Mystery Rattle - not the precats
08-09-2011, 08:46 AM
#81
So... if the compressor was running constantly, that would freeze the system, so it cycles to prevent that from happening, but cycles at such a rate that the passengers can't feel the AC compressor being off vs on..?
@Merovi: If the pulley was loose, would you be able to see it move? If the rattling whistle is caused by the pulley oscillating back and forth in the Y-axis and colliding with whatever its bolted onto, could you see that movement? Or is the noise purely coming from the bearings?
@Rochester: This reminds me now of the '03 I almost bought a month ago before it turned out to be a huge pile of repairs. One of its pulleys was definitely bad and made a rather distinct sound that was similar to a belt squeal, but more metallic-sounding. I listened to your video again with my good Sennheiser headphones (<3) and it is sort of like the noise yours makes, only that Michigan '03 was making the noise at 10x the level of yours, probably.
08-09-2011, 10:03 AM
#82
Excuse me, but you just blew my mind, and made me feel ridiculous for not noticing his manual AC controls on the video!
So... if the compressor was running constantly, that would freeze the system, so it cycles to prevent that from happening, but cycles at such a rate that the passengers can't feel the AC compressor being off vs on..?
@Merovi: If the pulley was loose, would you be able to see it move? If the rattling whistle is caused by the pulley oscillating back and forth in the Y-axis and colliding with whatever its bolted onto, could you see that movement? Or is the noise purely coming from the bearings?
@Rochester: This reminds me now of the '03 I almost bought a month ago before it turned out to be a huge pile of repairs. One of its pulleys was definitely bad and made a rather distinct sound that was similar to a belt squeal, but more metallic-sounding. I listened to your video again with my good Sennheiser headphones (<3) and it is sort of like the noise yours makes, only that Michigan '03 was making the noise at 10x the level of yours, probably.
So... if the compressor was running constantly, that would freeze the system, so it cycles to prevent that from happening, but cycles at such a rate that the passengers can't feel the AC compressor being off vs on..?
@Merovi: If the pulley was loose, would you be able to see it move? If the rattling whistle is caused by the pulley oscillating back and forth in the Y-axis and colliding with whatever its bolted onto, could you see that movement? Or is the noise purely coming from the bearings?
@Rochester: This reminds me now of the '03 I almost bought a month ago before it turned out to be a huge pile of repairs. One of its pulleys was definitely bad and made a rather distinct sound that was similar to a belt squeal, but more metallic-sounding. I listened to your video again with my good Sennheiser headphones (<3) and it is sort of like the noise yours makes, only that Michigan '03 was making the noise at 10x the level of yours, probably.
08-09-2011, 10:37 AM
#83
I love that decal, very unassuming and full of class. Blends in so perfectly.
08-09-2011, 01:09 PM
#84
The preferred lubricant safe for the composition of quality serpentine belts is silicone spray. I use this:
08-09-2011, 02:33 PM
#85
It's going to have to wait until next week, though. I've got a wedding anniversary to celebrate. 13 years now.
You could say I married the hell out of her!
LOL!
08-09-2011, 06:34 PM
#86
Excuse me, but you just blew my mind, and made me feel ridiculous for not noticing his manual AC controls on the video!
So... if the compressor was running constantly, that would freeze the system, so it cycles to prevent that from happening, but cycles at such a rate that the passengers can't feel the AC compressor being off vs on..?
So... if the compressor was running constantly, that would freeze the system, so it cycles to prevent that from happening, but cycles at such a rate that the passengers can't feel the AC compressor being off vs on..?
Thanks, cowboy! That's exactly why I asked... it didn't seem right to just reach for WD-40. I'll pick up a can, spray the tensioner pulley and see if it affects the noise. Per your comment, are you saying it's OK if I accidentally get this on the belt?
It's going to have to wait until next week, though. I've got a wedding anniversary to celebrate. 13 years now.
You could say I married the hell out of her! LOL!
It's going to have to wait until next week, though. I've got a wedding anniversary to celebrate. 13 years now.
You could say I married the hell out of her!
LOL!And great advice Nelledge, I must agree, WD40 is not my preferred lubricant, I should know better than to post it, just know that it's a general referance for most people.
