Lately I have been noticing more and more this "cracking" sound from my dash. It may be better described like the sound of a TV when it expands, but on a smaller scale. It is pretty annoying and happens mostly when the suspension changes height. Which, if you are driving, is a lot.

Wondering if this is a common issue with R50's and if it can simply be fixed by getting under the dash somewhere and tightening some screws.

Thanks guys!

 

I have an '05 and only notice a tiny bit coming from where the downtubes are and I had a creaking by the windshield (which is cracked, so wondering if that's why) but that's magically gone away. Normally I have music on pretty loud so I don't notice it.

 

I had a bit of this in my 05's...when I installed the OEM cabrio strut tower braces it went away!! Cost about $50.
You can also add some felt/tap to the chafe points too...

 

Thanks Justin and Zippy.

Justin: Just tightened the downtubes.
Zippy: Could you link me to the braces? Also, chafe points?

 

I had a sound that I would have sworn was coming from the Tach. Almost like a speedo cable rubbing on something.....turned out to be the tilt down panel under the steering wheel. Added some air condition foam to chaffe points with carpet tape and no more annying sounds.....

Took the dash apart and added some cut up sections of thick felt disks from Home dept which are made for cushioning furnature feet. Has sticky tape on backs.....That worked great as well.

Now onto the rattle in the sunroof....

 

Thanks Raven.

Again, no idea what chaffe points are. Also, where do you start to take off the dash?
As for the sunroof rattle, I have that too. What I do is start to open the sunroof and stop as soon as it begins to move. That seems to fix the rattle for me! And you dont even notice it is popped up a little.

 

My Sunroof rattles....also notice some rattle from the center console around the e-brake when the seat is in a certain position.

 

http://www.waymotorworks.com/02-06-c...ng/index6.html

 

The "chafe Points" are simply anywhere the dash rubs on things...nothing specfic...different on every car....some folks have used fabric tape..like used for athletes wraping ankles or felt strips...to reduce the sound. when used, the rubing/chafing is no longer plastic on plastic..so no noise if you can determine where it is...sometimes the windshield or pillar suports, etc
The strut braces were designed for the cabrio...to reduce dash rattle caused by the flexing of the car....and they give you the bonus of a small handling inprovement by stiffing the strut towers front to back...cheap and easy to install on an 05+, and some 04's since the threaded holes are already in place from the factory.
Many car do already have them...they have been a popular add on for a while...heck cheap and easy to do....no magic bullet, but it does make a change..first time you go over railroad tracks you will notice the front-end is more planted.
One other thing...MINI struts tend to fail very gradually overtime...the entire car just gets more rough...leading to more squeaks......

 

having the sunroof rails cleaned and greased will often get rid of sunroof rattles too!!

 

Thanks for the help (and the link).

Zippy, I am planning on getting some felt circles from Lowes or something. Do you recommend I take off the dash to install or should I just slide them everywhere I can?

 

I have been very lucky so far....the only persistent rattle I have (temperature dependent) is the speedo cluster (if I had complained sooner, the dealer would have fixed, it I found out they actually came out with a revised part that is less likly to rattle). My dash was just starting to , and when I installed the Cabrio stut, it was fixed. There are MANY threads on how different folks have fixed rattles...It just depends on the scource. 3m/medical joint tape seems to have been the fav for many folks for "rubs" and felt for pieces that are a bit loose and vibrate a bit(just be careful about adding too much thickness or making things too tight...things need to flex a bit with movement, and temp changes).....a quick search will yield tons of threads...
One tip...there are 2 different dashboards (3 piece vs 5)that look similar, but the one with less piecs are less likly to rattle+creek (not sure but I know the 05+ have it..it might be in mid 04+?)...but thy are not interchangeable...so determine by year, and reading the threads which one you have, and it will in part determine where you need to add the chafe tape/felt. If you have the older dash...you might need to use Google site search (add the site name in the search box, check Google for info) since the search feature on this site is somewhat limited in how far back it goes.
I bought my Cabrio parts from WayMotorWorks too...good folks to deal with!

 

Here's a link addressing a dash rattle cure that might help.

 

My doors creak when opening and closing, I may try lubricating the hinge and arm in the door with white lithium.

 

Beautiful, Zippy and Buzzsaw!

Thank you so much!

 

rickety... that's the only way my Cabrio works. Anything else is uncivilized.

 

BUZZSAW. You are amazing. Linking me to soopercooper got me this:

"the stuff is intended as weather-stripping for installing air-conditioners. You can find it at any hardware store. It's soft grey open-cell urethane foam, 1-1/2" square section, four feet long, with no adhesive - about $5"

Which works like a DREAM. I cant believe it was that easy! You just slip it in between your dash and the windshield (I found a wire hanger to be best for the job) and thats it. Thanks so much. All R50 owners should know about this. No cabin sound except the sound of my intake and exhaust, and that is music to my ears.

W00T!