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rattle when idle????

21K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  zing512 
#1 ·
my buddies car makes a mean rattle while idling. As soon as you increase the RPM it stops and sometimes when it returns to idle the rattle resumes. Thoughts and ideas.. thankx
 
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#6 ·
Re: rattle when idle???? (invisionclear)

Wheres the rattle comming from? passenger side of the engine bay? If so, does the rattle go away around 1900rpms and return when back around that area?
If so, stop driving/starting the car and do your timing belt. 99.99% chance its ur tensioner about to go poop. Which is a ****ty rebuild.
 
#7 ·
Re: rattle when idle???? (TravisGLI)

i had a mean rattle at idle prior to my exhaust install...
If the mounts are worn when you stomp the gas it will make a click or a knock b/c the engine will move...
My rattle however came from the suuport bracket on the exhaust....in the middle of rthe exhaust just after the cat there is a support braket type of hanger thing that is bolted to the car with like 10 nuts...this thing was semi loose and i made a mean metal on metal rattle, i got the bigger pipe and had to basically strip the metal parts out and no more rattle...
i hope that it is simply the exhaust hanger issue for you too....but the previous guy had a point and i that is ur issue then get someone who knows what they r doing to check ur car out
 
#10 ·
Re: rattle when idle???? (tommyalanson)

x2, I'm curious how other people are doing with this rattle.
I've got a similar problem. My car rattles like crazy at idle, the longer it's been in use the worse it gets. I think it's at 140k on the stock tensioner, I know there's at LEAST 50k on the tensioner. Time to do the whole belt eh?
 
#12 ·
Re: rattle when idle???? (oj1480)

Well, for my rattle I did the t-belt and tensioner since it was getting close anyways. The rattle is still there just as bad. I have the same symptoms as the OP and when I turn off the car the rattle slows with the motor. I really think it's a valve issue... so looking into AEB head
 
#14 ·
I've got a rattle too. It is audible from just below 1K RPM up to either 1600 or 1800, at which point is shuts off like a switch. Then when the RPM comes back down, the rattle is on like a switch again as it comes down through 1600 RPM.
I did the cambelt with an ECS kit that included a new tensioner at 91 K miles; the car now has 107K. With only 16k miles on the tensioner I feel doubtful that that is the problem, especially since I've been going around the engine with a stethoscope and the rattle is not coming from either the tensioner or the mount. Best I can tell, it's coming from somewhere inside the front end of the engine (as in nearer the #1 cyl than the #4). I've been theorising a sticky lifter shy of opening up the head, I don't know how I'd tell for sure.


Modified by The Veg at 8:38 PM 8-16-2009
 
#18 ·
Re: FV-QR (natsilver)

Nat, as painful as the price of that part is, it seems plausible.
So the follow-up questions are:
1) If the chain tensioner is at the #4 end of the engine, why is the sound coming from the #1 end?
2) You mention this noise with hot engines...mine does it hot or cold. Is that inconsistent with the chain tensioner theory?
3) Is there any way to positively test the chain tensioner before I hock a kidney to buy a new one?
I can definitely eliminate the flywheel thing because I am the original owner of this car so if somebody swapped flywheels you'd think I'd know about it.
 
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