CRC is a great product and I highly recommend it as well.
08-09-2011, 07:07 PM
#87
Thanks, cowboy! That's exactly why I asked... it didn't seem right to just reach for WD-40. I'll pick up a can, spray the tensioner pulley and see if it affects the noise. Per your comment, are you saying it's OK if I accidentally get this on the belt?
It's going to have to wait until next week, though. I've got a wedding anniversary to celebrate. 13 years now.
You could say I married the hell out of her! LOL!
It's going to have to wait until next week, though. I've got a wedding anniversary to celebrate. 13 years now.
You could say I married the hell out of her!
LOL!Congratulations on lucky 13!!! It's comforting to know there are others out there that celebrate their anniversaries with such enthusiasm.
08-09-2011, 07:11 PM
#88
08-09-2011, 07:15 PM
#89
Hey John, you can replace the pulley on the A/C for about 60 bucks plus labor.
11925-31U05 includes the pulley and all the little bits you need
And WD-40 is not a lubricant. It is a Water Displacer.
11925-31U05 includes the pulley and all the little bits you need
And WD-40 is not a lubricant. It is a Water Displacer.
08-11-2011, 04:27 AM
#90
Rochester how you making out on your rattle?man i have tried just about everything.i replaced the the tensioner,front and rear bearings in the alt,bypassed the a/c,new front precat and i just can not find this beast of a noise.
08-11-2011, 04:53 AM
#91
I was going to try spraying the idler pulley (tensioner) with silicon, but really I can't see an effective location to apply it, so I passed on that test.
knight_yyz points out that the A/C pulley can be a stand-alone part and installation (meaning you don't have to purchase an entire compressor.) Related to that, I see from your post that you did the same for the alternator, yes? How much was that part, please? ("front and rear bearings", huh?) And how much was the tensioner, if you don't mind my asking?
Sorry I don't have any more info for you yet. Good luck, buddy.
Last edited by Rochester; 08-11-2011 at 04:56 AM.
08-11-2011, 09:02 AM
#92
Tensioner was $77 at the dealer but pepboys had a stand alone pulley only for $28.as far as spraying the tensioner it may cause more harm then good the tensioner uses a sealed 6302-4 bearing so by spraying it you are not getting any lubricant inside of the bearing itself.now for replacing the alt bearings it should cost you about $20-$25 for the new bearings the only problem i see is you will have to take the alt apart before you know which bearings are in it Hitach used 3 different sets of bearings in their housings so the 10-2013-4 and 10-1050-4 in my current alt are not the same as the ones that are in a salvage yard OE alt i picked up 2 months ago.the lester # for the alt is 13477 that is the number that rebuilders refer to when obtaining parts for this unit.http://www.aspwholesale.com/index.php is a link for some parts for the alt as well as the starter you may be able to find a local rebuilder that has the bearings as all of the bearings are common part numbers. here is one somewhere in your area (see below). if you go this route i would also pick up a better quality bearing for the tensioner pulley maby a high rpm metal shielded HD bearing.also if ever need i can give you a complete walk thru for the repair of the alt.i did that kind of work for 15 years and it would only take about 30 minutes to do.
Golden Alternator & Starter
434 Elmgrove Rd, Rochester, NY 14606
(585) 426-5398
Golden Alternator & Starter
434 Elmgrove Rd, Rochester, NY 14606
(585) 426-5398
08-11-2011, 02:51 PM
#93
Tensioner was $77 at the dealer but pepboys had a stand alone pulley only for $28.as far as spraying the tensioner it may cause more harm then good the tensioner uses a sealed 6302-4 bearing so by spraying it you are not getting any lubricant inside of the bearing itself.now for replacing the alt bearings it should cost you about $20-$25 for the new bearings the only problem i see is you will have to take the alt apart before you know which bearings are in it Hitach used 3 different sets of bearings in their housings so the 10-2013-4 and 10-1050-4 in my current alt are not the same as the ones that are in a salvage yard OE alt i picked up 2 months ago.the lester # for the alt is 13477 that is the number that rebuilders refer to when obtaining parts for this unit.http://www.aspwholesale.com/index.php is a link for some parts for the alt as well as the starter you may be able to find a local rebuilder that has the bearings as all of the bearings are common part numbers. here is one somewhere in your area (see below). if you go this route i would also pick up a better quality bearing for the tensioner pulley maby a high rpm metal shielded HD bearing.also if ever need i can give you a complete walk thru for the repair of the alt.i did that kind of work for 15 years and it would only take about 30 minutes to do.
