B Pillar Tick

Bob Miller · May 15, 2019

My b pillar has been quiet. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it isn’t coming back.

However, Anyone on here have the passenger seat rattle on bumps? It comes and goes. It seems to happen after someone sits in the seat (and now it seems to be happening while someone is in the seat). I actually think the seat frame is broken in the back. I can push on the back of the seat and hear the metal squeaking around back there. I’ve stuck a towel in the seat back pocket and that has seemed to buffer the sound.

I was thinking about taking the seat covering off (leather bucket no power) to see what’s going on. I’m not really sure if i want to mess with it

any thoughts?

(incidentally i took the truck to the dealer this morning to have them plug a tire that i had a nail in and of course the seat wasn’t making any noise at all... go figure. So they couldn’t do anything)

mojohn · May 16, 2019

On 5/12/2019 at 6:34 PM, mojohn said:

I am cautiously optimistic that I've found the cure for my passenger side B Pillar ticking. Went through almost every suggestion in this forum. Finally, I removed the lower pillar plastic cover and saw that a couple wires connected to the seat belt mechanism were very close to the cover itself. The wires are at / near floor-level. They were like almost rubbing the cover. See image. I then wire-tied the wires to the metal B Pillar.

I noticed in the middle of the B Pillar is a wire bundle. Just for giggles, I wire-tied that wire bundle to the B Pillar, too.

Been a dozen or so trips since, and the dreaded B Pillar tick has been fixed. So far.

Best,

John, KF5ZMD

Well, she-ott.

Fix didn't take.

Back to the drawing board!

Bob Miller · May 16, 2019

That sucks. Out of curiosity what’s the temperature outside where you are?

mojohn · May 16, 2019

1 minute ago, Bob Miller said:

That sucks. Out of curiosity what’s the temperature outside where you are?

84 ° this afternoon.

It seems to do better when it's cold.

Best,

John, KF5ZMD

Bob Miller · May 17, 2019

Okay that’s what I noticed too when mine was doing it. When it cooled off in the fall it stopped. Then it came back for a day or so back in January sort of randomly.

Try this because mine seemed to stop for good (fingers crossed) after I did this. Open the back door and take the rubber boot / connector that attaches the wiring that comes through to the door to the plug in the B pillar off and then reconnect it. It’s a connector where you pinch on it and it should snap out. Mine had a bunch of play. I could really move that rubber boot around the hole. I’m curious if that stops it for anybody else.

davidsp101 · May 17, 2019

Some metal inside or under the b pillar is expanding and tapping. I think it is a combo of heat and humidity because we have had days here in SC where the temp is well into the 90s and I don't hear it, yet 70-80 degrees on a damp morning and the sob is rattling like there's no tomorrow.

mojohn · May 17, 2019

13 hours ago, Bob Miller said:

Okay that’s what I noticed too when mine was doing it. When it cooled off in the fall it stopped. Then it came back for a day or so back in January sort of randomly.

Try this because mine seemed to stop for good (fingers crossed) after I did this. Open the back door and take the rubber boot / connector that attaches the wiring that comes through to the door to the plug in the B pillar off and then reconnect it. It’s a connector where you pinch on it and it should snap out. Mine had a bunch of play. I could really move that rubber boot around the hole. I’m curious if that stops it for anybody else.

Thanks, I'll give 'er a whirl.

John

Bob Miller · May 17, 2019

I did notice last year it was much worse in the mornings during the summer here in Houston. Damp humid mornings. Thing would rattle on every bump and groove in the road.

But on the drive home from work after the truck sat in the parking lot all day in the heat and sun it would either not do it or it would be real faint.

We’re starting to get more damp and higher (mid 70s) temps in the mornings now and it isn’t doing it (yet). Hoping like hell it stays this way.

mojohn · May 19, 2019

On 5/17/2019 at 9:00 AM, mojohn said:

Thanks, I'll give 'er a whirl.

John

Tried all that. While the rubber boot was slightly loose, this suggestion did not fix my rattle. Back to the drawing board.

Bob Miller · May 20, 2019

Ugh - that sucks mojohn.

I have to figure out what's going on with my passenger seat. It will be fine for a few days, then someone will sit in it and then it will rattle like crazy (on bumps) until I start messing with it again.

davidsp101 · May 21, 2019

Still looking to see if anyone with running boards was able to solve the issue by retorquing their bolts.

AML · May 21, 2019

Fixed mine yesterday by pulling the trim off of my B Pillar and securing the seat-belt pass-through about 1/2 way down the pillar itself. I used sticky felt pads. The loop wiggles side to side on a rivet and contacts the channel on both sides... So far so good.

davidsp101 · May 21, 2019

5 hours ago, AML said:

Fixed mine yesterday by pulling the trim off of my B Pillar and securing the seat-belt pass-through about 1/2 way down the pillar itself. I used sticky felt pads. The loop wiggles side to side on a rivet and contacts the channel on both sides... So far so good.

I hope it works for you, but I've tried that and had no impact.

mojohn · May 25, 2019

On 5/16/2019 at 3:11 PM, mojohn said:

Well, she-ott.

Fix didn't take.

Back to the drawing board!

Hope springs eternal.

Folded a towel over to @4 layers thickness. Closed the rear passenger door on it, it's next to the b-pillar, below the rear door hinges. A small amount hangs out from under the door.

Noisy hinges I learned about here, post #84:

https://www.coloradofans.com/forums/177-2nd-gen-interior/266250-rattle-near-seat-belt-cover-5.html

Been out on several trips, and it's working so far, so good. Wish me luck.

Best,

John

Edited May 25, 2019 by mojohn
Clarification

davidsp101 · May 26, 2019

I uploaded a video of where I think my noise is coming from. I was working the back door back and forth and you could hear the metal under the b pillar clicking. It didn’t totally go away like I thought when I was recording the video, but the pressure helped reduce it. Sorry about the shaky camera at the end.