Irritating rear end rattle

[cdk6468]

hi, we have a 2004 1.6 tdc-i c-max with 120,000 on the clock, it has acquired a rather irritating rattle on the rear end somewhere, it happens when you go over bumps and also when your traveling at low speed, it seems to be in time with a wheel turning but when you rest your foot slightly on the brake peddle it goes away :-/, its had new discs and pads, and nothing that can be seen or shaken seems to be loose. i vaughly remember reading an article about a hub problem on some focus's but cannot remember which model or year focus's they were. any advice anyone please ??

[carlukeman]

hi, we have a 2004 1.6 tdc-i c-max with 120,000 on the clock, it has acquired a rather irritating rattle on the rear end somewhere, it happens when you go over bumps and also when your traveling at low speed, it seems to be in time with a wheel turning but when you rest your foot slightly on the brake peddle it goes away :-/, its had new discs and pads, and nothing that can be seen or shaken seems to be loose. i vaughly remember reading an article about a hub problem on some focus's but cannot remember which model or year focus's they were. any advice anyone please ??

Hi,

My Focus has just developed the exact same problem as you were experiencing. It has been at the local garage 3 times now and the mechanic is pulling his hair out. When I left the garage on Friday, the mechanic told me he was going to contact Ford for advice. If you have mamaged to have your problem fixed, could you please let me know what the problem was and the eventual repair? Like you I had my brake pads changed just 5 or 6 weeks before the rattle appeard and when I apply the brakes it stops. Looking forward to your help.

John

[coxie]

Hi,

My Focus has just developed the exact same problem as you were experiencing. It has been at the local garage 3 times now and the mechanic is pulling his hair out. When I left the garage on Friday, the mechanic told me he was going to contact Ford for advice. If you have mamaged to have your problem fixed, could you please let me know what the problem was and the eventual repair? Like you I had my brake pads changed just 5 or 6 weeks before the rattle appeard and when I apply the brakes it stops. Looking forward to your help.

John

Hi

I had this problem on my C-max and Carcraft took apart the rear brake assembly,check parts, regreased and put back again . Noise had gone and this was done in Janurary this year.

Hope this helps Dave

[hammie]

we had this very problem and we replace the pad carryier and the noise has gone

[carlukeman]

we had this very problem and we replace the pad carryier and the noise has gone

Hi Coxie and Hammie,

Thank you both for your replies. I know the mechanic greased some part in the brake assembly and the noise disappeared for about 30mins and then returned as bad as ever. So, perhaps he used the wrong grease or it might mean he needs to replace the pad carrier. I will let him know of your experiences and again, Thanks.

John

[cdk6468]

Hi all, thankyou for your replies and its good to know that its not only our car suffering with this annoying rattle, (that meant in a nice way :-) It recntly went in for an MOT and the mechanic said about a problem with the rear right caliper not working properly, but it turned out to be the handbrake cable not functioning on that side so alas we still have our rattle and as its been like itfor so long and the car has done at least 20,000 with the rattle we reckon we have to live with it until the brakes needs doing again and then get the pad carriers changed too.

Many thanks again for your replies and advice.

[carlukeman]

Hi all, thankyou for your replies and its good to know that its not only our car suffering with this annoying rattle, (that meant in a nice way :-) It recntly went in for an MOT and the mechanic said about a problem with the rear right caliper not working properly, but it turned out to be the handbrake cable not functioning on that side so alas we still have our rattle and as its been like itfor so long and the car has done at least 20,000 with the rattle we reckon we have to live with it until the brakes needs doing again and then get the pad carriers changed too.

Many thanks again for your replies and advice.

Hi All,

I thought I should let you all know that I have had my Rattling Ford Focus repaired. The problem turned out to be the hand brake. Six to seven weeks after having my (All round) disc brake pads replaced the car developed a terrible rattle from the rear end. When I applied the brakes the rattle stopped. After a few goes at trying to find the fault, the mechanic at our local garage here in Spain suggested that it might be a missing rubber grommet in the hand brake cable. I explained the other potential solutions given by you guys and he set about the job this morning. I returned after a coffee and the car was waiting for me. The problem was the hand brake and the solution was simple - an adjustment. It turns out the pads were rattling because they were not set at the correct distance. The conclusion; The Brit garage that changed my disc pads were crap, which resulted in 4 visits to the local garage and a lot of wasted time. The good news is, Paco only charged me €15 - what a gem of a guy. Guess where I'll be going in future.

Thanks again Hammie and Coxie,

Regards,

John

[coxie]

Hi All,

I thought I should let you all know that I have had my Rattling Ford Focus repaired. The problem turned out to be the hand brake. Six to seven weeks after having my (All round) disc brake pads replaced the car developed a terrible rattle from the rear end. When I applied the brakes the rattle stopped. After a few goes at trying to find the fault, the mechanic at our local garage here in Spain suggested that it might be a missing rubber grommet in the hand brake cable. I explained the other potential solutions given by you guys and he set about the job this morning. I returned after a coffee and the car was waiting for me. The problem was the hand brake and the solution was simple - an adjustment. It turns out the pads were rattling because they were not set at the correct distance. The conclusion; The Brit garage that changed my disc pads were crap, which resulted in 4 visits to the local garage and a lot of wasted time. The good news is, Paco only charged me €15 - what a gem of a guy. Guess where I'll be going in future.

Thanks again Hammie and Coxie,

Regards,

John

Hi John

Clad you got your car fix, but it a bit of a drive for me to get to your garage

[PeterB]

Had the same problem, solved after trying various makes of brake pad, by fitting genuine Ford pads which now have a sticky tape on the back presumably to stick it to the fixed side of the brake assembly. Haven`t seen any posts on this previously so it must be a recent fix to cure the rattle problem.