Golden Alternator & Starter
434 Elmgrove Rd, Rochester, NY 14606
(585) 426-5398
Golden Alternator & Starter
434 Elmgrove Rd, Rochester, NY 14606
(585) 426-5398
That was spooky.
08-15-2011, 08:58 AM
#94
I stopped by Golder Alternator this morning. And yes, the owner is the same guy I used to go to 25 years ago when he first set up shop. I'm still a little amazed to get that recommendation over the Org and have it hit so close to home.
Anyway, it was a bust. It took him a while before he could identify there was a non-standard noise at all, even though I'm standing right there going, "There it is. There it is. There it is." (Which must have been pretty annoying, LOL!) After a few minutes he said, "It might be a pulley or pulley bearing, but IDK. I wouldn't worry about it."
(sigh)
So I'm back to my original plan, which is to take this up again with my regular mechanic in early September.
But this was certainly worth a shot. Thanks, cjandura.
Anyway, it was a bust. It took him a while before he could identify there was a non-standard noise at all, even though I'm standing right there going, "There it is. There it is. There it is." (Which must have been pretty annoying, LOL!) After a few minutes he said, "It might be a pulley or pulley bearing, but IDK. I wouldn't worry about it."
(sigh)So I'm back to my original plan, which is to take this up again with my regular mechanic in early September.
But this was certainly worth a shot. Thanks, cjandura.
08-15-2011, 10:00 AM
#95
Bearings are funny things sometimes just the slightest variation from its tolerence and it will start to hum.i know this isnt the best way to test it out but you can try just giving the belt a little more tension to snug things up for a moment somtimes that puts just enuff pressure on the bearings and pulleys to stop them from making noise.i would not leave it like this for a length of time its only a test and if left over tight could cause additional damage.
08-15-2011, 10:58 AM
#96
I stopped by Golder Alternator this morning. And yes, the owner is the same guy I used to go to 25 years ago when he first set up shop. I'm still a little amazed to get that recommendation over the Org and have it hit so close to home.
Anyway, it was a bust. It took him a while before he could identify there was a non-standard noise at all, even though I'm standing right there going, "There it is. There it is. There it is." (Which must have been pretty annoying, LOL!) After a few minutes he said, "It might be a pulley or pulley bearing, but IDK. I wouldn't worry about it."
(sigh)
So I'm back to my original plan, which is to take this up again with my regular mechanic in early September.
But this was certainly worth a shot. Thanks, cjandura.
Anyway, it was a bust. It took him a while before he could identify there was a non-standard noise at all, even though I'm standing right there going, "There it is. There it is. There it is." (Which must have been pretty annoying, LOL!) After a few minutes he said, "It might be a pulley or pulley bearing, but IDK. I wouldn't worry about it."
(sigh)So I'm back to my original plan, which is to take this up again with my regular mechanic in early September.
But this was certainly worth a shot. Thanks, cjandura.
09-26-2011, 10:33 AM
#97
Seeing my mechanic in a few days with a new Idler Pulley in hand if that's the route we decide to go, otherwise I'll return it to the dealer.
More later...
(edit) ...to anyone who gives a crap, which pretty much means merovi.
More later...
(edit) ...to anyone who gives a crap, which pretty much means merovi.
Last edited by Rochester; 09-26-2011 at 11:34 AM.
09-29-2011, 10:02 AM
#98
New Tension Pulley is in, and the noise is (mostly) gone!
I say "mostly", because if you turn the A/C on, and are in just the right acoustic location, you can still lightly hear a muted version of the sound. That tells me the noise I was hearing was an aggregate between the tensioner and the A/C. Or maybe it's all in the A/C, and the old tension pulley was aggravating it.
