[05DMAX]

I have a rattle inside the cab that i think i have sourced to the shifter. For the longest time i thought it was the motor becuase its hard to tell exactly where the noise is coming from. One day i was in 4WD and the same noise definatly sounded right in the middle floor area. It mainly does it at highways speed in 6th gear, sometimes it can be heard in lower gears (like 5th and 4th). Recently the dealer had the tranny pulled to replace a throwout bearing and the shifter was installed loosely (I could spin the whole lever in a circle). While it was like this the noise was gone. After tightening it, the noise was gone for a while but then came back.

It's loud enough that passengers ask if something is wrong. It doesnt seem to get any worse, i mean there are loud days and quiet days but it never gets any louder than a certain point. Its done this for as long as i could remember.

I was reading this post: http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25175 and Jeli said that there was a rattle when he had the short throw shifter on due to the lack of a rubber washer. I'm thinking I have a similar rattle only with the stock shifter. Anyone else have this rattle?

Its really annoying and my truck is just about out of warranty, what can i do to fix it?

 

[gearhead]

I had a bad rattle also but the dealer found that it was the 4X4 shifter linkage that was doing it and not the zf shifter

 

[NathanielD]

i found my shifter was loose when i found trans fluid leaking under my truck. I took the boot of the shifter off and the 4 bolts that hold the shifter in was all hand loose. I would check this if i were you.

 

[Marty G]

I also have a rattle, mainly in 6th, occurring around 1600 rpm. It turned out to be the 4X4 shifter leakage as gearhead described.

By grabbing the 4WD shifter as it was occuring, mine goes away. In another link one guy fixed this by placing washers in a specific area. ( I need to find out where).

Another fellow (6splb7) found out after replacing his DMF that it was a broken bracket that holds the exhaust down pipe, that was his problem.

 

[Jeli]

That was me with the washers. The linkage connecting the shifter to the Tcase rattles. Mine is loose where it connects to the shifter. It's a ball and socket with a rubber washer behind the ball. I put 2 or 3 5/16 flat washers behind the rubber washer to put a little pressure on the socket end. Once in a great with I get a little noise but it's gone 99% of the time.

My first fix was running a zip tie around the connection. Worked great until you shifted into 4lo. Then it was ripped off.

 

[05DMAX]

Got the truck back from the dealer, and they heard it but could not find anything. they checked shifter, 4wd components etc. They mentioned about my aftermarket exhaust maybe causing something.

I got the thinking, as i said trans was removed and the rattle seemed to go away for a short period of time then returned. Now when this was done they obviously removed the bracket that mounts to the trans and holds up the exhaust pipe next to it. I'm thinking this bracket my be the culprit, something to do with the way this exhaust sits versus stock. When the dealer had the bracket removed, it took a little bit of time for it to settle back into its original position and start to rattle again. This fits also because the sound is hard to pinpoint and if this is the case the rattle could come through the exhaust pipe, making it sound towards the firewall; or through the trans, making it sound through the floor or somewhere in between as it does. Maybe similar to 6spdlb7's rattle as Marty G metioned.

This weekend I'm gonna play with it a little, Maybe unbolt the bracket that mounts to the trans and test drive, see if it still makes the noise. If this does end up being the case, maybe ill use a rubber washer/bushing where it mounts to the trans. If not maybe its something to do with the mount to the downpipe from the turbo.

Anyone have any thoughts on my guess to the cause of the problem?

 

[05_LLY]

my truck also has this rattle, i'm going to try the washer thing, becaus when i pull lightyl on the 4x4 shifter it goes away .

 

[wldfyr]

I also had this rattle, dealer fixed with a piece of sponge rubber on ball first then intalled the socket over it sandwiching the foam, haven't had the rattle since.

 

[05_LLY]

i seem to have fixed my rattle, the two small foam peices that are where the shift linkage clips on i removed these and replaced them with to peices i made out of 1/2 inch rubber mat i just took a 3/4 inch whole saw and cut to 2 holes in the mat and used the little pieces thet are left in the whole saw to replace the foam bushings, no more rattle!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[05DMAX]

Found out the rattle was indeed the 4wd linkage. Right now i just have a wire tie holding it to a fuel line until i have time for a permanent fix. Quick question though, how does the linkage pop off of the ball? i tried to remove mine real quick and it seemed to be binding and i didnt want to yank cause its plastic. is it keyed and you have to unbolt the linkage in the middle and move it 90 degrees to get it off?

Thanks guys

 

[05_LLY]

there is little metal c clip (about 1/4 inch wide) on the each end of the rod just get a little pocket screw driver or a pick (something small) under it and pull out a little bit while pulling out on the rod also and it will fall right off!! to put it back on just push untill it pops on, simple as that!

Good Luck,
Caleb