My OBS has been making a rattling/vibration noise during first start of the day and at certain RPMs between switching gears. I haven't been able to track when its doing it as far as RPM but it sounds all too familiar.

What are the chances? I only have about 37K on the car so far and I had my 30K service done at 30K.


Your input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

 

i have 44k on my '02 and i've never encountered this. can you describe the sound? is it a ping, clack, thump, vibration, ect..? where does it sound like it's coming from? i know that on cold days mine idles rough for the first few minutes... have you scraped the undercariage lately? your exhaust could be bent to make it rattle against something until the idle smooths out. that's all i've got. ....this could be a good excuse for a hi-performance header back system. :-) good luck.

 

Its like a vibration noise coming from the under carriage. I don't recall scraping anywhere or bottoming out at all.

It kind of sounds like a cover is loose on something and there is vibration.

haha header system? Is that legal in Cali?

Thanks for the input.

 

i'm not sure about the laws in cali but in montana just about anything is legal. i think we're even allowes 2-strokes. :-) ... i hope you get your rattle figured out. i know how it can be looking for a "phantom" rattle.

 

I've got the same thing with '03 2.5RS. It started at the same time as an exhaust system so my bet is there. I'll get it checked out this week. I'll post results.

Good Luck

 

Thanks! I'll be looking forward to what you have found!

 

I have an '02 OBS and all of my heatshields have systematically become loose. Started happening right after I got the car. Check to make sure that everything is tight and isn't rubbing. If you don't want to do it yourself, take it to Meineke. They'll do if for about $10.

 

Good suggestion. I was thinking of looking at it this week end. I'll make sure to do it tonight! If it is the heat shields, maybe I can put some lock tite or some lock washers on the bolts?

Thanks,
Chris

 

I took a quick peek under the car and the shield bolts look nice and snugg. I'll run through them and tighten them when I get the chance. Hopefully it'll be something as easy as the shield bolts but with my luck it'll be something else.

 

Here's a suggestion that helped me: Have a buddy rev the car with the hood open and look around for sounds. I tried to troubleshoot it myself and it's virtually impossible to figure out where the sound is coming from while inside the car. If it does turn out to be a heatshield, you may simply be able to remove it. Hope this helps.

 

The problem is, it doesn't do it when its being reved. Only in gear or initial start up (and when it does it during cold start, its for about 3 seconds). It really sounds like its under me.

I checked the majority of the bolts (the ones I could see/reach with out jacking the car up) but they were all tight .

I guess I'll have to jack the car up and check everything.

 

I looked for the sound and its doing it right between 2800 and 3000 RPM consistantly. Out of gear, if I rev under or over it goes away but if I stay between 2800 and 3000 it stays. I can't tell what it is and it sounds like its under the hood now (Checked with the hood open).

The best way to discribe it is like a vibration noise.

Any ideas?

Chris