whistling sounds

[kar10w]

hey guys. i own a 2002 sp20. when driving, i am hearing a whistle sound coming from around the glove box (left side) or air vent. just wondering what it could be. it's definitely not anything in the glove box or the cds in the stacker. being the driver, i've never been able to listen to it myself. any thoughts as to where this sound might be coming from? it's not a constant whistling, on bumps is when i hear it.

any help would be great. if not - i'll just have to turn up the volume; then the door locks and windows rattle :(.

l8zz
karlo

[Cosmo Dude]

The climate fan is behind the glovebox.
Could be something been sucked in, would be a big job to remove a leaf.

Rod

[Trav]

Takes baout 10 mins to remove the fan - then 20 mins to put it back in. Don't know if if the fan could cause the whistle. Does it vary with vehicle speed, or with the fan speed etc... A bit more info would be handy to gain undertanding of what might be causing it.

[mrpayner]

I had a whistling noise coming from the passenger side of the car when I bought mine 3 years ago.. It sounded like it was coming from the vent but it was actually coming from the antenna at the top of the windscreen for the in-car mobile phone kit that had been installed by the previous owner. It only whistled over 80km/h, but it was annoying... Obviously I removed it.

If you have one of these antenna's also it might be worth removing it [just unscrew the antenna from the base] and see if that helps..

Cheers
AP

[kar10w]

thanks for the thoughts thus far. the whistling isn't constant, but noticeable when the road is sort of bumpy. bouncing the car up and down doesn't seem to produce the whistle sound. some guy has nudged my front bumper slightly (not enough to tell that it's ever so slightly out of place), but for some reason, i don't think anything in the engine bay has been moved to cause the whistling sound. definitely sounds like it's coming from just behind the passenger side air vent.

the sp20 antenna is at the back centre, so i'm ruling that out (thanks anyway).

hmmm.

[dfvadr]

check ur rubbers going throw the firewall some-one may have put sum wiring throw an not put the grommet back in properly . try open an closing the vent throw the swicth on the dash maybe the vent is not shutting off properly

[kyra]

Sorry mate, I can't help you on the whistling front... but can definately identify with you on the rattling windows! annoying!! plus my left side door makes noises over bumps (creaky noises)... add the standard top louvre (??) noises from the back. grr!!

[tim]

my car has a 'squeak' that comes from the front left somewhere - and it seems to happen over bumps, or on dodgy gear changes :oops: haven't worked it out yet, but it drives me crazy :?

i fixed my window rattles - there was something that had come off the window and was lying in the bottom of the door - the windscreens obrien guy put it back on for me :D

and there is a rattle that comes from the dash somewhere (around the cd or air controls). haven't found it yet either :x

[kar10w]

i'll check it out tonite guys. will be doing a bit of driving. gotta get my stock exhaust home first - bought a new one install from the heaaders back. that should drown the whistling noises - hehehe :D.

hope i can find the cause of the noise though. any of you guys taken off the door panels to get to the door locks, cos i know mine rattle :(.

tks.
l8zz.

[Dogo]

i occasionally get a problem where the passenger door window sometimes doesnt go under the door frame as it should. the top of the door frame kinda blocks it sometimes, and it sits on the 'outside' if that makes any sense.

still havnt worked out why. i just make sure to check it when a passenger gets out

[Cosmo Dude]

Time to get the tape out. :D
Start covering joins and cracks. Don't think that this will fix it but may identify the problem.

Rod

[Toyboy]

Your car is twisted out of wack :shock: Doesnt sound good man :twisted:

[kyra]

hey man...
what size exhaust did you get? 2 1/4"?? how does it make the 2.0 sound?! what type of muffler did you get with it?

cheers,
Bill

[supergirl]

I got rattles galore but i feel better now knowing im not the only one!! hehe
Also my glovebox falls out sometimes all by its self! Like I might turn a corner and bam there it is! Annoying - especially at night cos then the light stays on until i get home and my dad can fix it :lol:

[BigMal]

You want rattles !!! Try lowering your car 3"....

Mal :?

