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spoiler rattle

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22K views 140 replies 55 participants last post by  Gareth350  
#1 ·
My rear spoiler is rattling like hell whenever I go over any kind of rough surface / bumps. I have taken the thin plastic cover off hiding the bolts and tightened them slightly (they were very loose) but its still rattling. How tight are these supposed to be? as i'm scared of it cracking the mounts if i do them to tight?

Cheers
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#2 ·
Don't like the sound of that!
If I were you I'd pop into a dealers, they will probably over tighten the bolts for you, but at least you will have some come back it they split!
No but seriously, I've dropped in with little niggles (like missing front screw on wheel arch) and to check other stuff and they have done it quickly with no charge...
Is it because I'm a girl?
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#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have had a constant rattling spoiler on mine for 6 months now, the bolts were loose originally, tightened & was fine, just started rattling again! I have found a solution though, the rattle is from the small square rubber pads at the rear outer edge of the spoiler by the outer bolts, the rubber wears out as its too thin! The solution is to loosen outer bolts, remove small clip between spoiler & glass, lift spoiler to insert a 50mm X 20mm x 3mm hard rubber strip (mudflap type material) in its place. Re-tighten & re-fit clip, this lifts the spoiler well away from the glass & tailgate a treat, will never rattle again in a long time!
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#19 ·
gareth350 said:
I have had a constant rattling spoiler on mine for 6 months now, the bolts were loose originally, tightened & was fine, just started rattling again!

I have found a solution though, the rattle is from the small square rubber pads at the rear outer edge of the spoiler by the outer bolts, the rubber wears out as its too thin!

The solution is to loosen outer bolts, remove small clip between spoiler & glass, lift spoiler to insert a 30mm X 20mm x 3mm hard rubber strip (mudflap type material) in its place. Re-tighten & re-fit clip, this lifts the spoiler well away from the glass & tailgate a treat, will never rattle again in a long time!
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Click to expand...
It's interesting that you should come up with this solution Gareth . There's actually a gap between the Spoiler and the Glass , this goes the full length of the Spoiler . I've recently bought some very soft ribbed foam rubber with an adhesive strip on the back , the plan is to put this all the way along the Spoiler to fill the gap and cushion it .
The rubber is 10mm wide and 5mm thick but it's very squashy , so should fill the gap nicely . I'll let y'all know how it goes .
 

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#31 ·
Ok, a few pics & a very quick 'how to' guide on my fix!

1st, loosen off the outer spoiler bolt, doesn't have to be removed, then the clip that holds the spoiler to the glass, both circled.

You could also loosen the bolt behind the panel in the tailgate, not strictly neccesary but allows the spoiler to lift up higher without putting too much strain on the spoiler.

To gain access to the centre bolts the plastic cover removes by pulling from the bottom & pops off.

The spoiler can be now lifted enough to gain clearance to slip in the rubber pad. You will see the old foam, or whats left of it in the corner of the screen, remove the old stuff & simply slip the rubber pad in flush with the spoiler, the spoiler will hold it in place. Tighten the bolts, then replace the clip, this may need to splayed out slightly to allow for the larger gap created.

Once done, they will look like this



Yes, they can be seen, but only us knowledgable guys would notice them & as you can see, it lifts the spoiler well away from the glass. There is a 3rd pad in the centre of the spoiler that could also be replaced but i haven't found it neccesary to do this one.

After 6 months there is no rattles as i've said & there is no way they'll wear out!
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#34 ·
gareth350 said:
Ok, a few pics & a very quick 'how to' guide on my fix!

1st, loosen off the outer spoiler bolt, doesn't have to be removed, then the clip that holds the spoiler to the glass, both circled.

View attachment 6593

You could also loosen the bolt behind the panel in the tailgate, not strictly neccesary but allows the spoiler to lift up higher without putting too much strain on the spoiler.

View attachment 6594

To gain access to the centre bolts the plastic cover removes by pulling from the bottom & pops off.

The spoiler can be now lifted enough to gain clearance to slip in the rubber pad. You will see the old foam, or whats left of it in the corner of the screen, remove the old stuff & simply slip the rubber pad in flush with the spoiler, the spoiler will hold it in place. Tighten the bolts, then replace the clip, this may need to splayed out slightly to allow for the larger gap created.

Gareth my spoiler doesnt even rattle anymore but good how to mate thats due a REP son well done
Image


Once done, they will look like this

View attachment 6595

View attachment 6596

Yes, they can be seen, but only us knowledgable guys would notice them & as you can see, it lifts the spoiler well away from the glass. There is a 3rd pad in the centre of the spoiler that could also be replaced but i haven't found it neccesary to do this one.

After 6 months there is no rattles as i've said & there is no way they'll wear out!
Image
Click to expand...
 
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#37 ·
It is indeed a very big spoiler that does "vibrate" considerably if you close the hatch in a normal fashion.
so, what I've been doing, is just gently closing the hatch until it's toching the lock, then I simply push it shut.....works for me, but there's no doubt that our RS will probably suffer from this "design issue" eventually too.
Cheers, Pickles.
 
#40 ·
sorj said:
I wonder if that what the rattle is coming from??? When i am driv
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ing i hear a rattle rear left of me.. i always thought it was the side panel or something.
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Click to expand...
Easy way to find out is to hold the spoiler & move it up & down, if you hear a ticking kind of noise then its the spoiler rubbers/foam worn through & this transmits through the car as an annoying rattle!
 
#45 · (Edited)
Well it was a lovely afternoon , so I thought it was about time I did my Spoiler rattle modification .

This was to cure the rattle / judder when closing the Tailgate , and I'm very pleased with the result .

Now when I close the Tailgate , the Spoiler still shakes up and down a little bit (this is unavoidable bacause of it's size) but nowhere near as much as before , the main thing now is that when I close it there is no juddering or rattling from the Spoiler , just a nice 'thud' when it closes .

This is a 'How to remove the rear Spoiler' as well as a Rattle / Judder fix .

So first , How to remove the Spoiler . . . . . . . Remove the Inner top Tailgate / Window trim to reveal the 3 center bolts (pic 1) , remove these 3 bolts and the 2 outer ones along with the spring clips at the ends of the Spoiler (Pic 2) .


The Spoiler is also held onto the Tailgate with clips which are built into the underside of the Spoiler , to unclip these just pull the Spoiler upwards from the Tailgate and it will become fully detached .

Next the Washer and Brake light need to be detached (pic 3) , just pull the Washer pipe apart at the connector and unplug the wiring connector :

We now have the Spoiler completely removed from the car and laid on the Garage floor (well , on the carpet anyway) .

There is already a strip of anti-rattle type tape attached to the area on the underside of the Spoiler where it meets the Tailgate glass (pic 4) , this needs to be removed . I also removed the anti-rattle pads on the ends of the Spoiler and replaced them with thick double-sided tape (pic 5) .


Clean off all the old Tape residue with White Spirit and stick the new Foam Rubber strip into place (pic 6) , there are guide lines for the Tape moulded into the Spoiler (pic 7) , so it's easy to get it in the right place . Make sure to use the guide lines so as not to block the drain holes in the Spoiler (pic 8 )


All that remains is to replace the Spoiler (please read THIS first) remembering to reconnect the Washer pipe and Brake light plug .

I used this self-adhesive Foam Rubber strip off ebay . . . . . http://cgi.ebay.co.u...=item3cb4a3c492 .
 
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