Rattle noise at passenger rear - outside the car

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DaytonaRS7

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DaytonaRS7

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im still trying to chase this down. soo frustrating. this is the last of my complaints before I have a nearly silent ride...impressive in a truck with soo many miles.
my friends that ive pointed it out to think im crazy for wasting my time with something soo minor. Me on the other hand, it shouldn't be rattling, therefor its the most irritating thing ever. lol.

ive recently changed the sway bar end link and double checked the sway bar bushing is tightened down properly.
I also took of the brake on that corner. nothing odd or apparently loose.
While the wheel was off, i reached into the area where the EPB is, there doesn't seem to be anything loose around that either.

at this point, im assuming no one here can help, since its a unique situation to my car. So consider this just ranting/venting.

again, a very obvious light sounding rattle, comparable to a loose heat shield. It is heard from bumps as minor as cracks in the pavement. so clearly a very loose part since it isnt taking much to make noise.
 

jlglr4

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Chasing a rattle myself, so this post caught my eye. I notice your earlier post said it sounded like something around the gas tank. I believe there is a heat shield above the tank, and I believe there have been problems with the attachment points rusting in some models (not sure if you’re in a region where rust is a problem). The other thing I’ve seen in the past are reports of a cracked “dust cap” on the top of the tank. This is where fuel lines enter, and it can result in a fuel leak - so you might pay attention for any fuel smells also. I have a much newer model, so I don’t have the specifics on the configuration of the 2011.

Anecdotally, my wife’s xc90 was in the shop 4 or 5 times for a light metallic rattle. They replaced all the brakes and rotors twice, and replaced both front suspension pillars trying to solve the problem (all under warranty). It persisted. I drove next to her one day and clearly heard the sound from the left rear wheel. Reached in through the spokes and found that one of the volvo techs didn’t clip up the ebrake wire. When she’d hit a bump, it would clang against the brake rotor shield. All that work for a stupid thing like that. These little metallic rattles are devious bastards.
 

DaytonaRS7

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Chasing a rattle myself, so this post caught my eye. I notice your earlier post said it sounded like something around the gas tank. I believe there is a heat shield above the tank, and I believe there have been problems with the attachment points rusting in some models (not sure if you’re in a region where rust is a problem). The other thing I’ve seen in the past are reports of a cracked “dust cap” on the top of the tank. This is where fuel lines enter, and it can result in a fuel leak - so you might pay attention for any fuel smells also. I have a much newer model, so I don’t have the specifics on the configuration of the 2011.

Anecdotally, my wife’s xc90 was in the shop 4 or 5 times for a light metallic rattle. They replaced all the brakes and rotors twice, and replaced both front suspension pillars trying to solve the problem (all under warranty). It persisted. I drove next to her one day and clearly heard the sound from the left rear wheel. Reached in through the spokes and found that one of the volvo techs didn’t clip up the ebrake wire. When she’d hit a bump, it would clang against the brake rotor shield. All that work for a stupid thing like that. These little metallic rattles are devious bastards.

thanks for the things to ponder.

i have since given up on the "gas tank rattle" being the culprit, as it was not high pitched or easily to reproduce as with such little force. i also had the wife hang her head out the window and said it was definitely coming from more of the rear of the car. The gas tank rattle can be reproduced only under the front passenger side.

i am in the northeast. Rust is problem here, but this car isnt bad considering its age and mileage. but there are some heat shield that have mounting holes rusted through. I have jury-rigged these so they dont move. but it makes me wonder if there is a loose, inaccessible, heat shield above the tank that is hitting the underside of the car...not the tank. therefor not reproducible when i thump on the bottom of the tank.

weird you mention the parking brake cables...
I did have my EPB replaced in May and hadn't had the windows down much prior to the replacement. I also only got the truck in March. due to this limited time, as much as I want to say the rattle didn't exist before the parking brake replacement, I cant be 100% sure.
I also found one of the EPB cables was not properly fastened to the control arm, but this [unfortunately] was not my issue.
i have since removed the brake pads/caliper/rotor and checked the drum brake pads for anything odd, but no luck.
 

DaytonaRS7

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i again tried to search for this rattle....no luck.

this time i replaced the sway bar endlink. even though the endlink looked good, figured for $20 and about 1hr, it was worth a shot. made no difference.

i think im done trying to solve this. its an annoying sound, but not an actual problem.
 

jlglr4

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Maybe you’ve already checked this, but does the rattle go away when you apply light brake pressure?

I just tracked my rattle down to the brake pads. I replaced my brakes recently with aftermarket (Pagid front, Ferrodo rear). The clips they came with just don’t fit the calipers very well so when I hit small bumps at low speed with my windows down, I can hear the pads rattle. Apparently a common problem (that I didn’t know about before I changed the brakes).

When I took the wheel off and looked at the pads, I couldn’t tell. The pads seem to fit as they should, and don’t seem excessively loose. But I can also tell the clips don’t fit quite right and don’t put any spring tension on the pad lugs. And, the real test, if I apply light brake pressure when I go over the same bumps, the rattle is gone.
 

DaytonaRS7

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Maybe you’ve already checked this, but does the rattle go away when you apply light brake pressure?

I just tracked my rattle down to the brake pads. I replaced my brakes recently with aftermarket (Pagid front, Ferrodo rear). The clips they came with just don’t fit the calipers very well so when I hit small bumps at low speed with my windows down, I can hear the pads rattle. Apparently a common problem (that I didn’t know about before I changed the brakes).

When I took the wheel off and looked at the pads, I couldn’t tell. The pads seem to fit as they should, and don’t seem excessively loose. But I can also tell the clips don’t fit quite right and don’t put any spring tension on the pad lugs. And, the real test, if I apply light brake pressure when I go over the same bumps, the rattle is gone.

already checked if the noise persists with brake pressure; made no difference with light or full brake application.
just to be sure, i removed the pads, caliper, and the rotor. nothing was loose inside the drum, cleaned the brake pad clips, re-lubed all parts and reinstalled. made no difference.

not only has nothing ive done fixed the noise, but it hasnt changed the frequency or tone at all. so it confirms that none of the below are the issue....
sway bar bushing
sway bar end link
shock or mounting
brakes
brake shield
wires/cables/hoses
wheel well liner
exhaust or heat shield(s)
 

PaulLR3

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Did you check that weight that hangs between the exhaust pipe and frame? It can swing forward and make a noise. Mine are so rusted I'm surprised they haven't fallen off.
 

DaytonaRS7

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Did you check that weight that hangs between the exhaust pipe and frame? It can swing forward and make a noise. Mine are so rusted I'm surprised they haven't fallen off.

I did check them.

its takes a significant amount of sway for them to hit anything, and when they do it hits a plastic. sound is much different and as far as i can tell, not hitting on regular driving.

I actually just dropped the car off at a local mechanic (not a LR specialist) to get a second set of eyes on it. maybe im overlooking something obvious.

this morning i tried applying the brakes to double check if the noise is still present when braking. I certainly do hear it when applying the brakes lightly, but i cant tell if it goes away with hard(er) brake application.
when going 10-30MPH, any significant enough braking to maybe make a difference makes me come to a halt.
when going 30-50MPH, i tend to be on larger roads and I cant hear due to road noise.
 

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