Rattling in Sill

[Muzzaa72]

Hi guys,

I'm pretty sure the coolant pipe within the passenger side sill has come free of whatever was holding it in place. I now have constant rattling noise and it is definitely coming from just in side the aluminium box section (I found a stethoscope ) . Now the question is has anyone else experienced this? How the hell do you even get close to this area? And I have been told foam is an easy fix but i'm not sure where to even attempt this..... The car has signs that a prev owner has tried this from the underside and drilled through the fibreglass in a couple of spots but I thought the pipework runs through the aluminium box section??? Correct me if i'm wrong! I can't quite make it out properly from the old service manual.

Also what do you think happens if I leave the pipe(s) unsupported? Will this eventual cause issues as the weight and movement is all really on the rubber couplers and jubilee clips?

Any advice much appreciated as I am stumped!

Cheers,
Murray

[Mikie711]

Pipes run on the outside of the box section but are covered by the fibreglass sill. Number of things you could try, through the holes that have been drilled in the sill. Remove the coin tray, limited access but may help. Lastly, remove the under tray and the shear panel that covers the fuel tank this gives access to the divider that is also inside the sill.

[robin]

There is also a pipe inside the box section - the main radiator coolant flow. On early S1 this frets against a rivet and will eventually wear through the pipe. I don't know whether this is the noise you can hear - have you tried grabbing hold of the narrower diameter heater pipe and wobbling it about - if it's the one that's rattling, you should be able to reproduce it this way (grab it in the engine bay or services compartment depending on which end you think is rattling.

Cheers,
Robin