Reducing rattles in a JKUR

[daryn1979]

Ok, I'll preface this with the fact that this is my 5th Wrangler- they all rattle.

Being that this is my first Expo build, I'm trying to cut down on the amount of annoying rattles to increase the spouse approval rating. My current rig is a 2012 JKUR and I've had this rattle that I can't seem to fix. It's loud as hell and it's definitely coming from inside of the passenger side B-pillar. I know this because I've read all the threads about rattling rear doors and tried all the electrical tape/striker plate tweaking to no avail. While laid up with a bad ankle, I've been riding in the passenger seat and I can confirm that the rattling is coming from the B-pillar itself. It sounds exactly like a large pipe wrench is rattling around every time the road gets bumpy.

I've heard about sketchy fixes on other forums- like drilling a hole in the B-pillar and filling it with spray foam. Has anyone else here had a similar rattle and was actually able to isolate and fix it?
TIA

 

[daryn1979]

I run all hard doors and hard top. Sometime this Spring I'm going to remove all the doors and top to see if that affects the sound at all. I've questioned the seatbelt hardware too- I've tried rattling it myself or pressing on the assembly to see if it would help, but nothing changed. I've been unable to find an exploded drawing to see what else is inside the B-pillar. Anyone know of one?

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Does it rattle when someone is sitting in that seat and the belt is engaged ?

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[daryn1979]

Yes- it doesn't seem to matter how many passengers I have with me.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Bummer, looks like you'll have to pull the "B" pillar cover and investigate the bottom attachments-

Good luck

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[wADVr]

Hard top or soft top?

With my hard top, if I "overtighten" the hardtop hand bolts on the b spreader is rattles. If I loosen them up the rattle stops. The sound will come from the top of the b pillar when this happens. Probably isn't your issue but throwing it out there as it sounds similar.

 

[nnnnnate]

Only rattle I had is from behind the glove box. Its more like a vibration that comes/goes with RPMs. I've stuck some cardboard back there to try and stop it but it hasn't seemed to do the trick. The other rattles I've had I've been able to resolve pretty quickly. Hopefully you'll be able to get yours squared away soon.

 

[tarditi]

May be the seat belt tension-er pendulum (depends on internal design) it would detect pitch and engage a ratchet to lock-in.

 

[codesertrat]

Ive had the small long M6 screws holding the plastic covers on the b pillar / rollbar vibrate loose and fall out a couple of times on my 2012 and cause a rattle. You may check those.

 

[GetOutThere]

Strange, the only real rattles that my Jeep has are from the hi lift and my crap in the trunk.
.
I have never heard a rattle from the B-Pillar. If it's under warranty, it may be worth taking it to the dealer. Than again.... that would require letting the dealership touch your vehicle....

 

[jkuaz]

Same here, I never had a rattle, except for things that I've installed and haven't tightened enough, such as the ARB tire carrier.

 

[NatersXJ6]

Are you the original owner? When you say a large pipe wrench it reminds me of the many times I've found tools dropped or lost by POs in the nooks and crannies of trucks. I've probably passed a few on myself. Try to find an access opening, strip the plastic trim, then stick an extension magnet in there and go fishing.

Also, don't discount spray foam as too sketchy. It lasts forever and is used in many new vehicle assemblies to take up slack, stop rattles, and seal oddly shaped spaces. Pull out your tail lights and look behind them, you will likely find large blobs of spray foam (my 2014 has it)

Otherwise, I've found a round knob on the stereo that "fixes" most problem noises!

 

[daryn1979]

Thanks for all the replies. I still haven't tracked the rattle down. Just to make sure, I reapplied electrical tape to the door striker and used chapstick to lubricate the heck out of the catch (yup, chapstick! It was recommended), but it still didn't solve anything. I'm not the first owner- it was a lemon law buyback due to "severed brake lines" that I got for a good price back in 2013 (never was an issue with brakes). This is the only issue I've really had, and I can only turn up the radio so far

Things are finally starting to thaw out and warm up here in MN, so hopefully I'll have a chance to pull the doors and roof off soon so I can investigate the issue more. I'd like to think that it's a loose bolt or something before resorting to using spray foam and crossing my fingers...

 

[NatersXJ6]

Unless life also gave you ice and sugar...

Interesting...

Knowing it was a lemon law buy back opens up the realm of "nothing's impossible". Then again, it takes a lot to qualify a "lemon" here in CA. I don't know about your state. I bought a lemon-law f250 and it remains he best deal of my life, despite several major issues and a few lingering minor ones. If I had dropped the original $50+k they wanted for it, I would have been seriously scorched at the issues, but for the $21k deal I got, I can live with a few things.

Have you checked:

Loose skid plates or cross members hitting the bottom of the frame? Those hits could transmit to almost anywhere.
All exhaust hanger rubbers installed and functional?
Slush or ice hitting bottom of rig... Could sound like rattles...
Gas tank tightly mounted?
All door strikers tight in the frame?
Door hinges tight?

I could go on forever...

I'll also throw in that my JKUR seems to make noises on one side when I know the source of the noise is on the other. I.E. a car will pass me on the left and I will hear the noise behind me on the right. I've noticed the opposite effect when my wife drives. Have you had someone else drive while you look for the rattle?

Good luck!

 

[Scoutn79]

I had a weird thump/knock once. Turned out it was the hood bouncing against the mis adjusted rubber snubber. Had a friend with a CJ-7 with the same issue.

Darrell