[BigBoyLemonade]

try 4" :P

[Cosmo Dude]

Something else on rattles, a bit long but a good read :D

APROPOS (…AND THE BATTLE OF THE RATTLES)

What a wonderfully unusual word; somewhat exotic, full of mystery and intrigue but so seldom used. Far too good a word to waste, but how can I use it? ….hmmmm, let’s see…..

As some of you may recall from my ‘A Blast from the Passed’ previous Maztorque article in August 2002, I am the proud owner of a 1998 Rx-7 – yes that AWARD WINNING article (thanks for the prize Rod) about my then new-to-me, but actually second-hand racy-red Rx-7. And also the need for member contributions to Maztorque to help out our hard working editor. True to my comments and convictions, here we go again.

Although very much enamoured with my Rx-7, I have found that the car is not without some shortcomings in its’ design. One of which is significant road and tyre noise, another is a generous dose of interior rattles and trim noise. I can’t/won’t do anything much about the road noise – apart from fitting a new set of tyres which resulted in a slight reduction, but I reckon I should be able to do something about some of the rattles. Firstly, we need a battle plan.
My plan of attack is for a process of identification and elimination, and to show no mercy to these foreign noises. The first step is to remove all easily removed interior panels and tighten/tie-down/tape every conceivable loose item (wires, cables, etc) then stuff every empty space or surface-to-surface contact with foam plastic. In practice this turns out to be simply removing the door linings since all the other bits seemed too difficult to safely remove without damage.
The outcome of this little battle has been a noticeable reduction in rattles and vibrations, with all major ones now gone. However the unforseen new problem then created is that the insignificant minor ones previously ignored have now become more noticeable; more significant, seemingly more noisy, and certainly more annoying.
So, what to do next? My problem is that I have rather poor hearing, and although I can only half hear the noises, half is enough (or should I say too much!). Furthermore, because of that poor hearing, I am unsure how noticeable the noises may be to others, and what’s more I’ve got absolutely no idea of where the noises might be coming from. Some lateral thinking seems to definitely required here (I wonder, is lateral thinking the thinking that one does when laying in bed trying to go to sleep?).

So, APROPOS the TV advert…..you know the one…..the Volkswagon advert, the one for the ‘sports’ car….the soccer?, errr….the tennis?, errr….the swimming?, no no, no, ….the Golf! You know that advert where the couple are out on a drive and call into a country garage to get a mechanic to find an annoying rattle, which he ultimately locates in the ladies’ ear-ring and fixes with a drop of oil. Now I don’t normally wear noisy ear-rings (and certainly never pendant style, they wouldn’t match my hair style!), so I had a better look elsewhere. Consequently, success was achieved in some surprising areas. Firstly the plastic grill inside the drivers’ mudguard air scoop was found to be loose and ‘just rattling around’ (now removed). Secondly, the rear numberplate was vibrating in its’ mounting – now fixed into place with some foam rubber cushioning behind. Thirdly, the integral rear mudflaps (which have a V-fold design shape, with drain holes) were found to be home to half a dozen lose stones which had infiltrated their nether regions.
Furthermore, underneath the car there are several stone guards – some of which are plastic and some are sheet metal. Several more lose stones were found embedded inside and on top of these guards, and two more lose stones were found performing clandestine special operations inside one of the gearbox subframe support brackets (which has holes stamped in it supposedly for weight saving, not for stone infiltration). All these little subversives have now been removed and this has certainly helped reduce some of the sources of noise.
So now, after these small successes, at the moment I only have about half the rattles to half hear. Of course the alternative strategic approach could have been ‘benign neglect’ – based on the likelihood that my hearing will no doubt get even worse with age, and that ultimately I wont be able to hear any rattles at all. Nevertheless, in my current fight against the rattles it may well be that these small skirmishes have been won, perhaps even the battle has been won, but I fear that the ongoing war will continue for some time yet.
(APROPROS of that other well known recent conflict) and I will continue to fight-the-good-fight for as long as it takes for victory. HEAR, HEAR, I (half) hear you say