Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Body, interior, paint, chrome, and cosmetic items => Topic started by: gcw206 on June 01, 2017, 21:54:42
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Hello,
I have a rattle in the front of the cabin (driver side) of my 1969 280SL that is driving me crazy.
First some background:
About 5 years ago, I refurbished the interior. The entire interior was removed, the non working gages were repaired, Dyna Mat was installed under the new carpet and pad, the dash was repainted, etc. Upon assembly, there were no rattles, even when driving over rough cobblestone roads.
THEN, I recently developed a rattle in the front of the cabin, and I have been chasing it for about 2 months.
The work done so far (in the past few weeks):
I removed the entire heating/ventilation system (with the exception of the driver side fiberboard duct).
I removed the clock, the glove box, the speaker grill and speaker, the front carpets, the gages, and the radio.
I ran a coat hanger down the fresh air drains at both ends of the fresh air "trough" (thought I might have dropped some small hardware).
I checked under the almost bare dash, and found several minor items that I corrected.
I looked under the hood and tightened anything loose.
The speedo and the tach cables are new, as is the rebuilt throttle linkage.
Still, the rattle persists. I am planning not to install the rebuilt heating/venting system until this rattle problem is solved. If I must tear it down again, then I will do that; but at this point I don't have any idea what to look for. Does anybody have any ideas? Thanks, Galen
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This is a long shot - but I had a very faint rattle that I thought was coming from the dash. It turned out to be the mirror glass on the outside driver's side mirror. I had replaced the glass with one of the wide view mirrors available from Mercedes. There is a spring that pushes on the back of the mirror and if the thin cork is missing from the back of the mirror - you get a faint rattle from the spring against the back of the mirror. I had the exact same rattle on both cars.
Good luck with the hunt. Time to pull out the mechanic's stethoscope.
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.../... I recently developed a rattle in the front of the cabin, and I have been chasing it.../...
Did you remove the cabin heater? The metal plate on the heater has a habit of coming loose, and it will rattle!
Alfred/66andBlue has written about the issue; attached see his picture
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That metal heater deflector plate seems like a good suspect.. it can look like it is in place but if that deadening material between it has deteriorated it will cause a vibration or rattle.
Bob
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Hi Galen,
Is it not perhaps the antennae? If it is mounted in your right front fender, it could be the bottom clamp is not secured properly or has come loose. Remove the RH side kick panel to gain access into the right fender.
Good luck
Chris
Cape Town
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It could also be a cryptic message from a former girlfriend. ;)
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Update:
I have solved the rattle problem: It was loose hinges on the fresh air vent. When they were removed, lubed, and a new gasket installed, the problem went away.
This is a great site! Thank you!
Galen