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Squeaky, chirpy sound from beneath gas tank.

2065 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Zoom
Anyone else get it yet ? The foam/foil heat shield under the tank started making a squeaky vibration. I stuffed a small thin strip of urethane foam in there between the shield and the tank on the right side. Now quiet. It drove me nuts for two days, until I figured out where the noise came from. At first,I thought is was the speedo housing.
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I am going to bring this topic back up because I am experiencing this issue. Is anyone else hearing this squeaky noise when you hit bumps. After my 4000 mile service on Monday it seems to squeak a bit more. I did make sure the tank was on tight.

I can tell it is the gas tank because if I rev the motor with my hand firmly against the tank or go over a bump with my hand firmly on the tank no squeak.

So what is the fix for this?
I know you said you checked the way the tank was mounted but did you look to make sure both rubber discs are still there? If you lose one (and it's easy to do) the tank will rub in places where it shouldn't. That could be the squeaking noise you're hearing. :dontknow:
Lube the two rubber donuts that the tank slides over with some silicone grease, that fixed the squeak mine had once in a while.

Also check under the tank where the tubes from the air box go under it. They sometimes rub there, mine does a little, but it doesn't squeak. If it is coming from there a piece of tape or something similar to shield the rubber from the tank should stop it. There is also a rubber coolant hose that the tank can rub against on one side, but it has a mesh cover over it that should stop the tank from wearing on it and making a squeak unless the mesh has worn through.

Also check and see if it's the speedometer cluster or the tank that is squeaking. The speedometer cluster has two pegs that fits into dowels at the front of the tank, and those could squeak too. Same fix as for the tank, and little silicone grease on them.

And finally, there is a metallic heat shield under the tank that could be rubbing against something. If just the edge of it touched I could see it squeaking too. :D
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Will white lithium grease work here.

What specific silicone grease are you referencing?
Never mind.

I took the tank off got some double sided tape and put it on the back of the heat shield. I also notice where the tank may have been rubbing the frame and put automobile rubber door stripping in those spots with 3m double sided tape.

Oh my goodness what a major difference.

Another good post by the board members, thank you. Also a testament to the good ole search engine. I dug this post up from 2006.

Thank you Zoom I knew what to look for because of you.
brittanyman said:
And finally, there is a metallic heat shield under the tank that could be rubbing against something. If just the edge of it touched I could see it squeaking too.)))))

Mine is doing the same thing.... i found where my heat shield under the tank is rubbing on my coolant hose on the clutch side of the bike. I put some masking tape on there and it worked for a few days but now it is back... I havent gotten around to taking the tank off again yet to try to rig something else up ....driving me nuts ...ugh... :eek:
I have had the squeek problem since the day I got my 9. I thought it was the little heat shield thing too, but later realized that it is the tank on the front left side. When I thought it was the shield thingy I figured out that while I was trying to hold it to make sure I was also putting pressure on the tank. Upon further checking I noticed that the tank was solid on the right side but the left has just under an inch of movement. I always thought the tank vibrating was from the big ol v twin getting ready to get rowdy. I took it to the dealer and they said that it is normal to have some squeeks. I replied "I don't think so". They checked the tank and said yes there is something not quite right with it and asked what I wanted them to do about it. I told them I didn't care, they are aware of the issue and agree that something isn't right so it is their baby as to how they fix it correctly. Goes in next week. I will definitely be checking to see how they fix it. So far they've ordered new rubber bushings.
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This is a really easy fix. Honestly I have only had my bike for two weeks now and was nervous about taking the tank off a second time. Why I was nervous I am not sure. The PCIII install which seems to be one of the harder for the less mechanically inclined went fine for me. This took me all of 10 minutes with no pain at all. You could easily see on the heat shield and frame where they were rubbing. I spent 11 bucks getting the rubber automobile door/trunk weather stripping, Permatex silicone grease and 3m two sided tape. I honestly believe me putting the rubber stripping on my frame bars is what eliminated the squeak. Let me tell you there is a night and day difference in before and after.

I do have the extended warranty on my bike and after reading this forum and experiencing Suzuki poor service. I have decided due to time constraints that I have to pick my battles wisely. This was to easy for me to fix myself and not worth my time and stress to go back to Suzuki.
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I didnt exactly read all the responses all the way thru, but I had the EXACT same issue for a while after taking the tank off the first..second...third time of the tank being off, so the fourth time I took the tank off...I put it back on, and pushed it forward as far as it would go, holding it there, I tightened the tank back down and did the same thing with the speed cluster (I pulled that down tight though). I didnt use any lubes. :bigthumbsup:
Will white lithium grease work here.

What specific silicone grease are you referencing?
Congrats on fixing the problem. :bigthumbsup:

Just in case someone finds this in a later search, the white lithium grease would probably work too. I use silicone dielectric grease because it's clear and won't deteriorate the rubber. I doubt the lithium grease would hurt it either, but being white it might show up some place.
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