Rear deck rattle?

[tristangoesham]

I know I read up on this here once ages ago but I can't find it now.

My rear deck has been rattling and now that I put 2 12's in the trunk, it has gotten ridiculous. I've been tapping and poking around trying to find the source. Only thing I can think of is the rear deck speaker grills. The make a rattle but I have to tap them kinda hard to get noise. Any ideas? I don't want to waste money on a dynamat and then have it do nothing.

Also I checked to make sure my dvd/amp/etc are fastened tightly in the back.

 

[Shredicus]

I had pretty bad rattle from the yellowish plastic things inside the rear deck grilles that help them hold their shape. It looked like there was some foam keeping them from contacting the grilles from factory but it was long rotted so they contacted and rattled badly. Took them out and put the grilles back on and it took care of it

 

[xford]

For me it was the rear lic. plate and frame. I have stock THX subs though... I Drilled holes and bolted the bottom of the plate plus some spongy tape and the rattling went away.

 

[tristangoesham]

I had pretty bad rattle from the yellowish plastic things inside the rear deck grilles that help them hold their shape. It looked like there was some foam keeping them from contacting the grilles from factory but it was long rotted so they contacted and rattled badly. Took them out and put the grilles back on and it took care of it

Hmm sounds like it might be a solution. Now to take the deck apart again

 

[reaper76]

Guys I have had this issue as well and it's not the rear deck rattling! It is the air escaping from the trunk seal closest to the deck, the seal adjacent My soulution was a crapload of dynamat to te deck lid and problem solved.it is to the rear seal adjacent to the window.hope this helps

 

[tristangoesham]

Guys I have had this issue as well and it's not the rear deck rattling! It is the air escaping from the trunk seal closest to the deck, the seal adjacent My soulution was a crapload of dynamat to te deck lid and problem solved.it is to the rear seal adjacent to the window.hope this helps

I know it's not that for me, because I've tested it with the trunk open and I still get the rattle.

 

[tristangoesham]

It does make a "window being shaken" sort of sound though...

 

[coleio1]

i have the same issue. ive put sound deadening on the rear deck and think it may be the little vents under rear winshield or the speaker grills. i took the stock subs out so air could go in the cabin. still trying to figure out a solution.

 

[BlackLS06]

Subs will rattle the :q:q:q:q out of cars....sound deadening will help but unless you put the subs in the cabin there will be some rattle.

My trunk rattles like crazy.

 

[HALFGIG]

Look at the Plastic Cover over the rear window brake light. A lot of them do not fit tight and will make an annoying rattle noise. From what I remember it just slides into place with some brittle fingers/clips that hold it in place, not tight.

 

[tristangoesham]

I had pretty bad rattle from the yellowish plastic things inside the rear deck grilles that help them hold their shape. It looked like there was some foam keeping them from contacting the grilles from factory but it was long rotted so they contacted and rattled badly. Took them out and put the grilles back on and it took care of it

This was the problem, sounds WAY better now. My friend's LS has this same problem so I'm assuming this is very common.

 

[Pan1019]

This was the problem, sounds WAY better now. My friend's LS has this same problem so I'm assuming this is very common.

My rear deck is rattling like crazy too. Pretty sure that's what it is cause when I apply light pressure over the sub, the rattling stops. How exactly did you go about taking the trim off? I've tried removing the 3 plastic push pins off but there's absolutely no give in them

 

[tristangoesham]

Remove back seat bolsters (the leather pillow things) in order to do that there is a black lever on the white plastic they are attached to. Push the level in (one side it pushes up and the other pushes down I believe) then once those are released the carpet on the deck should slide out, that is if you have all the plastic rivets removed. The first time doing it will be a major pain in the ass but it will be well worth it.

Btw you should add some bad LS advice in your avatar, like "Always use regular gas, it's cheaper"

 

[Pan1019]

Remove back seat bolsters (the leather pillow things) in order to do that there is a black lever on the white plastic they are attached to. Push the level in (one side it pushes up and the other pushes down I believe) then once those are released the carpet on the deck should slide out, that is if you have all the plastic rivets removed. The first time doing it will be a major pain in the ass but it will be well worth it.

Btw you should add some bad LS advice in your avatar, like "Always use regular gas, it's cheaper"

THANKS SO MUCH!

And the avatar is a genius idea!!!!!!! Hahahah

Now that I think about it i remember finding how to remove the rear deck parcel here: http://deneau.info/ls/ cool site if you need to know how to remove stuffs

 

[NickT88LSC]

What and where are these plastic rivits??? In my attempts in the past to take the top deck covering off I have had no luck and did not want to force and break it. My rear window has been replaced and figured maybe when replaced the window tar/glue is holding it in??

