Tuned mass damper rattle- What?
My 2010 Raptor with 40k on it started getting a heavy rattle in it from the rear. It was really a thudding noise as I went over bumps, potholes, and off road.
I secured the spare tightly, and it persisted. I removed the spare and it persisted. Then I found this bolted to the top rear drivers side frame rail;
It's a Tuned Mass Damper, and that's a dime on it for size perspective.
It was flopping around and hitting the frame. The bolts are on top, and not easily accessed. I removed the drivers side bed bolts and loosened the passenger side bolts. I lifted up the bed and blocked it with wood. The two bolts holding it on are 13mm, and I had to use a 1/4 drive to break them loose because the 3/8 wouldn't fit in the gap.
Once removed, I found the two rubber grommets cracked almost all the way around.
So I threw this piece of crap on my scale and;
14.5 pounds of steel flopping around making metal to metal contact.
I took the truck for a test drive and no more rattle. The total time to remove this POS, 45 minutes in my driveway.
I'm not really sure what this damper is supposed to do, but it won't be doing it on my Raptor any longer.