The "Squeak"

[Rodney Leary]

Began hearing a squeak on the interior around the steering column or pedal area. It could be ANYTHING and only happens while driving.



Gonna have to be a perv and have the wife drive around and lean over with my head between her legs to try and pinpoint. It's so random though I could be down there a while. :supercool:



Most annoying thing ever. *Cranks up radio*

 

[EddieS'04]

Interior sqeaks and rattles are the hardest things to find. And the most anoying...

 

[swshawaii]

Solve one and it's almost guaranteed another will appear. :banghead:

 

[Richard L]

Common areas for squeaks coming from the dash area include the joint between the lower console and dashboard. also there was a problem with the early Sport Tracs where the ECU computer would squeak or rattle. Some folks added a small piece of foam rubber to stop that

(ECU is accessed throught the engine compartment, but the noise sounds like it's coming from behind the dashboard)



If the steering wheel squeaks when turning, it probably has an internal problem. If it just squeaks going over bumps on a straight road, it may be a loose column mounting that you can tighten under the dash. It could even be the pedals since they attach and pivot behind and above the steering wheel/column they also often have rubber cushioned stops to prevent any metal to contact....you might need to clean the pedal and rubber stops to stop the squeaks.



As Eddie said, these kinds of squeaks are very hard to diagnose and fix...good luck,



...Rich

 

[Igor Smetaniuk]

RodneyL,



Many moons ago I had a mystery squeak that I couldn't pinpoint on a Ranger I had. I could never get my ear close enough to the location even when I had someone else drive while I giraffe necked beneath the dash. Finally, something made me think about hearing aids in the days of old - a simple funnel. But, I took the thought one step further and bought 4 feet of 3/8" (I.D.) black rubber hose. It was amazing how it isolated remote noise as you scan all different areas for the mysterious "squeak" location. I found the sucker, but I'll be damned if I remember what it was.



The damn hose helped me with my hearing, now I wish I could find something that'll help me with my memory.



Anyway, it's funny because I've had an intermittent rattle coming from the front of my ST the past week so I'll be breaking out the hose when it stops raining to isolate the culprit. Bet it's the water pump - original from 2001.



Oh, by all means look for it while you're wife drives around for a couple of hours

(or minutes ) and don't let her know about this cool trick.

 

[Rodney Leary]

Thanks for all the suggestions! First nice day I will probe a little further and maybe try the hose trick too.

 

[Rodney Leary]

I haven't been able to track this down and it's annoying the hell out me. I haven't been able to try the hose trick yet... and the weather has turned pretty cold so I dread of trying to find it.



It has to be vibration related, as it now does it when I turn the truck over. Then randomly as I drive around.

 

[Rodney Leary]

BUMP FOR HELP.



The squeak seems to be coming from behind or below the center console somewhere. If I get down in the floor that's the likely source, it;s seems to be somewhere btween the interior and exterior. I can't hear it with the hood open on the outside, due to engine noise, and the same from underneath.



Any idea what it back there that might be squeaking? I may just pull out the console and try to locate that way...