I have a 2001 supercab with a 4.2/5 speed. When I come to a stop and when I take off from a stop, I get this rattle that sounds like a catalytic converter cover. I've checked thoroughly under the truck and can't find anything loose. I've been told that it might be a throwout bearing. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Hello,,,,I have a 03 4.2 standard and have the same complaint. At my dealership, we looked it up and it is a "known-reported" problem. Seems that it is not the cat converter itself, but rather the covers protecting it. I am told that Ford Engineers are looking into it, but it does not have a resolution at this time.

 

if its the convertors there are 3 possabilities. the sheilds themselves, the little tack welded tags between the sheild and the converter broke free, or the insides of the cat are coming apart and rattling. if its the sheilds you can wrap a big hose clamp around the convertor and tightien it down to stop the rattle. if its the tag you can try digging it out of the sheild or try the hose clamp method. without hearing the noise i cant rule out a throwout bearing but if you think its the convertors these are the parts of them that rattle.

 

maybe its a u-joint as well? i had this problem not too long ago, with a sick sick noise when i started/shifted and stopped, it ended up being the ujoints shot.

 

Check the engine hoist brackets under the hood. For the longest time I thought the rattling was a heat shield rattling somwhere near the cats, but it actually is the engine hoist bracket rattling on the headers. It was such a bad vibration that the right forward header bolt sheared off from fatigue. Just tap the hoist bracket and it mimicks the exact sound I had.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. I've checked the cat covers and they don't appear to be loose at all, but maybe I'm missing something. I checked the engine hoist things and ruled them out. I've heard the sound of bad U-joints and I don't think that's it. Whatever it is, it is real loose. If I shut my door hard enough it causes the rattle. I'm gonna check the cat covers again and if that's not it, I'll just wait until I can afford to replace my clutch and check the service plate (between the tranny and engine) at the same time. My clutch is probably about 1/2 gone anyway from thrashin on it and teaching my girlfriend, at the time, how to drive a stick.

 

Sounds crazy but I had a muffler go bad on me that caused a bad rattle.

 

Finally, I figured out what that clattering sound was afterall,,,,my wife whenever she rides around with me!