Rear hatch rattles

My hatch rattles as I drive on rough roads. I have replaced the bump stops and adjusted them and the stricker many many times and it does not get any better. It started about 5000 miles ago and kept getting worse. I road in the back and the noise seems to becoming from the latch and striker area of the hatch. Does anyone have any ideas on what to try next. Also the hinges are tight and have no play. I am thinking latch but from what I can tell it seems fine.

Help me if you can it is driving me crazy.

Jeremy

Check for loose linkages inside the rear hatch panel.

Thanks for the reply Bustednutz

Well I guess maybe I did not explain very well. The noise definatley coming from the sticker area and some of the adjustments I have made, I could push in on the hatch and it would make the same noise. I now have it adjusted so there is no play but I will recheck rods inside the panel tomarrow.

I am taking my solution to this problem a step further than adjusting the bumpers and the striker. I plan on installing a set of rubber latches that will physically hold the hatch closed from the outside. The latches are similar to those found on semi-trucks used to hold their hoods closed.

I removed the back panel on the hatch because it seemed to be a big part of the problem. In the meantime I have been using two bungie straps to help keep the hatch closed. I have two holes on the latch for one end of the bungie and for the other end I use where the rear fold down seat latches in the upright position. This has helped out quite a bit. No more nasty rattles. It is too cold to install the rubber latches on the outside so this set-up will do for now.

Throw someone in the back to listen. The rattle that drove me crazy that I thought was the hatch on my 95 ended up being the upper shock mount pins/bushings. BPE`s killed that one. just a light constant clunking over bumps.

I had/have a similar problem on mine. Mine got so bad that it wore a groove into the stricker bar. To temporally fix the problem (saving your sanity) wrap the stricker bar with electrical tape a few times.

guther66 said:

I had/have a similar problem on mine. Mine got so bad that it wore a groove into the stricker bar. To temporally fix the problem (saving your sanity) wrap the stricker bar with electrical tape a few times.

Click to expand...

guther66, thanks tried the tape this morning and worked like a charm. I could see some worn spots on the striker but never thought of tape.

Jeremy, there's a permanent fix for the rattle. Look underneath the bumper. You'll see two torx bolts that hold the striker in place. There's considerable room for adjustment once the bolts are loosened. I'd say moving the striker about 3/8" inward will be enough to start. It's a trial and error adjustment; you need to go in with the striker enough to eliminate the rattle, but not enough to make the hatch hard to latch when it's closed.

I had to adjust mine last summer, only my striker was too far inboard, making the hatch hard to close. After 10 minutes work, it now closes perfectly.
Yours will too.
:repair:

Runnin'OnEmpty, I did try repositioning the striker. Mine has to 15mm nuts. I adjusted it about 10 times and no matter were the striker is positioned the rattle does not go away. That is why I am thinking of ordering a latch after I get back in town. The tape made it quiet for now.

Thanks for the input though.

Jeremy

When I got rear ended my hatch started to rattle all the time. I know the shop adjusted the shims on the hinge mountings on the roof. Not sure if they did any other adjustments. Maybe your shims need shimming? Good luck

My hatch rattles because a small "ear" broke in the latch mechanism. I have the peice stored in tool box but ultimately I will need to install a new assembly. The peice has a little plastic wedge and a spring to snug things up when the hatch closes I assume.