I'm hearing things...

I'm hearing things...

and I can't figure out what it is. It's a 99 VE 5spd with 140K miles. I know the ball joints are bad and my CV joints are on the way out(and I know what that sounds like). This sound is more like a rattling or chattering kind of sound. I have loosened and tightened all the exhaust heat shields, exhaust manifold, intake manifold, engine cover, and just about anything else that I could see that could be contributing to the noise. I have found that if I keep it at a certain RPM that it can get really loud(I don't know what RPM since I don't have a tach ) I am just looking for any suggestions on things to check. I don't want to just start tearing into it or replacing things until I find out what it is. I'll take it to get diagnosed by a mechanic as a last resort if I have to. There are no performance issues that have accompanied the new sound either. Thanks for your help!

E

Welcome to the site!

Does the car do the sound when it is parked and you are just revving the engine? If so, have a friend rev your engine to the engine speed where the rattling/noise gets loudest and just look around the entire car to see if you can pinpoint more accurately where it is coming from... it'll be a better starting point to finding out what it could be...

I know that it is at least in front of me(not that that narrows down the possibilities a whole lot). I want to say that it is on the driver's side, but I can't confirm that. I can't hear it when the car is just sitting in the driveway unless I really listen for it, but can hear it really well on the road driving in any gear. My inlaws have a Jeep that I can drive while I start to fix and diagnose other problems so I will check the control arms just to eliminate another possibility. I will see if I can get a sound clip of it somehow and post it up. Maybe that will help.

valvetrain possibly....

considering the miles that could be possibly be it but i doubt it, if it is it may be the shin plates that sit in between the camshafts and the valve spring seats.

I haven't been really hard on the engine and most of those miles are highway(I averaged almost 40K a year the first two years I had it). I think that I might have a slight leak in the valve cover gasket and was going to replace it pretty soon so I can check that out and replace the shims as necessary.

it requires quite a bit to remove the timing chain and the camshafts since you have to remove them in synchronization and to torque and de-torque specifications. once removed its very easy to replace the shims. here excatly is the noise coming from? get in front of your car and rev the throttle and pay close attention to it and get back to us.

I'll do that this evening. I am also going to try to get a sound clip of it so that you can actually hear it. Thanks again.

cool, i will be leaving in a bit but i should return by 2000 hundred (08:00 tonight CST)

Well, you know how when you take your car to the mechanic because it is acting up, only to get it there and it runs like it just came off the showroom floor? While I am glad that it isn't making the noise anymore that I can hear(and I have tried), I would like to still know what it is. I have some other maintenance that I have to try to get done in the next couple of weeks so I will keep checking things out. Thanks for the help and I'll update as soon as I know more.