Solved front end / hood rattle

[jkimm7]

My 97 TJ had been making an awful rattle when I hit any sort of bump in the road. This definitely sounded like something metal coming from the front end and almost sounded like it was behind the dash or near the footwell. It seemed to get worse and better sometimes but drove me nuts. I checked anything in the engine bay that might be loose, I tightened the screws holding the radiator, I pulled apart the dash and cowl and still could find nothing. I had recently replaced the driver side fender but that was still secure. I finally figured it out before re-torqueing the control arm bolts. After closing the door and hearing it one day I kept banging on the hood to track it down. I thought it would be the hinges but the rattle didn't come from there. It ended up being the hood prop rod. the fixed end was loose in its socket and the free end was secured to a magnet but it could still slide forward and hit the front of the hood. Like I said, it sounded like it was coming from the footwell so if you have the same kind of rattle, check the prop rod because it saved me from tearing the front end apart.

 

[rsankuratri]

I had the same rattle sound, and it was driving me nuts. Finally, I figured out the issue was the 20-year-old plastic sleeve in the socket had moved out of place. I am trying to find a replacement for it but have not found it yet. I may have to be creative and use something in its place.

 

[Gilaguy23]

On the 91 I had a similar issue. Ball joint maybe, body mount,motor mount??.. a metal on metal knock .I looked and checked everywhere with no luck. I finally figured out it was the hood. Not the hinges but something about it made a knock noise when slightly articulating the suspension. . I used rubber bumpers at the rear of the hood both on the firewall and at the rear of the hood where it sits down. Noise gone.