Front fender(s) rattle-driving me insane!!

I posted this in the Buick forum, and I know a lot of you guys are on both of them, but I thought I'd also post this on here, to see if anyone else has had this problem!

When I bought my car, it had bad tires on it, plus (with help from this forum), out of balance brake drums. It always had a 'rattle' with the vibration, coming from what I think is either one, or both front fenders. I have since put new tires, and rear brake drums on it, but still, when going down a bumpy road, or even when you shut the front doors, you can still hear a rattle coming from the front end. I have been under the car, checking all I can, but to no avail. Has anyone ever experienced this before, and can tell me what it is? It's just a 'tinny' sound, like a piece of sheet metal hitting against another. I need to get the passenger front fender repaired, as it had a couple of dents in it when I bought it, but I would still like to know what this is!!

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
John[b]

Gently drag the brakes with a small amount of pedal force when rolling down the road and see if the rattle goes away. My GN has a similar sound and it's the calipers rattling. I need to install new bushings.

check your lower body trim on both the fenders and front doors, if they are slightly loose they can cause a slight rattle that could drive you crazy.

buickestate wrote:

check your lower body trim on both the fenders and front doors, if they are slightly loose they can cause a slight rattle that could drive you crazy.

Unfortunately, I know what you are talking about, as I've had to re-glue a bunch of the rubber strips on. But, I've checked all of them, and none make that noise! It almost sounds like it's coming from the inside of the passenger side front fender. I was thinking it might be the power antenna, but it works, so I didn't give that much thought. But, as I'm typing this, I really never did see if it goes away, when the antenna is extended. I rarely listen to the radio, so most of the time, it's down. I will have to see about that, though. There are a couple of dents on that fender from the previous owner, so maybe something got knocked loose?

John [b]

John,I have the same wire wheel covers on my 95 and the passenger side has a crack where
2 spokes meet the center and if I dont tighten the cap down real tight it makes a metallic
popping noise like you describe!

Flasheroo wrote:

John,I have the same wire wheel covers on my 95 and the passenger side has a crack where
2 spokes meet the center and if I dont tighten the cap down real tight it makes a metallic
popping noise like you describe!

Actually, I have the aluminum wheels, not wire wheel covers. But, I do know what you mean, as my '77 LTD has wire wheel covers, and when I go over bumps, I can hear them rattle!

John[b]

Is the antenna grounding screw, in the passenger's door jam tight? Another thing you might check is the clip on the back of the marker light. The light can flop around if it is missing.

Do any of your AC lines get close to the suspension/bodywork?

Check for shiny spots on anything, and tighten all bolts and nuts.

Does it make the sound with the hood open?

Have you had someone close the door while you listen to the area where the sound is coming from?

I dropped a box wrench into the frame rail on my 1970 Blazer and would hear it when on bumpy roads....