Rattle from hell.. Dont think its the heat sheild..
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Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 88
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From: Kissimmee, Fl
Rattle from hell.. Dont think its the heat sheild..
Ok, I got this BAD BAD rattle in my 97 F150 4.2. 210,000 miles..
It sounds like the damn flex plate is unbolted and slapping against the converter its so bad.
Heres the deal. Most people I see by doing a search have a rattle especially when its cold, and under acceleration. Mine is just the opposite. Mine is fine until the truck warms up, and it only does it in no-load or very very light load conditions. For instance, if Im sitting at a redlight it makes enough noise that everyone around is looking at me. If I just give it enough gas to make it idle 200rpm higher and put a little load on the engine, the noise goes away. Pulling away from the light its nice and quiet, but as soon as I hit the speed I want and let off, the noise comes right back in full force. Just barely touch the gas, noise goes away.
If I could live my life always accelerating, I would never hear it. Unfortunately that wont happen.
Oh yeah, so tonight, I got under the truck after driving it down the street, and sure enough it sounds like its coming from the passenger side cats...I beat on the cats with a rubber mallet, and the sound didnt change so I dont think its a heat sheild. Is this what it sounds like when the bricks come apart? Funny thing is, I had a VW Passat that I didnt know anything was wrong with the cat until I pulled the engine out and saw the brick busted up into golf ball sized peices. It made no noise, so Im kind of suprised that these could be making as much noise as they are.
It sounds like the damn flex plate is unbolted and slapping against the converter its so bad.
Heres the deal. Most people I see by doing a search have a rattle especially when its cold, and under acceleration. Mine is just the opposite. Mine is fine until the truck warms up, and it only does it in no-load or very very light load conditions. For instance, if Im sitting at a redlight it makes enough noise that everyone around is looking at me. If I just give it enough gas to make it idle 200rpm higher and put a little load on the engine, the noise goes away. Pulling away from the light its nice and quiet, but as soon as I hit the speed I want and let off, the noise comes right back in full force. Just barely touch the gas, noise goes away.
If I could live my life always accelerating, I would never hear it. Unfortunately that wont happen.
Oh yeah, so tonight, I got under the truck after driving it down the street, and sure enough it sounds like its coming from the passenger side cats...I beat on the cats with a rubber mallet, and the sound didnt change so I dont think its a heat sheild. Is this what it sounds like when the bricks come apart? Funny thing is, I had a VW Passat that I didnt know anything was wrong with the cat until I pulled the engine out and saw the brick busted up into golf ball sized peices. It made no noise, so Im kind of suprised that these could be making as much noise as they are.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 314
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From: San Antonio, Texas
Here is a thought.
Do you have any exhaust mounting brackets that coud be hitting the frame?
I had Midas install my Magnaflo and they did not trim one of the hangars that they installed. It made a similar noise to the one you described. Upon inspection, the hangar was maybe 1/4 away from the frame.
Just a thought.
Do you have any exhaust mounting brackets that coud be hitting the frame?
I had Midas install my Magnaflo and they did not trim one of the hangars that they installed. It made a similar noise to the one you described. Upon inspection, the hangar was maybe 1/4 away from the frame.
Just a thought.
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Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 88
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From: Kissimmee, Fl
Well, I found the problem...
I decided to go ahead and take the Y pipe down. I removed the heat sheilds, and cut the passenger side downstream cat open with a cut off wheel. I found the downstream cat to be in fine shape.. On the other hand, I also found the entire upstream cat in the downstream cat in the form of golf ball sized chunks.
I ended up cutting all the cats open and gutting them. The truck is now quiet, and my power is unbeleivable(for a stock V6) at this point. It can actually break the tires loose with the automatic, lol....
I decided to go ahead and take the Y pipe down. I removed the heat sheilds, and cut the passenger side downstream cat open with a cut off wheel. I found the downstream cat to be in fine shape.. On the other hand, I also found the entire upstream cat in the downstream cat in the form of golf ball sized chunks.
I ended up cutting all the cats open and gutting them. The truck is now quiet, and my power is unbeleivable(for a stock V6) at this point. It can actually break the tires loose with the automatic, lol....
