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Dash vibes, suggestions?

R

rollinstylee

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Mar 30, 2007
Messages
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Location
Dublin, OH
First I should mention I have Pole's 80A filled rear roll restrictor, plus the Energy Suspension front inserts (which I don't think do much). Especially now that it's getting cold, there are some rattles and bad vibes behind my dash trim that are kind of annoying when I don't have the stereo on. With MSDS headers going on as soon as I get a chance/feel like it, I'd imagine the NVH is only going to get worse.

Has anyone taken their dash trim pieces off and put carpet foam or anything else behind them to quell noises, or is there something preventing this from working before I go to the trouble of pulling the pieces off? One of the vibes is from the HVAC area and goes away if I push in on the knobs or in that general area, and there's another above the steering wheel that goes away if I push at the trim above the gauges.

This is an 8 year old Ford, so I expected the rattles to come with modification, just wondering if other people have successfully suppressed them.
 
I've been thinking about this too. Maybe some thin rubber washers/grommets here and there would help absorb some vibration? The problem with that being that things won't be screwed in as tight as they probably need to be so they don't fall off.
 
rollinstylee said:
First I should mention I have Pole's 80A filled rear roll restrictor, plus the Energy Suspension front inserts (which I don't think do much). Especially now that it's getting cold, there are some rattles and bad vibes behind my dash trim that are kind of annoying when I don't have the stereo on. With MSDS headers going on as soon as I get a chance/feel like it, I'd imagine the NVH is only going to get worse.

Has anyone taken their dash trim pieces off and put carpet foam or anything else behind them to quell noises, or is there something preventing this from working before I go to the trouble of pulling the pieces off? One of the vibes is from the HVAC area and goes away if I push in on the knobs or in that general area, and there's another above the steering wheel that goes away if I push at the trim above the gauges.

This is an 8 year old Ford, so I expected the rattles to come with modification, just wondering if other people have successfully suppressed them.
Click to expand...

Haha! For what it's worth, I've got a matchbook wedged in between the tan strip of dash above the HVAC controls and the black surround adacent to the "Contour" panel. This, of course, is temporary, but it shuts up a minor chatter that annoys me.

When I get around to doing it right, I'll remove the black surround entirely by taking out the screws near the IP, and the two behind the Contour panel. I'd like to use door insulation -- the pressed foam from the factory, and just wedge it into the necessary locations so that it will not be visible from the cabin.
 
I think I'm removing my PRT mounts and going with some new stock SVT mounts with a ES front insert.

It's not a big deal to me until I drive in another car and feel how smooth they are compared to my car.

My NVH is not bad, but I'd prefer closer to stock feel.
 
I did just that with my 81 Lincoln, took the dash pad off, laid down carpet foam, and screwed the pad back down with homemade foam sheet washers and it worked well. Thing is, that dash was literally a flat board that unscrewed and lifted straight up. You could iron clothes on it. With the Contour plastic trim I don't know how it attaches to the dash, with clips or screws or how easy it would be to put padding or insulators where they need to be.

*edit* I should mention this is in response to hotdimmes, other ppl posted faster than I typed apparently
 
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the extremely annoying rattle i have is coming from the black piece below the glove box. i cant figure out how to get rid of it. but i have not looked very hard at it.
 
I have a nasty vibration coming from the piece with the defroster holes in it, the one closest to the windshield. It can get VERY loud if I get a resonant frequency from the engine...
 
In many places in between and below the dash and instrument panel, there are gray-looking foam material which break down. Maybe some have broken off and not absorbing any sound or vibration.
 
wow! its funny. i was just talking to jeff(reebs) about this less than an hour ago. i gat pole's restrictors also. not sure wot am gonna do about the vibrations tho cos it does get under ma skin.
 
Tony2005 said:
In many places in between and below the dash and instrument panel, there are gray-looking foam material which break down. Maybe some have broken off and not absorbing any sound or vibration.
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Thanks Tony this is the info I was looking for, I didn't know if there already was some kind of sound deadening that I could do a makeshift replacement or addition to, or if it was too tight behind those panels to add anything. Are the panels clipped in place in addition to some screws, i.e. is anything going to break if I don't know I had to unclip it? I assume you know what panels I'm talking about, but the HVAC bezel and radio bezel (I can't remember off the top of my head if these are the same piece) and the IP surround plastic.
 
got one in my '99 dash right above the airbag. if i push on the airbag cover it goes away. i have thought about putting a '98 dash in as it also does not have the peeling problem of the '99 and '00 model years. my old '98 had almost no rattles in it and my friends '95 has none that i know of. hers is dead quiet going down the road. what i want to know is why ford didnt put the '98 dash in the '99 and '00 cars for the recall? it didnt fix the problem just delayed it...
 
rollinstylee said:
... Are the panels clipped in place in addition to some screws, i.e. is anything going to break if I don't know I had to unclip it? I assume you know what panels I'm talking about, but the HVAC bezel and radio bezel (I can't remember off the top of my head if these are the same piece) and the IP surround plastic.
Click to expand...
Some bezels are "clipped in" and you use an old credit card to slide in to push the plastic "clip" aside. Then you should be able to see the screws that hold the bottom portion.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=202
 
kscontourkid said:
got one in my '99 dash right above the airbag. if i push on the airbag cover it goes away. i have thought about putting a '98 dash in as it also does not have the peeling problem of the '99 and '00 model years. my old '98 had almost no rattles in it and my friends '95 has none that i know of. hers is dead quiet going down the road. what i want to know is why ford didnt put the '98 dash in the '99 and '00 cars for the recall? it didnt fix the problem just delayed it...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got the same problem! It only does it on certain days, though, but more often when it's cold, like now :(. When I'm stopped while in gear, The car vibrates juuuuust enough for my airbag to move a bit, but on each cycle that the airbag moves up and down, it makes a squeaking-type sound! It's so flippin' annoying! :crazy:
 
zorrex said:
... The car vibrates juuuuust enough for my airbag to move a bit, but on each cycle that the airbag moves up and down, it makes a squeaking-type sound! It's so flippin' annoying! :crazy:
Click to expand...
Under (behind) the steering wheel, you should see two torx screws. Those are the screws to tighten the airbag.
 
it is the passenger side airbag that is making the noise in my car... i dont know how to fix it. i have replaced the windshield and bettered the peeling dash problem(only cause i didnt totally fix it) with some epoxy. that didnt make the rattle go away. it sounds like the airbag itself is rattling...
 
im going to take my dash panels out and repaint them... i was thinking about putting some foam tape on the panels where they fit into the dash. maybe that will get rid of some rattling. ill let ya guys know...
 
Interesting mind is stock LS and have this same annoying somewhere in the center radio area and behind the Hvac control??? Which reminds me need to purchas the proper dinguas to pull the radio quickly and easily. Then NVH can ensue!!!! Maybe a little spray foam ie Right Stuff used judiciously :rolleyes: Yes, right about time you spray an area is the area you will need to repair something! Anyhow my vibrations seem to be behind pushing, pressing and smacking does nothing?
 
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