;5603595]Forget the SFCs ! I doubt they are gonna cure your interior squeek and rattle issues.


I am a original owner of 87 IROC-Z28 and I had those interior & exterior squeaks & rattles.12 years ago I had Spohn Tube type SFC's welded on and they solved almost all the noise problems. MY car to this day is about as tight as any 3rd gen car out there.

 

I'm not saying the interior can't cause squeaks and rattles, but I guarantee the problem areas are under the car and not in it, SFC's will solve most of the problems

 

LOL!..................You guys must live in fantasyland!

 

I own two of these cars currently, one I've driven over 40k miles, the other I've known of and ridden in since 2007, neither of them have serious squeaks or rattles that come from interior panels, maybe the spare tire not being snugged down will rattle a little, or the stuff in the rear cargo box, but not from under the dash and not because the panels are missing screws

The reason you may have issues with your "interior noise" is because you need subframe connectors, they prevent twist which will cause squeaks everywhere including the interior panels rubbing together or chattering

 

For interior issues, this will help

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/280989826261?...84.m1423.l2649

For body rattles, SFC's will help. UMI, Alston, spohn, BMR....take your pick.

Also, there is a good thread (search) by a member who eliminated some rattles by redoing the power window motors. He drilled out the welds and secured with zip ties. Some good info and pics in his thread.

 

This past weekend I replaced the upper door card trim panels. Those are the ones that have the inner window sweeps attached to them. My trim panels were original and the sweeps were pretty well worn out or just plain had pieces of it missing. I had tackled all the rattles I could find in the door and eliminated most of them. But when the windows were closed, there was a rattle. Replacing the trim pieces with the sweeps corrected the problem. Having that tension on the inside of the glass made all the difference.

 

I have to agree that SFC's did NOT materially improve my interior squeaks and rattles. For comparison, I had a 1990 hardtop GTA that rattled, groaned like crazy inside. Installed weld in subframe connectors and no noticeable difference to the interior rattles. Granted to car physically was much stiffer (when jacked up much less flex) but no discernible difference to the 'feel' of the car inside

Now I have a 1991 T-top trans am and recently had the door hinges re-bushed and doors adjusted to suit. This garnered a noticeable improvement in the interior noise, and rattles; car feels more solid than the '90 GTA did and it does not have SFCs (yet - I completely appreciate the other advantages they provide)

Probably a few variables here (the '91s and onwards had seam sealer I'm told to help with the squeaks and rattles) but I suspect had I spent some time with the doors on the '90 GTA, it would have improved how well put together the car feels more than the SFC's.

Pretty obvious message by me; get these cars back to factory standard first and I think that'll improve how solid it feels. They rattled pretty bad from the factory apparently, but today, I'm pleasantly reassured at how my '91 T-top feels.

 

I remember these cars brand new squeaking and rattling. If you want smooth and quiet get a Monte Carlo or Cadillac. Lol

 

All of the squeaks and rattles can be addressed if you're willing to take the time. I acquired my 1982 Z28 this past summer. When I drove the car, it rattled and squeaked really bad. I started on the door panels by taking them completely apart and cleaning/lubricating whatever I could find. I found the best way to tighten screws, nuts and bolts is to loosen them up completely first, then retighten. Be sure to tighten the handles from inside the door. I also adjusted the window sweeps, lubricated the lock and latch assembly and tightened everything possible on the doors. They now close tight and solid with no rattles.

I then started on the interior. You need to take the dash pad off, tighten everything, put the dash pad back on. Take the radio pod and console apart and do the same. Be sure to check wire and plug placement to be sure no plugs are causing rattles on the brackets. Tighten down the console bolts.

I also noticed all of the black plastic trim over the seat tracks were loose, as were the seat track bolts themselves. Be sure not to over tighten as that will cause noises also. Snug up trim screws only.

The last thing I did was take apart the ttops. The hook assembly on the driver side had play in it and was rattling while driving. I lightly bent the rod to take up the slack and eliminated that rattle.

The '82 is as quiet as can be now and only took time to resolve. Not bad for a 35 year old car. Enjoy!

 

I have a 91 Z28. It was quiet as a mouse until just recently. Sounded like a major squeak coming from under the dash. But it was just the parking brake handle was loose. I was amazed at how much noise that one little thing made. I also have 5 other third gen cars. Most of the rattles come from the doors. Either the weather stripping is just shot or the outer door handle spring is broken or the lock rods are bent and rubbing on the door itself. Sometimes the window motors get a little loose to and and start to squeak. But I am still amazed at how much noise that dang little brake lever handle made.

 

i put a set of SFC's on, it didn't help the squeaks and rattles (they were already well developed - broken dash and door panels) but it did make a difference with handling and feels better on acceleration IMO. I know one of my big problems with my car is my door hinges sagging. I'm sure thats throwing a bit out on how it lines up to the dash and causes my squeaks

 

I took a lot of care to remove rattles on mine. I used self adhesive back foam in a lot of areas to eliminate squeeks and rattles. On all the locations where interior panels rub and make contact with metal. Also all the wiring and the linkages in the doors. I rebushed the hinges etc etc. My car us rattle free now until you start it and the mechanical pounding of the engine fills the interior

 

Love it!

I just got a case of "Great Stuff" foam and started filling under the dash all over.
The next day when it was all dry and practically filled the cabin with a block of foam, I just carved out a spot for me to sit and all the necessary controls I needed to drive and away I went.

Not really....

 

Like some of the others have said if you want to take the time all of the issues can be addressed quite easily. I've owned a bunch of 3rd gens and every one of them had squeaks and rattles. I put in a bunch of sound mat on the floors, doors, wheel wells, and roof to combat road noise. The interior panels are getting new clips and all of the screws are getting tightened as I put the interior back in.

My '87 has had SFCs in it for a while now and the doors don't sag at all which kept the door pins and bushings in good shape. The biggest culprit I've ran into is the windows rattling due to needing new seals and felt guides.

Just figure if you were in the 25-35 year old range and had been running hard for that long you'd have creaks and groans too! :-)