Dashboard Rattle - is there ANY way to muffle the pain!?!?

bweber · Post by **bweber** » 21 Mar 2006, 09:57

Hi Everyone,
I bought this car last year as my first new-to-me car. Although my 1998 V70 was a fixer-upper, I'm proud of many of the fixes I've made myself and I'm really starting to love my car.
EXCEPT - it rattles. I've seen the posts on here...other people have this problem too...but I've seen no real helps or tips. I took my car to my Volvo mechanic and he told me there is not much you can do about this - I ask you, wise Volvo owners - is this true?! Must I live with my rattle-y, squeaky, annoying-as-hell dashboard. I've tried adding weight (i.e. putting a brick in the glove box) but nothing seems to help.
I would appreciate any advice, as superstitious or far-fetched as it may seem.
Thanks,
Brook
Brook

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 21 Mar 2006, 12:07

lol, this is just something they do. I actually did drive a '95 850 once that did not rattle at all. It freaked me out

.

Best thing to do is to get someone to drive the car around while you hunt for the source of the rattle. One major source is that the tabs that actually help hold the dashboard down can break. You can inspect them by removing the plastic cowl thing that sits just to the front of where the windshield wipers are. There are 4 of them and they're usually held down by golden colored torx screws.

DrBurnish · Post by **DrBurnish** » 23 Mar 2006, 08:03

Last night, I was talking to my wife on the phone and I thought she was at the office typing on her computer. I told her that she needed to get a new keyboard because it was so loud. She laughed and told me that she was in the car (1999 Volvo S70 T5) driving down a bumpy road.

In the past I took out the glove compartment box which was a HUGE mistake because it now rattles too.

So I have a rattle on the drivers side and passenger side. On a cold day, the drivers side rattles and on a hot day the passenger side rattles.

I tried foam, tie wraps, preloading the dash to no avail. Most things on a Volvo are pretty straightforward. I assume this dash thing is too, I just have to spend more time looking around.

DVolvoguy777 · Post by **DVolvoguy777** » 24 Mar 2006, 10:01

You can remove the dash and put some cloth electrical tape or felt tape on the forward side of the dash pad where it rests in the front of the dashboard. You can also remove the glove box and put the felt tape around the slot where the glove box screws into and that will sove the squeek.

Some where in this message board and the Sweedspeed message board there is a link on how to accomplish this task.

DrBurnish · Post by **DrBurnish** » 24 Mar 2006, 18:11

I put a computer (120 GB hard disk drive for infinite MP3 music) in the glove box and needed to route the cables out the back. I took out the glove box to make some holes. The computer worked great but the squeak after reinstalling the glove box was unbelievable. I have tried everything to stop the glove box squeak to no avail. I put electrical tape around the opening but the squeak came from some other part touching the glove box. Riding down the road with the glove box removed other squeaks were noticed. The glove box is now installed with no screws and the computer located in the trunk. I went on other boards and others report that there are 5 screws holding the dash to the firewall. Others have solved the problem by installing screws through the dash to metal, (underneath the dash). I

bweber · Post by **bweber** » 25 Mar 2006, 16:57

These all sound like good solid leads - thanks everyone. I looked at my dash today, hoping to see the there was something wrong with the screws and I found that the top most part of my dash is cracked in several places - so now I'm afraid to take the long strip part off (the part that is cracked) - any suggestions? I think the cracks might be from the rattle source. But will I cause more damage by taking this top part off?
Thanks,
Brook

DrBurnish · Post by **DrBurnish** » 25 Mar 2006, 20:40

1999 Volvo S70 T5

bweber · Post by **bweber** » 27 Mar 2006, 09:48

Ahhh...the old cardboard trick! Why didn't I think of that!? I stuffed some cardboard in my dash also (right above the cracks) and about 90% of the squeaks went away - which will save my sanity and my checkbook. However, the cardboard is flexable and it will get too squished with time, thus allowing the squeaks to come back. My husband is going to get me some black PVC sheets and I am going to stack them together untill they are a tight fit b/t the dash and window. And the black "should" blend in with the black border on the bottom of the window. Hopefully this will help my squeaking problems - I'll keep you updated.
Brook

DrBurnish · Post by **DrBurnish** » 27 Mar 2006, 18:34

I put the cardboard together with the grain running vertical (in other words I can see the honeycomb edges). I taped the bottom with duct tape so that the cardboard pieces won