Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 20:31:10 -0600
Reply-To: Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Radiator/grill rattle at highway speed.
In-Reply-To: <233CBF85-AAEA-415D-A902-C451239B8E49@peterkrogh.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I believe that missing the rubber bushings could definitely give the
radiator room to rattle/rock back and forth. Or maybe the radiator could
have worked itself loose if the mounts at the bottom weren't fully
tightened or worked themselves loose. The bottom of the radiator (on my
'85) is held up by two mounts and they are "adjustable" up and down (i.e.
it the bolt that holds them on goes through a slot in the mount, not a
small, circular, bolt-sized hole; so when the bolt is loose the mount can
slide up and down (and rotate, iirc)). Even if you had all the bushings
there, the mounts could be on too low, and there would be room for the
radiator to bounce/rock back and forth.
If you were stuck somewhere and discovered you didn't have the bushings,
you could probably shove the radiator up against the top hole and adjust
the mount to press it against he bare metal. Then you would want to get to
a hardware store as soon as possible and get some big rubber washers and
cut them to fit because you probably don't want it to stay like that very
long.
If you get the spare tire out of the way, you should be able to lay under
there and put your hand on the bottom of the (preferably cold) radiator,
and try pushing it up off the mounts. If it has room to move up, I would
think that means your mounts are too low or you have lost the bushings at
the top or bottom.
If you take the grill off the top front you should be able to get to the
radiator and try to rock it forward and back at the top. I think if the
bushings came off on the top it would be able to rock back and forth a
little at the corner where the bushing isn't.
mike
On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 1:38 AM, Peter Krogh <peter@peterkrogh.com> wrote:
> I took the van on a highway trip today, heading to Dulles to fly to a
> shoot in Seattle. There were high crosswinds but the new tires/shocks kept
> me pretty stable.
>
> Toward the end of the drive, I started to get a bad thumpy rattle in the
> front of the bus, like somewhere in the grill or radiator. It seems like it
> happens when the wind catches the front of the van at a certain angle. It's
> maybe 5 beats a second, very loud. (reminds me of that damn woodpecker
> that occasionally works on the aluminum-clad facia over my bedroom window -
> yes, I know that's another maintenance problem I have to deal with).
>
> I remember this sound from some number of years ago, but can't remember
> what made it. The grill piece seems fully attached. When I got to the
> airport, I looked at each attachment screws and they all appeared to be in
> place.
>
> I'll pull the grill off when I start to drive home. Few tools in the van
> at the moment, and I'll be flying in early evening and hoping I can get
> home without having to do any kind of surgery.
>
> Is this caused by a loose radiator (or disintegrated radiator mounting
> bushings.)
>
> BTW, in searching, I came across this old post. This seems to describe a
> different bump/thunk I'm experiencing pretty well.
>
> _______________
>
> Well after four different shops looked at my Vanagon I finally found
> the source of the "Mystery Noise".
>
> I had my radiator fan worked on a few months ago and they forgot to
> install the bushings under the radiator so that every bump I went
> over there was a solid rattle from the radiator bouncing up and down.
>
> Just wanted to update you all and thank you again for your
> suggestions.
>
> Regards,
>
>
> David
>
>
> --- In vanagon@yahoogroups.com, "David" wrote:
> > I have this strange "thunking" noise in my suspension that I cannot
> > find. I have had three shops inspect the car and none of them can
> > find a problem with any of the suspension (including ball joints,
> > shocks, coil seats, stearing linkage). The noise seems to be
> > associated with my passengers side front tire but sometimes seems
> to
> > come from the rear as well??? The problem started about 8 months
> ago
> > when I had new KYB shocks installed and has gotten a little worse
> > over the time. The noise comes more from a rippled road surface
> where
> > the tire is bouncing rather than the pot hole type. Any ideas on a
> > mystery source for problem? Thanks in advance, David
>
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