Also rear in some post I believe people mentioned the rear deck unbolts from underneath??? Is that correct??? If so next time I might attempt going that way???

Remove back seat bolsters (the leather pillow things) in order to do that there is a black lever on the white plastic they are attached to. Push the level in (one side it pushes up and the other pushes down I believe) then once those are released the carpet on the deck should slide out, that is if you have all the plastic rivets removed. The first time doing it will be a major pain in the ass but it will be well worth it.

Btw you should add some bad LS advice in your avatar, like "Always use regular gas, it's cheaper"

 

[tristangoesham]

What and where are these plastic rivits??? In my attempts in the past to take the top deck covering off I have had no luck and did not want to force and break it. My rear window has been replaced and figured maybe when replaced the window tar/glue is holding it in??

Also rear in some post I believe people mentioned the rear deck unbolts from underneath??? Is that correct??? If so next time I might attempt going that way???

I've read that unbolting from the bottom too. I'm assuming that's for a Gen 1 or something else. I just know my Gen II has these plastic screws holding the carpet and plastic moulding in the backseat/truck opening area

Here's what they look like

 

[NickT88LSC]

yes my car is a gen 1, 2002. I never heard anyone call those rivets, I was picturing an actual rivet in plastic, I usually call those push pins.

I've read that unbolting from the bottom too. I'm assuming that's for a Gen 1 or something else. I just know my Gen II has these plastic screws holding the carpet and plastic moulding in the backseat/truck opening area

Here's what they look like

 

[coleio1]

i just pulled back on the grills and they came loose from the deck. the yellow plastic ring inside the grills were loose. after i got em in tight i put the grills back on and rattle is gone.

 

[Jesus A Rodriguez]

This problem is happening with me now. Rattle when the bas gets heavy on the right side. I know this is a dumb question but what are the grills everybody is talking about?

 

[joegr]

This problem is happening with me now. Rattle when the bas gets heavy on the right side. I know this is a dumb question but what are the grills everybody is talking about?

Not all LSes with subs in the rear deck have speaker grills.

 

[Jesus A Rodriguez]

Not all LSes with subs in the rear deck have speaker grills.

I have a 04 V8 sport. I'm just trying to figure out how to tackle this rattle situation. Just started happening this week. Idk if its the cover that covers the amp and speakers in the trunk, its kind of loose because its hanging off the plastic screws.

 

[1LoudLS]

if your talking about the piece of carpet inside the trunk that hides the speakers and amp from looking up at there from bottom, then no, that is not making any rattle.

I would also highl;y doubt the it is the rear deck lid itself since A: you dont have grills, just a carpet panel with small holes (that you cant see from the top) and B: there is a huge thick layer of padding/sound deadner under it.

unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this, every car is different. you will need to find a song that makes the rattle all the time, put it on repeat and turn it up, then get in the back and find out where it is coming from. then once you find the area, you can press down on different parts to see if you can get the rattle to stop.


now if this rattling is happening all the time and just started out of nowhere (instead of starting and then getting worse and worse over time) you may/probably have a blown speaker/subwoofer. I would unplug one speaker at a time and see if the rattle does it with both speakers or if only one of the speakers is making it.

I would also check out to make sure that one of the speakers or the amp has not started to come loose.

 

[joegr]

I'd also bet on it being bad subs. The foam rotted away on all four (two LSes) of mine some time back.

... I would unplug one speaker at a time and see if the rattle does it with both speakers or if only one of the speakers is making it.
...

Have you tried this yourself? I did, and I was surprised by the results. Unplugging either sub resulted in the volume level of the other sub going down so low that the rattles stopped. It must be something about how the amp is wired internally. It didn't want to drive just one sub. Anyway, both were blown as it turned out.

 

[FDR]

I'd also bet on it being bad subs. The foam rotted away on all four (two LSes) of mine some time back.

A bad sub (or regular speaker) makes more of a static cackle than a rattle, at least in my experience... But I know not everyone can tell the difference. I had a good scare when I replaced my blown deck subs with two 8"s in the deck, which required cutting and an MDF adapter, and they rattled like hell. I thought I did an awful job, but it turned out the Gen 1 brake reflector is very loose without the plastic cover on it.

Anyway, other things I noticed that could rattle were the radio antenna tuner(?) on top of the deck and the sub amp on the bottom. I don't remember if I needed to, but I put rubber matting under both of them to prevent rattle. I'm not sure if the 2nd gen has them in the same place, but I would assume they are