On my 95 wagon how do I get the inner panel of the tail gate off? It rattles so much that I need to get it off and see what I can do to secure it.

 

The plastic surrounding the inside handle can pop off with a bone tool - feels like you'll break it, but it'll pop. Once that's out of the way, you can determine the failure points - which are usually all of them. FCP and IPD both sell repair kits but IIRC, the FCP one does not have all the parts to replace all of the securing points.

Eventually, it'll probably fail on you again. Some have taken extreme measures to reattach it - silicone, metal screws, etc.

 

I have now done the inner panel repair and still have a lot of rattling. It looks like someone had wrapped tape around the bar that the latch grabs onto although it is mostly worn away. I'm wondering if adjusting the latch would help and how to do that. Has anyone tried that?

 

I just dynamatted the crap out of everything in there and have no rattles now.

 

I also found the majority of my rattles were coming from the two lift up panels where my spare tyre is. I used door jamb foam to stop those.

 

What is dynamat? I thought of gluing some foam blocks inside the hatch that would keep tension on the panel to see if that would work. I am going to remove the panel tomorrow and drive around for a while to see if it is quiet that way proving it is the panel that is rattling. I live in Petaluma, Ca. also known as Potholeuma, Ca. The pot hole capitol of the world so this rattling is driving me nuts.

 

Dynamat is a mix of foam/tar/metal/who-knows-what sheet with adhesive on one side that you can stick to anything on your car and it'll deaden any vibrations. It was first used in the car audio world so parts wouldn't vibrate at high SPLs. You can browse Amazon or eBay for it and many other knock-offs.

 

Here is my tailgate assembly instructions:
Tailgate / rear hatch panel removal and wiper motor testing / replacement, Volvo 850

 

I took the panel off today and then drove around for a while but it still rattled just as much. I started tightening everything I could find and it helped a little but it still rattles a lot. Not sure what to try next. Thinking of spraying the inside of panel with auto body undercoat. What has worked for others? Now I'm getting frustrated.

 

Take out the two panels that cover the spare and see if any of them go away. My cargo cover makes a lot of noise.

 

I took out the rear cover over the spare and that helped a little so I checked the front cover and found that it wasn't clipped in correctly so I corrected that. I also removed the two side pieces but it still rattles a lot.

 

My wagon rattles drove me nutty when I first bought it. I thought it was the trim panel on the tailgate, but turned out to be a busted latch that allowed too much side-to-side movement on the gate. Have you looked into that? I swapped to the V70 latch, which was redesigned and improved, no more rattles!