mrchowmein

$5 fix to reduce Rattles from the rear deck
I know alot of us have this problem, especially the 01-02 versions of the civic. Anyways, i finally took the time to rip out my rear deck to figure out where the rattles were coming from. After i figured out the location of the rattles, i thought of a way to reduce or get rid of that rattle. Here is what I did and I hope you guys could find this DIY more useful than the other brief solutions we've talked about in the past. I have a 2002 sedan ex. The concept of this solution to rattle removal or reduction could be applied to the coupe as long as you know how to remove and reassemble the rear deck.

First read this to learn how to remove the rear deck:
http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...threadid=19524

Suggested Tools:
Socket Wrench Set with sizes 10mm and 14mm
Trim panel removal tool

Materials:
A couple pair old, but CLEAN socks. Socks with decent padding, but not very thick padding
Packaging tape
Scotch Mounting Tape, this is important since the tape is double sided and has a thin layer of foam padding.


Instructions:
1) Pinpoint the location of the rattle(s).

2) Remove the rear deck. Use the trim removal tool to remove the hard to reach clips. If you have trouble removing the stuck clips in the back of the metal frame, you could pop them out through the trunk. The metal frame should look like the following after the rear deck has been removed.


3) On the plastic rear deck, tape down the socks around the locations of the rattles. The picture below shows 3 socks. I used 4 total after taking the picture i found another rattle on the near the other speaker, so i stuck another suck there too. Remember not to cover up the white plastic clips or the seat belt openings.

4) Apply the Mounting Tape to the edges of the plastic rear deck. Also apply mounting tape to any plastic part of the deck that comes into contact with the metal frame of the rear deck. This picture shows the socks and the mounting tape locations I used. The left side of the deck has the same mounting tape layout as the right which is pictured. You could peel off both sides of the double sided mounting tape if you want, but i didnt do that in the picture. After I took the picture however I did remove the protective seal so both sides will stick. The red circles are the suggested spots for the mounting tape


5) After the tape and socks have been secured, make sure all 11 plastic clips are in the proper position and have enough clearence to snap back on to the metal frame. Before we pop the deck back in, you have a chance to clean the glass behind the 3rd brake light. To snap the deck back in, align the clips over the metal deck and firmly press down on the deck to secure it in place. Remember to firmly press in all the locations of the clips. Also, remember to press firmly in the back of the deck too as the rear portion of the deck comes into contact with glass and a loose deck will rattle against the glass. The deck should snap in place, once you feel the snap, then the deck is secure.


6) Before we snap on the rest of the pieces such as the side headliner trim pieces or the seats, drive the civic around for a bit to the usual places that cuase the deck to rattle to see if the rattle is gone or reduced. For me, I took it on to the freeway and changed lanes, the raised reflective lane dividers cuased my deck to rattle. You could also turn up the bass to check for rattles. If there are more rattles, just tape another sock on the rear deck like before and/or add more mounting tape to the locations where the plastic has a contact with metal. Once the rattles are gone or have been reduced, you could reassemble the rest of the side panels and rear seat components.

Thats it! I hope that helped.

This applies to the 01-02 civics since the 03+ has a different design. Becareful with the removal of the side pieces of the rear seats. If you give it too much force on removal or assembly, the plastic clip will snap off as it happened to me. If that happens, you will have a hell of a time figuring out how to secure the side pieces.


Mods: Im wondering should this be in the DIY or in the Fix-it section? Move this if you like.

TeLLy

iTrader: (23)

Nice writeup. I also broke that plastic hook piece on my side bolsters when working on my car last year. I just used some Automotive Goop to reattach it and the next day it was solid enough to reinstall.

2k2_civic_ex_4d

iTrader: (5)

I like it, but I sprayed expanding foam through the holes on the bottom side of the panel up through the trunk, haven't a had problem.

mrchowmein

Thats probably the best way. But then you have a mess on your hands if you ever want to get new speakers.

blouisgod

iTrader: (14)

Not to hijack your idea, but you can grab some $3 air conditioner weather striping at the home depot along with a paint stir and just shove the weather striping into the space between the deck and the rear window using the paint stir. it takes about 30 seconds.

turboengnr

iTrader: (2)

good write up.

I simply took the sprayfoam from Home Depot and sprayed some in the rear deck and the head liner. Once it expanded and dried, no more rattles. And i didnt have to take the rear deck off.

03-Acura-1.7-EL

iTrader: (14)

Good info!
I think I need to get rid of my rattles now.
mrchowmein +1 rep to you on this!

mrchowmein

i thought about spraying foam in, but i felt this way gave a cleaner look to the car and the fix allows future access to the rear deck area for audio mods. But if foam works for you guys, then go for it.

2k2_civic_ex_4d

iTrader: (5)

oh yeah, I put polk audio's in there my brother came up with the idea of spraying that stuff in there. Next rattle problem is the damn moonroof.

mrchowmein

i see yea i that will work then if you already have after market speakers in there. the moon roof might be harder since there are moving parts.

Taffy

iTrader: (5)

Nice I will have to try this.

Oh yeah you should've dropped some new 6.5's in while you had the rear deck out.

mrchowmein

i thought about doing that too, but i have a bazooka tube in back already so i wont be able to really hear better speakers, and i could care less about the audio enjoyment of my rear seat passengers. ITS ALL ABOUT ME! jk. Anyways, this diy was done in away that i could add new speakers later on. Others suggested spraying in foam into the deck but speaker install would be tougher later on.

is it just me or is this happening to other ppl, some of my pictures didnt load in my post. it loads after a couple refreshes of the browser.

civichxtreme

iTrader: (2)

Socks.............U magnificent Ghetto bastard BRAVO

mrchowmein

hahaha, yea, how else could i make a $5 DIY? You could substitute the socks with sound proofing material. Just cut it out into the shape of the rear deck and lay it on top of the metal frame with holes for seatbelts and clips. Im actually not the first one to try socks. people in the past stuck socks between the glass and the rear deck near the 3rd brake light or near the bottom of the rear class. the point of that method is to apply pressure onto the deck thus restricting the decks movement. the result is a reduction in rattles. this method however is more of an adsorbtion method.