Rattling noise when driving

[revatron]

Hello all,

Looking for some advice. When driving there is a fairly constant rattle/tapping/thumping sound. I'm not sure how to describe it really. It doesn't matter if roads are smooth or bumpy, low speed it seems more noticable but I'm not sure if road noise is dulling what I can hear - I suspect so. It sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side area although sound could be reverberating so this may not be the source. It sounds softer than metal on metal, if that makes sense.
No play in wheels when jacked up and testing for horozontal or vetical movement.
New front shocks, springs and drop links fitted 2 months ago.
Rear shock is needing replaced but I don't think this is the source of the noise.
I have had the wheels off and there is no play in any joints, control arms, drop links. Springs all fine and not broken.
The "engine bay" underside tray was loose in some places, clips replaced and no difference made.
Nothing loose that I can find in the car, it certainly sounds like an outside noise but I could be wrong.
I can't replicate the sound by "bouncing" or rocking the car when stationary.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can look for next? My sister has the same model of Leaf and her car is as quiet as you'd expect when driving. No knocks or rattles.
Apart from not wanting to cause any damage I'm also at my wits end as its very annoying when driving.
Recording below, but it is much lounder in the car.

sound recording

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhoJy9FxnjPolBIDnFBHdQQt-23f?e=hvnjcS

Thanks for any help or advice.

 

[Drew21]

My wife's 2014 Leaf has started making a similar noise (but from the rear passenger side) this winter. Only on bumpy roads, which unfortunately is 97% of our roads. I haven't figured it out yet. When I said, "Is that noise new?" She said, "What noise?" Ahhhhh.

In your case, if you just had a bunch of front suspension work done, I would check for loose bolts. You state that you've checked for play in the suspension, but it's possible that a loose bolt might not be evident when the suspension is unloaded.

Since your noise occurs on both smooth and rough roads, I would look at your tires and wheel bearings. A bad tire (separating belts, bulging sidewall, etc) can cause all sorts of noise. The wheel bearing may reveal itself when you try to move the tire with hands at 9 and 3 or 12 and 6 (imagine a clock), which I think is what you've already done. It might also reveal itself by spinning the unloaded tire or hub with the tire removed.

If you know the rear shocks need replacement, maybe do that now to eliminate that variable.

For my wife's car, I can't reproduce any noise or movement in the suspension when the car is sitting in the garage or jacked up. Bouncing the corners of the car produces neither unusual noise nor prolonged suspension movement, even with me standing in the rear hatch. Still, I'm assuming that the shocks and struts need to be replaced (76K miles, MA roads). I'm hoping to wait for spring to tackle that. I serviced the brakes last summer and the wheel bearings were fine then, but that's the next thing I will check.

 

[revatron]

Drew, thanks for the input.
Tyres are fine. Rears are new and fronts inspected just last week as we had a dump of snow and they are cross-climate tye so wanted to make sure they were good before driving.
I don't think it's a wheel bearing. The noise is too "tappy". In my experience of wheel bearings going you get more of a drone. Also, no play in the wheels and no grinding when turning by hand.
Rear shocks and springs ordered but I'm 99% sure this won't solve the problem.
A mechanic friend has suggested the sway bar/anti roll bar bushings. I had not thought of those so will check them out next.
I hope I don't sound like I'm discounting your suggestions, not my intension.

 

[Drew21]

No worries. Please report back if you figure out the problem as this can help others in the future.

 

[Toby]

Don't overlook what should be obvious. I remember a man spending a lot of time and trouble looking for the source of a noise which turned out to be a loose bottle rolling around in the trunk.

In a leaf, the front passenger seat belt harness, when retracted, can produce a mild thumping noise. The buckle assembly bounces off the door post.

 

[revatron]

Thanks Toby. I have emptied the boot and the noise persists. Will do the glove box and tied up seat belts but the noise is too soft and does sound like it's coming from outside the car. But I will certainly give the front seats etc a check.

 

[hradek]

Hello all,

Looking for some advice. When driving there is a fairly constant rattle/tapping/thumping sound. I'm not sure how to describe it really. It doesn't matter if roads are smooth or bumpy, low speed it seems more noticable but I'm not sure if road noise is dulling what I can hear - I suspect so. It sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side area although sound could be reverberating so this may not be the source. It sounds softer than metal on metal, if that makes sense.
No play in wheels when jacked up and testing for horozontal or vetical movement.
New front shocks, springs and drop links fitted 2 months ago.
Rear shock is needing replaced but I don't think this is the source of the noise.
I have had the wheels off and there is no play in any joints, control arms, drop links. Springs all fine and not broken.
The "engine bay" underside tray was loose in some places, clips replaced and no difference made.
Nothing loose that I can find in the car, it certainly sounds like an outside noise but I could be wrong.
I can't replicate the sound by "bouncing" or rocking the car when stationary.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can look for next? My sister has the same model of Leaf and her car is as quiet as you'd expect when driving. No knocks or rattles.
Apart from not wanting to cause any damage I'm also at my wits end as its very annoying when driving.
Recording below, but it is much lounder in the car.

sound recording

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhoJy9FxnjPolBIDnFBHdQQt-23f?e=hvnjcS

Thanks for any help or advice.

