I’ve spent a lot of time and money putting in nice speakers and audio equipment in my 2009 forester. I also got all of the rattles and vibrations out of the interior except for the passenger side door. I’ve used sound dampening and checked everything I can, but somewhere on the door panel there is a vibration that I can’t find.
So, the only thing I can think of its too seal the various seams on the interior of the panel with something. … caulk or glass sealant?
Please help?
Why not leave the door panel off?
Then while someone rides in the passenger seat, go for a drive and see if they can determine where the vibration is coming from?
Tester
it may be on the inside of the panel and sealing it would make it even more difficult to fix
Good idea tester.
Wesw- when I say seal the panel I mean from the inside. Basically all the seams that are snapped together but don’t need to be taken apart to get the panel off.
gotcha
Some repair shops have a tool made by Steelman. It is a device that has several clamp on microphones that detect vibrations.
I’d go with RTV silicone silastic, straight from the big-box hardware store. Silicone caulking. My feeling is that the goal is to dissipate the vibrational energy rather than transfer it. Elastomerics do that. Adhesives that dry hard transfer the energy.
Be prepared for the panel itself not to be the culprit. Speakers them selves and their mounting bracket along with the wiring can cause the problem. Make sure the mounting is secure and check the speaker itself for rattling which some do with poor internal clearance. Reroute the wiring and secure it with ties as well. I would be very careful about sealing anything except with removable weather stripping.
Definitely isn’t the speaker, wiring or bracket. I checked them again yesterday and in addition to being tightened, everything is taped as well. I definitely thought about the rtv silicone type of solution, and would avoid anything that hardens. I’ll give that a shot and hopefully will be able to report back with good news.
How about a foam insulation gasket .
Keep looking for some other component to be the rattle.
mirror, switches, factory harnesses, rods, cable, handles, weather strips, etc.
I chased a rattle for a year and finally discovered the outer door handle to be the culprit.
On this truck the outer handle had two springs. The main spring back was in the latch after you open it and another small one that simple held the handle close to the body when not in use. that pre-tension spring broke allowing the hand to wiggle ever so slightly yet still operating the door.
At odd times it would rattle while driving…not always.
I cheched mud flaps, splash shields, running boards, vent visors, even my sanity, then once while washing the truck with a hose, the spray got to just the right angle by the handle and…batabatabata went the handle right so I could see it !