Hello,

My car has been making this annoying rattling noise whenever I hit a small bump. From the cabin, it sounds like it is coming from the front left side of the car. My guess would be from the engine compartment, near the firewall. It started doing this about 8/9 months ago and gradually got worse over time. I replaced all four springs/struts/strut mounts/strut boots and the rattling noise is still there.

Here is a video of the noise...

http://s777.photobucket.com/albums/y...t=IMG_0516.mp4

Has anyone in here ever have the same rattling noise? I've been trying to find out where it is coming from for months with no success and it is driving me crazy

PS: you may have to turn up the volume, the video was taken with an iPhone and the sound quality isn't great...

 

Was the rattle at the end? That's the only noise I heard when you went through that dip, my guess would be the FSTB. I know my FSTB rubs against the insulation under my hood.

 

Very hard to distinguish the noise. Can you rock your car up & down with the hood open and replicate the noise?

If you already took care of the upper suspension, if it's not the FSTB as mentioned above, I would suspect control arm bushings or sub-frame bushings.

 

hard to tell but my 2000 I30 starting having a rattle something like yours and it turned out to be the sunroof..after adding some support to the glass(when closed it was not up all the way flush with the roof anymore) and adding some lub to the gasket, it went away.

If you have a sunroof drive with the inside panel closed and see if that makes a difference

 

Try insulating the bottom of the clock in the dash. It rattles sometimes.

 

It's not the FSTB, nor the sunroof. I controlled my control arm bushings, sub frame bushings, motor mounts and they are all in great condition. Its not the clock either, like I said, it's coming from the engine bay. I was suspecting the clutch lines (one goes down in a spiral on the driver side next to the firewall) but it's tight and doesn't rub against anything... I'm sure it's something very simple and when I find it, I'll be thinking "why did I not think of it before" but until then it's driving me nuts... I am hoping someone in here will have the answer...

 

sounds alot like a loose heat shield or possibly a broken hang as it is present when you go over the mildest of ripples in the road. I thought at first it might be the tubing that you referred to that is attached to the firewall with clips (had to put my ear phone plugs in so I could turn up the volume) ... its not a heavy metal on metal rattle more like the very thin heat shield metal type of rattle (very tinny type of sound).

Just a thought after listening several times, how about a loose rad or possible the rad fan housing, can you take a photo of the entire engine bay just to see what you have installed in there as it might also assist in figuring out what is causing it.

 

I'll post a pic tomorrow. I replaced my radiator last month because of a small leak... It didn't affect the noise. The heat shield on my rear pre-cat is gone. I had the pre cat replaced and the mechanic didn't put the heat shield back on... Thanks for the help.

What do you mean by broken hang?

I had another clunking sound coming from under the car which I fixed last week end using a hose clamp around the rubber piece that attaches to the exhaust resonator hanger.

 

^^^ this is what I was referring to, a hanger is what hold the exhaust in place I was thinking your exhaust is moving to much and causing the rattling noise as the noise is very consistent it is there even on the smooth section of the road you drove on.

 

I did this on one of my cars before and before I knew it, the hose clamp broke. Might want to check on it...

 

The exhaust was a bit loose and the noise was more of a clunking noise until I fixed it last week, and it was coming from under the car.

The sound in the OP video is definitely coming from the engine bay, which can not be explained by a lose exhaust hanger...

Now that I think of it, at highway speed, my hood shakes a little, especially on the left side... that may be where the noise is coming from... not the under-hood but the hood itself... It's late and dark now, I'll look at that tomorrow. Hopefully that's the answer.

 

I did this two days ago and it solved another clunking noise. I'm now fighting a rattling noise... I love my maxima but I hate all these little parasite noises

 

Another thing you can try is the following: take a hose about 3-4 feet long. With the engine running, put it by your ear and use it like a stethoscope. Move the other end around the engine bay, down into the rear & lower sections, etc, and see if you can pinpoint the source of the rattle.

If you cannot locate it, you can get a longer hose to leave in the engine bay and listen while you drive. You'll need to be stopping and moving it around to different locations.

 

I checked this morning before going to work, and my hood is loose. Didn't get much time to investigate the problem. I'll see what I can do tonight.

http://s777.photobucket.com/albums/y...t=DSCN3162.mp4

Looks like one of the rubber bumps that is mounted on the hood may be missing...

 

After you said you had the famous Maxima hood flutter which can be fixed with the rubber stripes that mount to the top of the head lights (the rubber strips are to close up the air gap which is causing the hood lift/flutter), or a minor adjustment to the hood latch. Another thought came to mind and that is the internal hood stabilizer braces, one of them might have a broken weld or two and that would definitely cause that constant rattling noise.

 

He's right, I had my hood loose for a while and I bought a set of new bumpers and the packing rims, which are the rubber pieces that go on top of the headlights, part numbers 260332Y900 and 260832Y900.

 

I confirm it is the hood. I pulled the lever under the dash to pop the hood (without fully opening it) and drove on the same road... the rattling noise is gone. Thanks!

03VQMAX, I suppose the only place I can get those parts are at the dealership? Do you remember the cost?

 

Glad you were able to work through it and resolve the rattle, (that would drive one nuts) I don't believe the two rubber pieces are very expensive maybe 20.00 each at the dealer ... maybe give Dave B. a call and see what kind of pricing he can do for you.

 

Each hood bumper was $4.39 part number 90878-2L700

Each headlight piece was $6.90.