You might buy a can of silicone spray and apply it to some points of the suspension to see if you can change the frequency of the sound and maybe check the drive train by jacking it up and feeling any difference left side vs right side?

 

[MikeinPA]

Have you though about using one of those "mechanics ears" ? https://www.realtoolreviews.com/steelman-wireless-chassis-ears/ I need to track down a few irritating suspension noises in two of my vehicles and will be trying these.

 

[RPaulThomas]

While the car is jacked, you may also want to confirm all air dam, air deflecters and under body covers are tight. Wind can cause plastic to 'flap'.

 

[Doanster1]

You’ve checked the wheel for play while jacked up. Strut top retaining nut could be loose and you’d only hear the rattling/tapping under load. Same thing for tie rod ends etc. That was my culprit many years ago after suspension work.

 

[revatron]

I think I have found the culprit. Video attached. I believe this is the part - front left driveshaft.
Driver side is solid, no play. This is the front passenger. No play in anything else in the area, both loaded or unloaded. Have checked all bolts and all torqued to spec.
I think the part I need is 391013NF1A but I’m struggling to find definitive info on how many teeth are on each side of the axle.

 

[DunanyDon]

The movement of the driveshaft in the video definitely looks like it would be the problem. The CV joint under the boot must be in bad shape. The end of the rubber boot closest to the engine/transmission is not concentric with the drive shaft so it must have taken some serious damage. Unfortunately, this could be an expensive fix.

 

[revatron]

I’m hoping its just a bad CV joint, unless I’m missing something due to inexperience in looking for the issue I’m hoping a new CV axle/driveshaft will fix the issue. The car drives totally fine but just has the annoying rattle so I hope what you may be seeing is weird angles on the camera rather than serious damage.

 

[Chad E. Mo]

Inner CV failure is not very common, but it happens. If the boot is torn, then I would be much more convinced.

Car version, year, mileage?

 

[revatron]

Inner CV failure is not very common, but it happens. If the boot is torn, then I would be much more convinced.

Car version, year, mileage?

2013 24kw Tekna. 75k-ish miles. The front shocks did collapse a few months ago, could that have put strain on the transmission side of the CV joint?
I can’t see any tears in the boot, but clearly some oil/grease can be seen around the area.
If I can get the parts I’m thinking I’ll change the whole left axle with the above part number and ancillaries. If that doesn’t solve the issue I guess it will be a garage job.

 

[revatron]

Update:
Have changed the driveshaft/cv axle as there was indeed play in the inner joint as the boot had started to split.
New rear shocks and springs as these needed doing anyway.
Have checked again, no play that I can find in any of the suspension components or ball joints. Doesn’t seem to be any play in any of the mounts in the bonnet area. Are there any bushings/mounts hidden under the undertay for the battery etc?
I’m now totally out of ideas. Does anyone have any further input?

 

[cornbinder89]

Did replacing the joint/shaft eliminate the play or not? The outer part of the tripod joint can wear esp if dirt has got in the joint, and replacing the shaft with the three rollers will not eliminate all the wear/ play. In those cases the outer part of the tripod also needs to be replaced. The rollers wear grooves in the outer raceways.

 

[revatron]

There is now zero play in any part of the cv axle/driveshaft. Solid. Can’t find any play in any of the joints.
Can’t replicate the rattle by ‘bouncing’ a stationary car, and have had the wheel up again and levered it to try and replicate but can’t get anything to rattle. Could it be the ball joints or bushings on the lower control arm?
They feel solid and no grease showing from any of the joints but maybe they’ve just dried up?

 

[cornbinder89]

There is now zero play in any part of the cv axle/driveshaft. Solid. Can’t find any play in any of the joints.

That is good news, because it can get expensive if the outer portion of the Tripod joint has to be replaced.

 

[TrondAndreassen]

There is now zero play in any part of the cv axle/driveshaft. Solid. Can’t find any play in any of the joints.
Can’t replicate the rattle by ‘bouncing’ a stationary car, and have had the wheel up again and levered it to try and replicate but can’t get anything to rattle. Could it be the ball joints or bushings on the lower control arm?
They feel solid and no grease showing from any of the joints but maybe they’ve just dried up?

The rattle in my car was this on calippers to much play in hole for gliders,buy new from scrap car with 30000 km on ,now i have no rattle..
Sorry for bad English