Rattlesand squeaks oh my!!! Calling all Subbie savvy

[Apple]

Hey guys I need help, driving to day I started hearing some odd sounds and I'm hoping that you guys can help me find/fix them. I was driving about 45-60 and I notice that if I apply the brakes not HARD! but moderate my steering column rattles pretty loud like something is loose or to that effect at slower speeds it does it softer and I was wondering what that might be.

Also when braking like that and also going over rough road I have a plastic squeak or rattle that we thought we had boiled down to my intake on the hood but I couldn't find any screws with which to tighten it back down with. any ideas?

thanks again

[danci1973]

Quite possibility this is due to uneven brake rotor thickness (caused by stop & go traffic, especially if you like to go fast and brake hard). At higher speed this effects to pretty strong vibration throught the whole the car and especially the steering wheel, but at lower speed you should be able to feel the 'pulsating' braking - as if 1/2 of the rotor brakes harder then the other half.

If you drive at a speed of 20-30 km/h (15-20 mph) and brake softly, you should feel the 'pulses' - they get more pronouncend as you slow down.

If that is the case, you can try this (http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedinstock.shtml) brake bed-in procedure - I've succesfully 'repaired' pulsating brakes on two cars and one motorcycle with it.

D.

[AussieDan]

The steering column cover is made up of 2 pieces of plastic, the top and the bottom. I had a persistent rattle at certain RPM which was caused by the 2 pieces rattling together.

There are several screws which hold the assembly to the column, and a few clips which hold the 2 pieces together. My fix was to take out the screws and separate the pieces (don't bother trying to wrestle the upper piece out, just leave it in place).

Once you have them apart you'll be able to see that there are clips and matching detents for the pieces to clip togther. Cut small pieces of electrical tape and put them over the detent where each clip grabs onto, then reassemble. The electrical tape will take up the slack between the 2 pieces and fix your rattle.