unixadm
07-19-2004, 07:01 PM
When I got my Marauder I noticed that pesky rattle coming from the back package shelf. I pulled the subwoofer out through the trunk to inspect it. The insert in the package shelf had been removed. As long as I had the subwoofer out, I went ahead and removed the loose piece of padding/deadner from the inside of it and coated the interior with a spray sound deadner called Roadkill. Reinstalled sub and now the rattle was worse! Probably because the bass being generated by the sub was more than before.
My Pioneer 6x8's showed up so I went ahead and installed those by pulling the speaker grilles on my '03 300A. I used speaker harness adapters so it was a plug and play deal. After that install, the rattle was worse.
Ever feel like you're fighting a losing battle? I did. I'm on vacation this week so I decided to pull the package shelf out. This is a pretty simple task. Remove the lower seat, remove the 3 18 or 19mm nuts holding the seatbelts down. This also releases the back of the seat so that it can be lifted up and removed. With the seat out of the way, the C-pillar covers can be removed simply by grasping them and pulling them towards the center of the car. Lastly, remove the two screws holding the CHMSL (Center high mounted stop lamp) in place and disconnect the harness connector. Now there are two small plastic clips on the front of the package shelf that you must remove. I used a trim panel removal tool to pull them out without causing any damage.
Once you have all of that stuff removed, the package shelf will lift up a bit and slide forward. You'll then see the subwoofer and the two rear deck speakers. Covering the shelf is a layer of foam insulation. It simply pulls forward and you can flip it over so that it lays down where the rear part of the back seat normally is. That will expose what is in the pictures shown below. There is a slew of wires that lay on the metal structure of the rear deck. Most of the clips were loose and not depressed all the way. Several portions of the wiring would rattle loudly if I just tapped it.
So I went and got the trusty roll of black duct tape. I taped down various parts of the wiring where I found it to be loose and could rattle against the package shelf. I also found that the CHMSL brackets were a bit loose, so I placed a little duct tape under the mounts to create a bit of a cushion.
Lastly, I took some old pieces of headliner material and cut about 10 small squares. On the bottom of the package shelf carpet assembly, you'll see at the back where it meets the glass there are some small round circular pads that rest against the metal structure of the rear deck. I used some commercial grade hot glue to attach pieces of the old headliner material to those raised circular pads to create a cushion. I do not believe this was rattling as I depressed the package shelf near the rear window and the rattle was still there. But I did this just as good measure as it took me at best 5 minutes.
I reinstalled everything in the reverse order of removal and guess what, no more rattles. NONE!!!!!! Now I need a new subwoofer as before the rattles would cause me to revert to lower volume levels! :)
Good luck!
My Pioneer 6x8's showed up so I went ahead and installed those by pulling the speaker grilles on my '03 300A. I used speaker harness adapters so it was a plug and play deal. After that install, the rattle was worse.
Ever feel like you're fighting a losing battle? I did. I'm on vacation this week so I decided to pull the package shelf out. This is a pretty simple task. Remove the lower seat, remove the 3 18 or 19mm nuts holding the seatbelts down. This also releases the back of the seat so that it can be lifted up and removed. With the seat out of the way, the C-pillar covers can be removed simply by grasping them and pulling them towards the center of the car. Lastly, remove the two screws holding the CHMSL (Center high mounted stop lamp) in place and disconnect the harness connector. Now there are two small plastic clips on the front of the package shelf that you must remove. I used a trim panel removal tool to pull them out without causing any damage.
Once you have all of that stuff removed, the package shelf will lift up a bit and slide forward. You'll then see the subwoofer and the two rear deck speakers. Covering the shelf is a layer of foam insulation. It simply pulls forward and you can flip it over so that it lays down where the rear part of the back seat normally is. That will expose what is in the pictures shown below. There is a slew of wires that lay on the metal structure of the rear deck. Most of the clips were loose and not depressed all the way. Several portions of the wiring would rattle loudly if I just tapped it.
So I went and got the trusty roll of black duct tape. I taped down various parts of the wiring where I found it to be loose and could rattle against the package shelf. I also found that the CHMSL brackets were a bit loose, so I placed a little duct tape under the mounts to create a bit of a cushion.
Lastly, I took some old pieces of headliner material and cut about 10 small squares. On the bottom of the package shelf carpet assembly, you'll see at the back where it meets the glass there are some small round circular pads that rest against the metal structure of the rear deck. I used some commercial grade hot glue to attach pieces of the old headliner material to those raised circular pads to create a cushion. I do not believe this was rattling as I depressed the package shelf near the rear window and the rattle was still there. But I did this just as good measure as it took me at best 5 minutes.
I reinstalled everything in the reverse order of removal and guess what, no more rattles. NONE!!!!!! Now I need a new subwoofer as before the rattles would cause me to revert to lower volume levels! :)
Good luck!