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chakra71
04-27-2003, 07:53 AM
I was planning on going to the dragstrip the other night, so i stripped out some of the interior to remove some weight. I only removed the rear seats and the carpeting in the back... felt a nice improvement in driving, well worth it for racing. :) I never made it to the track tho, because it was raining like hell that day/night. When i went to put it all back together I decided to find the most annoying rattle since i had allready stripped it that far.

I removed the drivers side rear pannel which is pretty darn big. It runs from the door all the way to the hatch. not really hard to remove, but here's how I did it.

1) I had to remove the seats and carpeting in the back.

2) remove the speaker cover, speaker, the seatbelt assembly cover, and the small pannel in the middle of the hatch closing (it has a latch point in the middle of it, just unbolt and pull it up/out)

3) remove the 2 screws in the long side pannel at the back of the car, they are gold colored screws. remove the pop tabs at the base of the pannel, there are two of them, i believe. for ease of re-assmbly remove the driver's side seatbelt bolt at the bottom. remove the ruber grommet for the rear seat latch.

4) pull straight towards you, away from the wall, starting in the rear of the car. The thing is held with press fit connectors all over it, so be gentle and it will just come right off. Be careful at the driver's side door as the panel wraps all the way around the B pillar.

Once it's removed look at the seatbelt unit. It has a plastic piece behind it that seems to be the culprit for my most annoying rattle ever.

here's a pic:

http://www.boomspeed.com/chakra71/seatbelt1.jpg

after:
http://www.boomspeed.com/chakra71/seatbelt2.jpg

Just pull at one side of the plastic and it will come right out. It's not connected to anything and moved a whole bunch in my car, making this loud noise.

It took me about an hour to take it all apart the first time. and maybe another to put it back together, so set aside some decent time and go slow so you don't break anything... these plastic parts don't bend much before they break.

BONUS:
This is where rice belongs!
http://www.boomspeed.com/chakra71/toolbox.jpg

mhx
04-27-2003, 08:41 AM
for a second i thought u had a honda tool box.. i was like dam that would be cool to have.. LOL than i saw craftsman..
sigh..

mhx
04-27-2003, 08:43 AM
btw that plastic is there for a reason.. looks like to protect against water?

enjoy

chakra71
04-27-2003, 08:57 AM
good point about the water, dust was another thought i had. But i saw absolutely no sign of either and it's rained like mad here the past few days. i even felt down the speaker hole as far as i could and felt no dust or dampness.

I also am a big outdoorsman and take my car down many a dirt road several miles long. could not find any dust in there at all. i feel very confident that this item is over-protection that can go to make my ride more enjoyable.

BarracksSi
10-14-2003, 04:11 PM
What about using some silicone glue or something to secure it, thereby keeping it from rattling but still protecting it from who-knows-what?

I know, it's another three hours out of your day, ;) but it's a thought...

AkronSi
10-16-2003, 10:03 AM
So, now that it's all back together, is the rattle totally gone? I have a super bad rattle that sound like it's coming from the same spot. Some day when I'm bored, I'll have to check that out.

Thanks for the tip.

chakra71
10-17-2003, 04:56 AM
This seemed to fix it for about 2 months. Now I have developed a new rattle in the door itself. The new one stops if i push on the door right about where my shoulder is when in a normal driving position. This is more of a lite tick.

So the answer is yes, but there is more than just this one from that general area. I might try to fix this new door tick this weekend.

AkronSi
10-17-2003, 05:55 AM
Keep us posted on the new rattle.

BlasTech
10-17-2003, 08:07 AM
This reminds me, my dash started to rattle LOUD right behind the vents in the center console. It would go away if you stuck your had on the dash, so I knew it was a minor movement making a big noise.

I removed the console/stereo peice and used a stick to cram about a 10"x10" sheet of "egg-crate" foam rubber into all the nooks and crannies. And the problem went away!

My point is, that its frustrating for dealerships to deal with rattles, because the only way to fix them is with improvised ideas. There's nothing wrong with DIY tuning your panels to be quiet. ;)

Also, I use a tube of Black Silicone Caulking for lots of stuff (like I filled a hole I made with my hondata airbox mod) . It dries hard but supple, and can resist UV and Hight Temperatures. Just remember when you work with Silicone Caulk, to use an Ice Cube to smooth the surfaces down perfectly. IT WORKS!

getupk1d
10-17-2003, 03:09 PM
Originally posted by mhx
for a second i thought u had a honda tool box.. i was like dam that would be cool to have.. LOL than i saw craftsman..
sigh..

Imitation JDM toolbox ;)