Honestly, I don't know nor care, because I'd quantify this as a 90% solution... which is huge.
PSYCHED!!! I need to do a little happy dance.
09-29-2011, 05:26 PM
#100
Driving my kid back and forth to dance class in the quiet evenings hours, and hearing nothing except my exhaust note and the engine. Now that the mystery rattle is gone... I had no idea now pervasive it was, and how much it affected me.
I am so happy. Can't believe I let this creep up on me so that I was just living with it.
Now I can ride out the next 7 months in peace. (And merovi can breath a small sigh of relief.)
I am so happy. Can't believe I let this creep up on me so that I was just living with it.
Now I can ride out the next 7 months in peace. (And merovi can breath a small sigh of relief.)
Last edited by Rochester; 09-29-2011 at 05:51 PM.
09-29-2011, 05:51 PM
#101
Wait so you're saying it was the tensioner pulley? Right on buddy so happy you finally got it sorted!!! I can certainly see how it would have driven you nuts. I have a little whistle that my car makes sometimes, but I like it (I know I'm a ricer *** 
)
Now if only you could get some LED lights, damn customs agents stealing your stuff.....
)Now if only you could get some LED lights, damn customs agents stealing your stuff.....
09-29-2011, 06:26 PM
#102
Good going glad to hear you have it almost all gone and to a level you can tolerate.did you do the whole tensioner assembly or just the pulley?i just wish the annoying rattle was all i had at this moment.
09-29-2011, 06:47 PM
#103
I'm sure that when we were looking at it, if we'd known then (in July) that the noise was louder when the A/C got turned on, we would have diagnosed it much better.
Replaced the pulley and the adjusting rod, but left the original bracket on the car because that was easier than otherwise.
The OEM part was $50 at my local nissan dealership, and my mechanic only dinged me for $60 on the install.
Last edited by Rochester; 09-29-2011 at 06:58 PM.
09-29-2011, 07:11 PM
#104
Well you know, I might not have gutted the precats if you weren't so positive the noise was originating from there. And even though that wasn't it, I'm exceedingly happy to have done that little exhaust mod.
I'm sure that when we were looking at it, if we'd known then (in July) that the noise was louder when the A/C got turned on, we would have diagnosed it much better.
I'm sure that when we were looking at it, if we'd known then (in July) that the noise was louder when the A/C got turned on, we would have diagnosed it much better.
Hmmm I sense a compensation claim coming
Yah well that was my fly by the seat diagnosis, we didn't take much time to really delve into it, but it made sense..... I'm just happy you solved it!
09-29-2011, 08:14 PM
#105
Driving my kid back and forth to dance class in the quiet evenings hours, and hearing nothing except my exhaust note and the engine. Now that the mystery rattle is gone... I had no idea now pervasive it was, and how much it affected me.
I am so happy. Can't believe I let this creep up on me so that I was just living with it.
Now I can ride out the next 7 months in peace. (And merovi can breath a small sigh of relief.)
I am so happy. Can't believe I let this creep up on me so that I was just living with it.
Now I can ride out the next 7 months in peace. (And merovi can breath a small sigh of relief.)
09-30-2011, 09:28 AM
#106
Turns out my mystery rattle is from these awesome-possum brackets that hold the pre-cats against the body.
It was extremely hard to track this TSB down, for some reason. The 6th-gen community just isn't as easy to get information from. *sniff* Rochester, sell your '03 and get a nice '06 with the 6MT...
Last edited by Eirik; 09-30-2011 at 09:31 AM.
09-30-2011, 10:01 AM
#107
And my mechanic... I have to agree. He's awesome. Usually he charges me less than his hourly rate, and less than the time he actually takes. And he always give me options. I found this shop on recommendation 4 years ago, and couldn't be happier.
09-30-2011, 03:48 PM
#108
I had a not so nice rattle coming from my exhaust as well. I panicked when I read about the pre-cat rattle ruining the engine since it was definitely RPM/exhaust related. Turns out it was one of the rusted out heat shields. Practically ripped that sucker off with my bare hands when I found the culprit.
