Steering Column Rattle

29Cabriolet

29Cabriolet

Senior Member
Hi All!
I have this annoying rattle coming through the steering column. Not all the time, but only when there is a load on the engine. From a stop and going through the gears until I'm up to speed. Then quiet, until going up a hill, or down, with my foot off the pedals. My guess about the source might be the spark and throttle rods. Where they are visible on the firewall side, there is no insulator, grommet or anti rattle rubber. Should there be? In attempt to prove that theory I jammed some fabric around them to see if it would quiet down, but the rattle persists. Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
When the rattle is happening, touch the control rod with your fimgers to see if the frequency is the same as you hear. You may need to istall some brass bushings in the top holes.
Once had a rattle I was sure was the control rods and it turned out to be a loose rad support rod on the drivers side.
If it turns out to be inside the colomn you'll need to remove the wheel, horn rod, (disconnected) and the top column bushing to pull it all out enough to install some felt or rubber on the rods.
 
Originally, the rods had a felt washer, inside the tube, to dampen the vibration. Over the years, these dampeners fell apart and the rods started to rattle.
MIKE :) (mikeburch)
 
I have to keep my thumb on the light switch, its just a habit now. I might fix it someday, but, it tells me how fast I'm going. Different speeds cause different rattles.
 
Mine makes a buzz under many situations too. I finally isolated it to the steering column - to - dashboard mounting bracket. When I held onto the steering wheel at the top the buzz started. When I pushed the steering wheel up from the bottom the buzz stopped. There was clearance between the bracket and the steering column.
Simple fix, just put in a new gasket.
 
Cool Hand Lurker said:
Mine makes a buzz under many situations too. I finally isolated it to the steering column - to - dashboard mounting bracket. When I held onto the steering wheel at the top the buzz started. When I pushed the steering wheel up from the bottom the buzz stopped. There was clearance between the bracket and the steering column.
Simple fix, just put in a new gasket.
Click to expand...
Your's is the later '31 style mount correct? My tank was leaking badly, so after repairing the tank, I replaced the original mount with the 31 style. That was the first thing I checked. It was tight and the rubber anti rattle gasket was properly in place.
 
Patrick L. said:
I have to keep my thumb on the light switch, its just a habit now. I might fix it someday, but, it tells me how fast I'm going. Different speeds cause different rattles.
Click to expand...
While driving and rattling along, I tried to find the source by touching everything attached to or near the column. Could not silence the rattle by anything accessible from the driver's seat. I guess that led me to believe it was the rods, but inside the column or on the firewall side.
 
Patrick L. said:
I'm wondering now if its the fuel tank thats rattling since its been worked on. Has it been disturbed ?
Click to expand...
Yes I suppose it could be the tank. It was removed for the repair. But not sure how that could be the source. I hear and feel the rattle in the wheel and now with the dashboard mounted column bracket, there is no part of the tank directly attached to the column. However, the tank is the under cowl design and there are 3 sections to the firewall one of which welded to the top of the tank. They are all held together by a flange on each and 8 or 10 bolts. There is no insulator between them, just metal to metal. I checked those and all is tight. Doesn't seem like that would be the rattle. But I guess anything is possible. :)
 
someone suggested drilling a small hole at the column clamp area an injecting spray foam towards the control rod area. (If doing that, use very small amount of foam which expands a great deal.)
 
rip94611 said:
someone suggested drilling a small hole at the column clamp area an injecting spray foam towards the control rod area. (If doing that, use very small amount of foam which expands a great deal.)
Click to expand...

I did that. After drilling the hole I sprayed some penetrating oil inside before squirting the foam inside.

I didn't get enough of the steering column coated with the lubricant and it caused my steering wheel to squeak so damn bad when turning I had to pull the steering column out of the truck and clean it all out.
 
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