A van Body panel rattle

While I have everything out of my van, I am going through it to get rid of every possible rattle. I found that the drivers side wall rattles a lot, and it looks like the ?caulk? that is between the upright supports and the sheet metal has failed, causing the panel to slap the uprights while the van is moving. I am thinking I will just pry the gap open a little and squees in some PL construction adhesive...

Anybody else have this issue?

How did you fix it?

Is PL the right thing to use?

Thanks,

Dawg

Yes, I found the same thing when I was patching/cleaning/sealing my van.

I cleaned the metal, had a friend apply pressure from the outside, then spot welded the outside skin to the upright support. Then I resealed the areas.

Let me know if you need help, I'm not far away.

Matt

This happens on Chevys and econo's also just re caulk the seams

make sure the area is clean if the pl will stick then ok but what i used was a urethane caulking , So when it cures it would have a small amount of movement. I think the pl would cure hard , Then if there was any movement then it might brake free or fail. Don't go cheap in this case and use something beter than latex.

PL is strong and flexible, I have glued rowboats together with it and thouroughly bashed them. I swear the old stuff is just Butyl rubber...

that was all that was used back in the day.

The outer skin must be able to expand and contract, so solid (weld, structural adhesive) would not be what I'd do...
Something flexible and cushioning....

What is this PL stuff your talkin about? I have just used strips of corragated box strips and stuff them behind the supports to kill rattles. I have to do a couple more spots.

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/12/34/pl_ca_prem/overview/Loctite-PL-Premium-Polyurethane-Construction-Adhesive.htm

I have half a case in the garage and it's tough and flexible. Great for bonding subfloors in housing construction to limit... squeeks... Tzhinking about going to get Butyl rubber instead though...

Pl 300 / 400 / 500 is all construction glue

3m Body Seam caulk, will allow for temp expansion while eliminating the rattle.

Any auto body paint supply will have the right stuff

So I tried a little PL, I have the stretchy Window and door kind, and it is ok... But I found that pieces of Reflectix "Double Bubble" Is MUCH better, so I stuffed a bunch of that under the various supprt members on the roof and walls. I am lining the entire interior with the stuff, have a 100' x 4' roll just for this purpose. Thanks for the cardboard suggestion, That's what I am going with...

Ahahaa! I like it! Pad the rattle = no rattle.