99 Intrepid - Rear end rattling sound

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Greg Houston, Jul 10, 2006.

  1. Greg Houston

    Greg Houston Guest

    My Intrepid has been making a rattling sound in the rear when going over
    bumps in the road, especially those bumps where the road has been dug up
    to repair a gas/water line lateral and then not repaved very well. When
    there aren't bumps in the road, all is quiet. It's really noticeable
    with the windows down, although I can hear it muffled when the rear
    seats are down.

    Anybody have any suggestions about where to start? Anecdotal reports
    suggest the rear anti-sway bar bushings or links. Or struts/bushings.

    Is there an easy way to determine if it is one of these? I just wanted
    to check it out, then will probably be off to my local mechanic. Are
    there any parts (OEM or otherwise) that are good to use (or avoid :)


    Thanks!

    gh
     
    Greg Houston, Jul 10, 2006
    #1
  2. Greg Houston

    Bill Putney Guest

    You just need to get up under there and check it out, Greg. Could be
    any of the things you mentioned, plus there are lots of instances in the
    LH cars of the rear sway bar attachment to the strut rusting and
    breaking off (without some improvising, generally means replace the strut).

    Bill Putney
    (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
    address with the letter 'x')
     
    Bill Putney, Jul 10, 2006
    #2
  3. Greg Houston

    Greg Houston Guest

    Update:

    My mechanic said my rear suspension is fine, and the rattle sound is coming
    from inside the muffler. He said there appears to be something loose
    inside, but due to the baffles he can't get to it and doesn't recommend
    doing anything about it until it's time to replace the muffler/exhaust.

    He did recommend changing my front rotors. There was a bunch of rust
    (especially on the inside) which I was aware of from always keeping an eye
    on those heat shields. Even though I still had a bunch of life left on my
    pads, I agreed to just change everything. The slight pulsing that had begun
    to appear is gone ( I still blame that on the dealer for overtightening
    lugnuts once when they decided on their own to rotate my just rotated
    tires). I definately feel a lot more braking authority. I'm generally
    easy on the brakes, but it is good to have when you need it!

    Incidentally my mechanic was lamenting that factory rotors don't seem to
    last very long on cars these days, especially on the American makes. He
    showed me several disks he had recently taken off that were only about 2
    years old and were heavily corroded. Salt on the road doesn't help of
    course.
     
    Greg Houston, Jul 27, 2006
    #3
  4. Suspension parts are always a good bet. Is there any situation that is
    worse/better? i.e. is louder when going over expansion joint-type bumps
    where both wheels travel together, or other bumps where just the driver's
    side or passenger's side suspension is exercised?

    One often-overlooked item in cars of this age is the internal muffler
    baffles. They may be starting to work loose, especially if you have the
    original exhaust. You can check by simply shaking the muffler. A similar
    rattle drove me crazy on my 95 neon until I figured it out.

    Jeff
     
    Jeff Falkiner, Aug 15, 2006
    #4
  5. Greg Houston

    Greg Houston Guest

    Update:
    My mechanic took a look at the rear suspension and found nothing offending.
    He said the problem appears to be inside the muffler, one of those baffles
    which you can't get to. He claimed there is a small hole in the muffler as
    well. I assume he means the actual muffler (as opposed to the separate
    resonator boxes before and after the muffler, but I forgot to ask). Sort of
    surprised me since the sound seemed deeper than some muffler parts, which I
    would expect would sound tinny. Anyway he gave everything a good bill of
    health and said it's not worth fixing at this time until the exhaust system
    needs work/replacement. Sounds good to me, although the noise is annoying on
    bumpy roads.
     
    Greg Houston, Aug 17, 2006
    #5
Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments (here). After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.