07-13-2014, 06:27 PM
#109
I'm bumping this thread because I finally got around to doing a search on this.
I get this split-second rattle sound too after you feather the throttle a bit and then it drops back down to idle. I also get a quick rattle when shutting off the engine too.
I suspect it's the y-pipe honeycomb area losing flexibility. It doesn't affect the car's acceleration at all so I'm not worried, but for those with this unique issue, did you ever find a fix after replacing your y-pipe?
Hopefully it's not my pre-cats that are bad, but I will check my pre-cat brackets too. The car thankfully has been fed unleaded premium her entire life since Sept 2002, which probably has contributed to the durability of them as I have almost 170K miles.
I get this split-second rattle sound too after you feather the throttle a bit and then it drops back down to idle. I also get a quick rattle when shutting off the engine too.
I suspect it's the y-pipe honeycomb area losing flexibility. It doesn't affect the car's acceleration at all so I'm not worried, but for those with this unique issue, did you ever find a fix after replacing your y-pipe?
Hopefully it's not my pre-cats that are bad, but I will check my pre-cat brackets too. The car thankfully has been fed unleaded premium her entire life since Sept 2002, which probably has contributed to the durability of them as I have almost 170K miles.
07-13-2014, 06:45 PM
#110
Turns out my mystery rattle is from these awesome-possum brackets that hold the pre-cats against the body.
It was extremely hard to track this TSB down, for some reason. The 6th-gen community just isn't as easy to get information from. *sniff* Rochester, sell your '03 and get a nice '06 with the 6MT...
It was extremely hard to track this TSB down, for some reason. The 6th-gen community just isn't as easy to get information from. *sniff* Rochester, sell your '03 and get a nice '06 with the 6MT...
I looked on Tri-Cities Nissan's parts look-up links, but I don't see these brackets listed for 5.5gens.
07-14-2014, 12:08 PM
#111
Oh, found your post!
Reading my old posts has jogged my memory. I just took my car to an exhaust shop and they fixed the rattle. I remember they welded some of the heat shields together and the brackets themselves, but I can't for the life of me remember whether or not I bought new ones. It should be easy to see if your brackets are broken--mine were rusty and completely broken, not showing hairlines cracks like the TSB pictures.
You're right, I don't see any front exhaust brackets listed on Courtesy Nissan's parts diagrams, and I don't have anything in my order history from them. If I bought new brackets, I might have gotten them from one of my local dealerships.
Edit: I checked my bank statements from September - November 2011 and don't show any purchases at any auto parts places, soooooo I'm thinking the shop just welded the snapped pieces back together.
Since the 5.5 exhaust is different from the 6th gen in all aspects, I'd just bring your car to an exhaust shop and see what they say (even though I remember the brackets on the 5.5 gen looking basically the same as the ones in the picture). The shop I picked was just a part of the Meineke chain and they charged me a whopping $0 to weld up the brackets and shields. They were banking on that not fixing the problem and me bringing the car back for a two-precat job... Lucky me, the cats never failed on my '02 like they did on my '05.
Reading my old posts has jogged my memory. I just took my car to an exhaust shop and they fixed the rattle. I remember they welded some of the heat shields together and the brackets themselves, but I can't for the life of me remember whether or not I bought new ones. It should be easy to see if your brackets are broken--mine were rusty and completely broken, not showing hairlines cracks like the TSB pictures.
You're right, I don't see any front exhaust brackets listed on Courtesy Nissan's parts diagrams, and I don't have anything in my order history from them. If I bought new brackets, I might have gotten them from one of my local dealerships.
Edit: I checked my bank statements from September - November 2011 and don't show any purchases at any auto parts places, soooooo I'm thinking the shop just welded the snapped pieces back together.
Since the 5.5 exhaust is different from the 6th gen in all aspects, I'd just bring your car to an exhaust shop and see what they say (even though I remember the brackets on the 5.5 gen looking basically the same as the ones in the picture). The shop I picked was just a part of the Meineke chain and they charged me a whopping $0 to weld up the brackets and shields. They were banking on that not fixing the problem and me bringing the car back for a two-precat job... Lucky me, the cats never failed on my '02 like they did on my '05.
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