Car feels cheap and old

[Moya]

Straight to the point, my AU2 Forte 180KM on the clock, feels like cheap crap. The engine is rock solid and in awesome condition. Same with the gearbox.

However, every other aspect of the car feels cheap with low build quality. Going over any road now causes rattles all over the car (on an average road, not even a bumpy one). On a bumpy road, it honestly makes me feel like putting her into a tree and using the insurance money to buy a better car.

Why is this? Is the suspension gone, which is causing this?

I'm scared if I spend $2000 on the suspension, Koni sports, Whiteline sway bars, camber kit and King SSL's, because the suspension will be hard and sports (what I want) - it will furthermore make a point of the rattles etc in the car.

Thanks

[buickman]

I have a AU1 ghia that I brouhgt in 2000 as a demo. I have kept maintaince up all the time on it & the car feels & drives like new.

But I've driven the company AU1,2&3's & VT,VX holdens that have nearly no servicing & driven by many people & most were rough & knocked about & in particular a AU2 futura that was real POS that the company traded in.

I just pity the poor person that buys that car as interior was used as a cargo area & it had that many noises & rattles with broken buttons ciggy burns cracked dash perspex were someone hit the odo button to hard.

Its like any mass produced car they all have their problems.

buickman

[Racecraft]

Moya you are right in the fact that lower, firmer suspension will highlight rattles, go over all the bushes first, replace the worn bushes, engine and trans mounts then start fresh

[AU-MUSTD]

If you keep up matinence with all the minor issues of trims, bush's, mounts, wash regulary, service , exhaust rubbers etc... then it goes a long way to make your car feeling tight and new. My motto is to spend a little a lot rather than a lot a little.

[Moya]

Well, exhaust is new. The bushes might be gone, but they will be replaced my nathelaine (sp) bushes on the new suspension setup I'm contemplating. Other than that, services and stuff I keep perfect, I'm rather pedantic.

[Baboon_AU]

you know what bugs me. i have an AUII ute and when i go over a bump, the passenger seat belt bashes the interior wall and it reallt sh*ts me.. its really loud too.

[Stav]

Moya...the main rattle I hace came from the radio surround fascia.It sometimes gets removed and not reinstalled properly.

[FTE217]

Moya you make a point your car is a pos rattles etc....wtf are you putting urethane on then ?
Want more noises transferring through your chassis etc oh yer how lovely.
I have been and done that believe me you don't need urethane. Rubber is the best for NVH issues.
Yer ok you want handling, lowered aftermarket coils usually 15 - 25% firmer than std, then you want Konis, much firmer again than std, then larger diameter sway bars add on another 15% believe me she will be flat enough around corners but let the car have some give, urethane is fine with the sway bar and links everywhere get rubber.

[Moya]

Originally Posted by useless

Moya...the main rattle I hace came from the radio surround fascia.It sometimes gets removed and not reinstalled properly.

Yeh I think this could be it. I might pop the radio facia out when I get some time, and possible apply a small layer of sound deadener.

[OzJavelin]

Every AU I've ever been in had at least a dash rattle. Ford employed blind monkeys to design and build them. Other than the fact BA dashboard is a 1000x improvement in looks over the AU it also seems a 1000x improvement in design, quality of materials and assembly.

You will NEVER fix ALL the rattles etc in an AU. I love my ute, but if the CD player - which drowns out the background squeaks, rattles, bumps, etc - ever died I'd be stuffed ...

[LG]

Go get a Pedders Suspension check. Try and find everything loose thats rattling and rubbing, and fix it up. If theres leaks silicon it up. That'll fix most of your problems, that you can do yourself. Then try and plan out your mods to better improve your car, performance and safety wise, in accordance to what your car needs.

i.e. if your brakes are dieing out and shuddering. Replace them, with better rotors and pads when you get it done.

Or when you get your suspension done, make sure while it's getting worked on that the bushes get checked out.

Or if your diff starts to whine and gives you problems, upgrade your diff.

If it were my car, I'd try and fix everything i could see and get my hands to. And then at the next service, be firm with your mechanic, and tell him to replace (within reason) anything that needs replacing, as RaceCraft said, mounts, etc.

That said, mines perfectly fine to drive. Although i've only done 70k. Some few small things needs tidying up, and it just needs a bit more looks and a bit more go.

[AU:PROJECT:UTE]

I have to agree LG, My ute being 3 years old has developed some humdinger rattles, all of which originated from the dash, once i had spent 2 hours with double sided foam tape; my ride was significantly quieter. That passenger seat belt bashing the B pillar is a deadset sh*t and if someone does come up with a solution better than more double sided taped please share. Keeping the dust of the dash by cleaning regularly has also helped.
But the one thing that I cant emphasise enough is replacing your front stabiliser rubbers religiously, they wear and seem to amplify any slight rattle that may be present.

[Mechan1k]

I keep getting the dull thud/rattle from the rear ... occasionally at the front as well .. depends on how rough the road is.

I am about to lower the ute 1.5" all round with new gas shocks as well. I was thinking about replacing the bushes as well ... but was going to steer clear of urethane as I know when it comes to a lot of driving they can be annoying. So will be replacing all my rubber bushes with new ones.

Was also going to go to Pedders to get a full suspension check and see what they found wrong with my vehicle underneath it.

[mattsAU1]

Originally Posted by LG

Go get a Pedders Suspension check. Try and find everything loose thats rattling and rubbing, and fix it up. If theres leaks silicon it up. That'll fix most of your problems, that you can do yourself. Then try and plan out your mods to better improve your car, performance and safety wise, in accordance to what your car needs.

i.e. if your brakes are dieing out and shuddering. Replace them, with better rotors and pads when you get it done.

Or when you get your suspension done, make sure while it's getting worked on that the bushes get checked out.

Or if your diff starts to whine and gives you problems, upgrade your diff.

If it were my car, I'd try and fix everything i could see and get my hands to. And then at the next service, be firm with your mechanic, and tell him to replace (within reason) anything that needs replacing, as RaceCraft said, mounts, etc.

That said, mines perfectly fine to drive. Although i've only done 70k. Some few small things needs tidying up, and it just needs a bit more looks and a bit more go.

Completely agree, i bought an AU1 ex Customs car
full of suspension rattles, brake application shudders etc etc
took it to pedders and it was the best $14 i have spent on it yet
they gave me a list in order of importance and just geadually worked my way through it as i saved the cash
now the only minor rattle i have is in the dash as i have installed a non stock head deck and i think that as soon as you pull any part of the cars interior apart regardless of make and model it never goes back together perfectly so i guess i have sorts learned to live with it
besides the stereo is rarely low enough to hear these anyways

[TURBOTAXI]

My car has 802,000 kilometers and has rattles.
I accept the rattles as the cars way of saying " please be gentle, I am tired".

[mattbl]

I haven't had my AU1 long. I went all around the car and tightened every bolt I could find a quarter of a turn to take away that 'taxi' feel.
My dash doesn't rattle but I had this rattle coming from the rear parcel shelf area every time I went around a corner. It was the wedge globe for the parcel shelf stop light. It had fallen out.
I've always washed my cars regularly. It's a good way to find and fix any small problems before they become annoying rattles etc.

[HP Dude]

My 180K AUI XR8 still feels tight and cops nasty pot holes really well (no rattles, just a solid thud), just as well in fact as our extremely low mileage AU XR6HP. In the time I've had it, When on the test drive, I heard one slight rattle in the dash, but since I've had it, haven't heard it since. I'm pretty surprised actually.