[FIL]

Another thread full of great ideas I will never have time for

 

[xxxotic]

My car rattles a little like all of them, but I was doing an HID upgrade and took the headlight covers off. On the bottom front section in front of the lights, there is a screw that goes through the clam and bolts onto the oil cooler and holds it in place. My screw was loose and the washer on top of was rattling around. Just tightened it with an allen wrech, so maybe this will stop one of the noises I have been hearing.

 

[LesAlbin]

I used to have a squeak shifting from 1st to 2nd. Noise was from the linkage at the transaxle. Lubing from above did no good. Removed pan below engine for better access. Lubed all linkage joints. Squeak is gone.

Bose Noise Cancelling headphones make long drives much more enjoyable. Even with the top off. Really knocks down the noise of tires on other vehicles.

 

[Rob T]

Bose Noise Cancelling headphones make long drives much more enjoyable. Even with the top off. Really knocks down the noise of tires on other vehicles.

I believe it is also illegal, at least here.

 

[redduck5]

coin or marble noise in the cabin - solved - dry driver seat ball bearings

When driving slowly with the wife in my 2005 Lotus Elise, there was this tick-tick noise when decelerating and accelerating, like a coin rolling back and forth someplace behind the passenger area. When I was by myself, I rarely heard it.

Took both seats out and found the culprit - the ball bearings on the driver's seat were dry and one or more of the balls were rolling back and forth. Put some lithium grease on the rail and spread it around. No more noise. Turns out I did not need to take the driver's seat out for that.

I recommend taking the seats out just for fun. I found all kinds of dirt, coins, small tools, business cards, mail, receipts, etc. Found a Costco receipt from one of the early owners in Texas.

 

[rijowysock]

too many noises..

i have a buzz pass side above the harness bar but below the roof...

metal on metal rattle in the shifter assembly or around there, rattles on rough patches of road...

pass door rattle when down but everything is tight inside

dash rattles on right side when rough road

 

[HKFEVER]

I have something moving back and fore, left and right in the centre console, but can't find anything after took off the console :evil:

Plus all the usual noise Lotus is driving me mad since 1980.....

 

[andy7777]

@HKFEVER

So do I! Is it like a marble rolling around while hard turning?

 

[VINSTA]

Component: door window nylon guide blocks
Location: inside door, between glass and the guide channel
Problem: "play" between the window nylon guide blocks and the guide channel
Symptoms: clunk under braking, acceleration, and bumps in road

I'll be adding to this as I get time... but in a nutshell, if you can move your door windows forward and back, check your front and rear nylon guide blocks. You will need to remove the door panel to check this. The guide blocks are white plastic (nylon) parts that are epoxied to the leading and trailing edges of your door windows (2 in front, 2 in back) and engage the steel guide channel (1 front, 1 rear.)

My passenger door window was making a h*ll of a racket whenever the car went over a bump in the road. After disassembling the passenger door, I found that the rear guide blocks were about 1/8" to 1/4" away from the window guide channel: this allowed the window to move forward and rearward and make a "clunk" each time it did.

Solution: I put self-adhesive heavy-duty felt pads on the two rear guide blocks. This fills the gap and prevents the window from moving fore and aft. I will revisit this later to find a more permanent solution.

Note: this does not appear to be a "wear" issue, it appears to be "slop" from the factory.

ALSO: there is a hard foam block glued to the bottom of each of your composite doors. The window, when fully lowered, should rest against this foam block. If your window is rattling and banging when you hit bumps (when the window is lowered), you may want to check to make sure that the foam block has not become undone.

The foam block you mentioned is fairly hard and does not do a good job of damping out the glass movement when riding over bumps. Even with the guide rail screws tightened, I still had a horrible rattle of the driver’s window over bumps when it was in the full down position. I fixed it by sticking a 1/2 inch thick layer of foam weather strip to the top of the block and then building two more duplicate blocks with foam and RTV'ing them to the bottom of the door. Now when the window is down, it rests on three soft stops that damp glass movement over bumps.

2006 Elise Sport #46

 

[Keeper]

When driving slowly with the wife in my 2005 Lotus Elise, there was this tick-tick noise when decelerating and accelerating, like a coin rolling back and forth someplace behind the passenger area. When I was by myself, I rarely heard it.

Took both seats out and found the culprit - the ball bearings on the driver's seat were dry and one or more of the balls were rolling back and forth. Put some lithium grease on the rail and spread it around. No more noise. Turns out I did not need to take the driver's seat out for that.

Thread dedicated to that problem with the best grease I could find for the seat rails:

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f101/noise-seat-rail-bearings-95203/

Also added to the uberpost.

 

[rijowysock]

massive buzz,

07 exige, the plastic panel on the interior above the rear window... 4 philips head plastic clips hold it on.. buzz is pass side behind pass head.. removed clips.. cant get panel off to see whats back there/put some fleece or something in there.

easiest way to get that piece out? (pry?)

anyone have this buzz before..

i only have this buzz and then a rattle in the center console below the shifter..

 

[neurowave]

Component: shear panel
Location: under body (must remove belly pan to access)
Problem: bolts may loosen, shear panel may warp, shear panel may be deformed by improper jacking
Symptoms: metallic buzz at certain RPM, emanating from under / rear of car

This thread has good information:
Need Help with Shear Panel Re-torque - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community

First, remove the belly pan and set aside. Use your fist to gently rap on the shear panel, and what you hear may surprise you.

Next, unbolt the "U"-bracket that secures the shift linkage to the shear panel.

