Hey all, my car has started making a new noise that I haven't heard before and wanted to get your input if its something to really worry about. First noticed it yesterday, and I would describe it as a rattle come from teh right side of the engine compartment (as I sit in the drivers seat). It almost sounds like a a phone or game controller rattling on a wooden table.

Its worst at startup when the engine is cold (can't tell if this is because the RPMs hover around 1000 while warming up) and gets louder as the engine is revved, but disappears completely after about 1300 RPM. Once it is warmed up and the idle drops down to ~650 the volume of the sound decreases but it is definitely still there. The car is driving fine otherwise, no change in power or acceleration. I peeked in the engine compartment while it was going on and couldn't isolate where it was coming from, other than the right side of the engine (the side where the accessory belts are) and nothing i poked or prodded made the sound better or worse. The only work I've done recently is I changed out the ignition coils about 3 weeks ago, and the alternator about 2 months ago. The alternator doesn't seem loose and nothing looks off about the coils from visual inspection.

Any ideas?

 

timing chain rattle

 

Yeah its the timing chain rattleing. My 95 does that at startup. Once its warmed up, it goes away. Other than that the car rides and runs great

 

If you haven't already, check the oil level. The timing chain will rattle if the oil level is too low.

 

Remove the belts and run to eliminate the possibilty of accessories (alt, PS, & AC). Might also be belt tensioner. Cross your fingers and hope its cheap and easy.

 

yeah man, if the rattle gets helicopter loud under all driving conditions then report back. Until then dont sweat it. jus make sure u got oil in the car.

The fix is to replace the chain and update the tensioners. This can be more expensive than swapping in another engine as its VERY labor intensive (8+ hrs)

 

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I will check the oil ASAP once I get off work. Now I'm more worried about a new oil leak that I haven't had before if I check it and the oil is low. What would be some likely culprits to check out?

 

This doesn't completely resolve the problem. I did mine last summer and I can hear the noise faintly when it gets cold. The only true fix that I can see is rebuilding the original tensioner. Not telling the OP to not change it but do some homework on it.

 

why would the chain have to be replaced? how about just replacing the tensioner (and maybe try putting the gasket thingy under it)?

to the OP, what year is the car and how many miles on it?

 

The car is a 99 with 152000 miles. Checked the oil yesterday and it's right at the full mark. Noticed yesterday that when I started it up cold there was no rattle, but as soon as I put it into reverse the rattle start up. It's certainly louder in gear, much quieter in neutral or park, and gets pretty quiet once it's fully warmed up

 

If you want to do it right, then u replace the chain, tensioner and guides.

THe parts are inexpensive..prolly under 150 for everything. Its the labor thats gonna hurt.

This is assuming the OP cannot do the work himself.

TBH, on such an old car its prolly not worth it to replace the tensioner, chain, etc. I know i didnt when my 93 max had a chain rattle. I road that bish till the chain popped. It took 2 yrs of me havin the car plus however long the problem existed BEFORE i bought the car for that chain to pop!

And by the time it popped, the chain rattle sounded loud as a helicopter lol. besides, 2 yrs is a good enough time to have a used car, i felt. So like i sd, i wouldnt worry about it. The car will run fine until the chain pops of course. And there are plenty of ppl with chain rattle. Ask Maxride or Fallenone.

Just to put into perspective...its about $500 to replace the water pump. To get to the chain you have to get to the water pump to take off the timing cover.

Do a SEARCH. The job aint easy

 

Yo whats good trini man!

I was sittin here tryin to remember who did the job. So u sayin even after teh updated tensioner the chain still makin noise. But if the noise is faint, you prolly bought yourself a few years before u ever have a real problem

 

i disagree that "If you want to do it right, then u replace the chain, tensioner and guides." his (the) problem is the tensioner is not exerting enough force on the guide which in turn, allows the chain to have too much slack...hence, it "slaps" around causing the rattle. unless one waits for many thousands of miles, replacing the tensioner (with use of the gasket possibly) will likely solve his (the) problem. since he has a 99, he has the "newer" style tensioner already so the replacement that he buys will be a direct/exact fit.

maybe your 93 (gen 3) is different from the gen 4's, i dunno? but there is NO reason to replace the chain (unless one drove with chain rattle for tens of thousands of miles) and no reason to replace the guide (unless one has driven thousands of miles with chain rattle); it's unnecessary for him to replace the chain & guide since he caught it so soon.

 

The 99's have the updated tensioner, it usually doesn't fail.

Remove the belts, start the engine and see if the rattle is still there.

Check the exhaust system for lose shields.

Go over your alternator install.

 

Well I did everything myself and it was good for a few months but its faint during the winter. Seeing that its hot right now, its fine for now. What I see as the general problem is the spring doesn't have enough force to keep the piston out when the car is off. On my 2nd max, it is rattling like hell and it seems that they replaced it already with the updated once since the timing cover o-rings and gaskets are not leaking at 200K.

What I am planning to do is acquire another updated tensioner and take it to a custom spring place and have them make a higher resistance spring.