So the 2002 not only rides like a truck but it rattles like a cattle car with most of the sounds coming from the trunkback. I’ve added bumpers on the lid to help but most all the sound is because the 2 large rubber pillows in the upper support are worn.
I folded up a foam sheet and wedged them in between the body and the bumper and it does wonders but keeps wanting to walk out. Before I pull the trunkback off and try some adhesive, I was wondering if anyone’s dealt with these either with replacing them or adding to them?
The trunkback rests on 2 rubber sockets which take most of the weight but then there is the upper center lock/latch which is a pin in a hole with some slop. It’s this slop which is the source of lots of rattling and the two large foam rubber bumpers in that slotted metal rib is what put tension on the pin/hole and keep the whole trunkback from rocking side-to-side.
I’ll drop the trunkback tomorrow and see if those foam rubber bumpers are captured somehow or maybe slotted.
As I mentioned, I’d put 2 folded sheets of closed cell foam wedged between the body and bumper and it worked great. My wife even noticed how “quiet” the GEM was. But yesterday I noticed it was rattling again and when I looked one of the closed cell foam pieces had fallen out and the 2nd one was about to fall out. Maybe some ShoeGoo or some other rubber adhesive will work.
There may be a better material choice than closed cell foam out there. IIRC, you are in SoCal, I think the foam might deteriorate quickly in the weather.
Maybe something like a synthetic rubber machinery isolation mount block? @AssyRequired
Something with a sleeve through it so it can be bolted.
I’ll have a look at that system and see if I can picture something that would work.
Convenience aside, How often do you actually remove that thing? Perhaps a better solution would be to fasten it a bit more secure with a couple of real bolts.
Those of us with later cars probably shouldn’t make it too difficult to remove as we need to get down to the batteries hiding below this thing every now and then.
I had the same issue with a 2002 with the lower posts that go into the fender. The rubber had worn out and there was a ton of play. I used hockey tape similar to what you’d use on a hockey stick to make it snug. Eliminated a bunch of the rattle.
I can’t seem to unlock the trunk removal handle. Does anyone know if the same key for the glove box is supposed to unlock that handle between the two brake lights?
Not on mine ('09). There is clearly a different number stamped on the lock.
It (sorta) makes sense in a rental situation. Someone might choose to unlock that accessory and dump it on the ground?
If you don’t have the key you can remove the seat back and trigger the release manually. Watch your finger, and have someone there to catch what you have clipped in there.
Thanks, I’ll take a close look to see if the number is visible and if it’s different. I would have validated I have all the keys when I purchased the GEM and should have validated that one too since it is so obvious/visible. My wife uses the spare set but it’s nowhere to be found so hopefully we can find them and the correct key is on that keyring.
Found the key and had a tough time getting it to release. I finally got it to release but the strap stopped me from lowering it. While removing the strap I had to relatch it and can’t get it to release again. ugh.
it’s a single sided key and I can turn the key and then the handle 90 degrees.
I’ve been looking for an exploded view of the locking mechanism to try and figure out of there’s something I can lube from the back. There does not seem to be much movement even when it did unlatch the one time.
I really think you need to pull off the back of the seat and see what is going on with your linkage. There are a couple of things back there that could have come loose.
Was hoping to not have to deal with that and almost broke it trying to figure out how to get the rear seat off. I’d read there were 2 bolts at the bottom and then you lifted up to unlatch 2 hooks but that wasn’t wroking. Could not pull the bottom out because of the seat belt locks so had to loosen them and then still could not pull the back out. There are 2 screws in each tail light(behind the lens) which screws the tail light body panel into the plywood seat back. Once the seatback was removed, it was easy to see the problem, a turnbuckle loop had pulled open so the handle was not pulling the release far enough. Pliers closed the the turnbuckle loop and the handle worked again.
I posted pictures and details in my very long working post on this GEM.
So far the glued in added foam spacers has been holding up. My wife, daughter and 2 friends took the GEM out and when they came back, my wife told me 3 different times how much smoother the ride was.
We know it really didn’t change the ride but by eliminating all the noise/rattling it sure seems like a smoother ride.
The rear suspension on the 2002 is terrible for going over bumps, especially things like uneven pavement or potholes. Gotta get off my ass and try the Honda Goldwing air shocks to see if they’ll hold up to the task any better and I’ll likely weld on some corner reinforcements to the swing arm since lighter shocks will likely increase torquing.
YES, it’s like a gate on a swing and I’ve not looked to see if it’s on rubber bushings but regardless any bump on either tire sends energy directly into the stiff shocks. LOVED the drawing you linked to and as you mentioned, all those linkages are bushinged AND it allows probably a couple of inches of horizontal offset before things get translated to the opposite side.
Has me wondering if the existing setup can be helped with a bit of welding. ie cutting off the straight axle from the body mounted arms, welding some square tubing to the axle and welding bushing holders onto the cutoff ends of the body mounted arms.
First, I have to get under there and see if there are rubber bushings holding the “gate” to the body and see what condition they are in.
Another thought is how much it would cost to get the 4 arms off one of the junk 2008 units @Trip is parting out. I can’t weld aluminum but could probably get a local body shop to weld on the extra frame bracket if the existing frame mount is in the same location as the 2008+ years. ie they only added the extra tab to the frame. I’d have to weld all the tabs onto the axle but it’s steel so I can handle that.