Here is a photo of the shear panel as seen from under the car:

And a photo of the car without the shear panel in place (never operate the car w/o the shear panel in place and properly torqued.)

The shear panel can be completely removed by carefully sliding it in between the emergency-brake cables toward one side of the car. Make sure your wheels are chocked, then release the emergency-brake to slacken the cables. It is still a tight fit, take your time and you will be able to wiggle it out. Be careful not to cut the emergency-brake cables with the sharp edge of the shear panel.

Once removed, check the panel for flatness. Any bulges or bends will increase the noise it produces: the gas tank straps are only a few millimeters away from the shear panel: they can contact and clatter.

Here is a photo of the shear panel removed from the car:

In addition to removing, reinstalling and re-torquing, I took the opportunity to apply some Dynamat sound deadening material. Dynamat XTREME

**I'll edit this later to add details of removal, re-torquing, etc.**

Before you re-install the belly pan, go around the shear panel and rap on it gently with your fist. Pay attention to the shift linkage cables: mine were making a loud snap. I was able to use a small (1" x 1") piece of Dynamat (just in front of the "U" bracket) to isolate them from slapping into the shear panel.

Just tried tackling this one over the weekend. Definitely confirmed this is where my rattles are coming from (even my undertray rattles when I tap it). Few questions:

I couldn't get the shear panel out. My cables were very tight (even though I was in neutral and handbrake not pulled). Had to pull on them a lot just to get the shear panel to move a few inches, but I stopped as I was getting concerned about them being too tight. What is the correct procedure here?

Also, where exactly did you apply dynamat? Was it on the fuel tank or on the shear panel? The shop I bought the dynamat from said I needed to use a heat gun to get it to stick (even though there is adhesive on the back). Did you find that to be the case?

Thanks again, sorry for the newbie questions.

 

[zuspiel]

Component: driver's-side seat
Location: under the driver's-side seat
Problem: seat squeaks when exercising the play in the rails
Symptoms: if you can reproduce it with the car off (rocking in the seat), you feel vibration in the seat adjustment lever

It appears that this is caused by the springs of the adjustment lever. Remove seat, apply grease to full length of the springs on both sides, reinstall seat.

In my case, this was the loudest squeak in the car... Drove me batty...

 

[MCdougieFresh]

Rattle/light "clunk" seeming to come from the right front wheel/suspension when going over road irregularities, sounds almost like one metal piece rattling between two other metal pieces that it is supposed to be sandwiched between. Sometimes with braking/accelerating I'll hear it too, but the car handles fine and the suspension seems to be doing it's job (i.e. bumps in the road don't "feel" any harder -thank goodness-, but I'm hearing them now). Suspension height appears uniform when looking at the wheels in the wheel well... I don't have a lift or jack in my garage and so I'm left to ponder this one until DocJay and I have another day off of work at the same time so I can stop by and take advantage of his kindness, generosity, knowledge, and new SuperGarage!

Anyone have experience hunting this rattle down?

I'll post back when I figure it out if someone doesn't beat me to it...

MC

 

[ottawa1]

what do the L shaped shims do on the back holes of the drivers seat? are they necessary? do they go under or on the rails. am i correct in using the hole nearest the center of the car. thanks

 

[zuspiel]

They are backstops and are necessary. They sit inside the u channel, facing away from the center of the seat. The driver's seat sits further towards the center of the car, so you are correct. One tip: make double plus sure that the rails are even before you put the seat back in. If they are off by one click, it almost seems right when installing it. Almost being the operative word...

 

[Ravenbk]

Hi Guys,
I had a friend test drive my lotus this week. when he came back there was a squeak coming from the front left suspension... i asked him if he bottomed out or something, he says no. I believe him. He says that it started after he stopped to put fuel in.

If i press on the front left of the car.. it squeaks, so its not engine related.

Anyhow, any idea what could cause this... its really... really annoying.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
cheers

 

[lyd]

Your control arms have moved through the bushings and are most likely rubbing on the frame. Or your tie rods are gone. The cheap suspension parts on Lotus cannot even last 10k sometimes.

Hi Guys,
I had a friend test drive my lotus this week. when he came back there was a squeak coming from the front left suspension... i asked him if he bottomed out or something, he says no. I believe him. He says that it started after he stopped to put fuel in.

If i press on the front left of the car.. it squeaks, so its not engine related.

Anyhow, any idea what could cause this... its really... really annoying.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
cheers

 

[Keeper]

Hi Guys,
I had a friend test drive my lotus this week. when he came back there was a squeak coming from the front left suspension... i asked him if he bottomed out or something, he says no. I believe him. He says that it started after he stopped to put fuel in.

If i press on the front left of the car.. it squeaks, so its not engine related.

Anyhow, any idea what could cause this... its really... really annoying.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
cheers

How many miles on your car?

 

[mbaran]

I hate to bump an almost 5 month old thread but maybe someone can help.

I think it only happens with the A/C on, but if I accelerate from a dead stop in 1st, I get a squeak coming from the passenger rear area until i get moving a 1-2 mph. It's literally from clutch out and as the wheels start to roll, I get a squeak.

I couldn't quite hear it when the A/C was off, but the car had cooled down a few (car was @201 in a slow moving parking lot when I discovered it) by the time I listened for it with the A/C off, I had just gotten off the freeway and was at the usual 190.

Is it a heat thing? Exhaust rubbing? It's a metallic squeak.

edit: I've only had the car 3 days. It's a '06 Elise with LSS and Touring.