Engine rattle

[aggiedj02]

okay guys I have an 02 GT 5spd.

When the car has a load on it (aka in gear) and I am accelerating I hear this metallic rattling/chatter noise under the hood. If I put the car in neutral and rev the motor, the sound is no longer present.

Now, I do have BBK longtubes, but the sound was there before I had them, and I am of the opinion that if it was a bolt loose on the header where it bolts to the block from scrapings or a poor install (highly unlikely... VERY reputable shop did the install) that the metallic chatter would be there in neutral as well.

Could this be a slight lateral play in the clutch in the tranny maybe or is this just normal? Any ideas would be helpful?

--Marcus

 

[akautosport]

how many miles do you have.... maybe theres a crack in your flywheel

 

[CanadaStang]

Pinging perhaps? Try running the tank rather low and then fill up with a higher octane.

 

[aggiedj02]

i only got 40k miles on the car... a crack in the flywheel would PISS me off to say the least but it is an option however much I would not want to admit it.

As far as pinging... I only have an intake, LT, h-pipe, and cat back. I don't think I am cramming enough air in the car yet to justify a pinging issue with running too lean. My opinion... am I wrong here?

Thanks guys the both of you so far...

 

[CanadaStang]

i only got 40k miles on the car... a crack in the flywheel would PISS me off to say the least but it is an option however much I would not want to admit it.

As far as pinging... I only have an intake, LT, h-pipe, and cat back. I don't think I am cramming enough air in the car yet to justify a pinging issue with running too lean. My opinion... am I wrong here?

Thanks guys the both of you so far...

Some of the newer Stangs had issues of pinging on reg gas, so that's why I had suggested running higher octane fuel. Pinging can also be caused by a dirty Maf sensor, among other things.

 

[Mike97gt]

+1 on higher octane fuel. I know my car stock pinged sometimes on 87. ford has a high tolerance for pinging, they consider some pinging durring acceleration normal.. personally I think they are nuts but hey I only fix them.

 

[aggiedj02]

hmmm... well I am going to get a custom tune next week so I will get that resolved pretty soon then it sounds like.

Pinging during acceleration normal?!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!! They are nuts. Thanks for the inside info though

by the way, other mods include a 1.5inch drop, bigger rims, Steeda Tri-Ax, C/C plates for front and that's it. If that helps any other ideas anyone else has.

 

[CanadaStang]

Let us know how you make out.

 

[40oz]

+1 on higher octane fuel. I know my car stock pinged sometimes on 87. ford has a high tolerance for pinging, they consider some pinging durring acceleration normal.. personally I think they are nuts but hey I only fix them.

To be fair, Ford isn't the only one. In the owners manual for my old 93 Celica, Toyota put in print that they consider intermittent pinging "normal."

 

[Mustang5L5]

My bone stock 2003 GT has pinged sometimes at WOT with 87 octane. Has done it since new.

I used to just run 89 octane and that fixed it but with gas priced the way they are i'm back to 87 considering i don't really go WOT too often and it does it only part of the time anyway (usually hot or humid days)

 

[the98stang]

Yea I'd say it's pinging. Put some 91/93 in there.

 

[aggiedj02]

it does it only part of the time anyway (usually hot or humid days)

I live in Las Vegas... it's hot here most of the year

oh well... I am taking the car in to get a fuel filter/oil change/air filter cleaning tomorrow. I'll have them look at the headers and make sure they are bolted down well.

Next week the tune should fix any issues I have with the motor pinging. Now that you guys mention it, it happens more when the car is cold and when I accelerate harder than normal. We will see... the dyno will show all.

I have some major problems with my car right now. I don't know if my car has issues with power or with wieght. Ever since I got these Saleen rims my car lost ALL it's balls. I feel like I am in a 15sec car now and have the stopping power of a freaking semi-truck. So intead of going the cheap route and putting the old rims and tires back on, I am building the car up for a 125 shot and more power Gotta love my thougt process I guess...

 

[CanadaStang]

I live in Las Vegas... it's hot here most of the year

oh well... I am taking the car in to get a fuel filter/oil change/air filter cleaning tomorrow. I'll have them look at the headers and make sure they are bolted down well.

Next week the tune should fix any issues I have with the motor pinging. Now that you guys mention it, it happens more when the car is cold and when I accelerate harder than normal. We will see... the dyno will show all.

I have some major problems with my car right now. I don't know if my car has issues with power or with wieght. Ever since I got these Saleen rims my car lost ALL it's balls. I feel like I am in a 15sec car now and have the stopping power of a freaking semi-truck. So intead of going the cheap route and putting the old rims and tires back on, I am building the car up for a 125 shot and more power Gotta love my thougt process I guess...

It would be a good idea to check to see if the higher octane clears up the "rattling" issue. If it does, then you really should run it all the time.
Most tuners like to add timing when they do the tune, in which case you should tell them about the pinging [if that indeed is what is causing the noise incase they can't hear it]
If it pings on "tip in" only, then they can pull a little intial timing or add more fuel if your a little lean.

 

[Mike97gt]

To be fair, Ford isn't the only one. In the owners manual for my old 93 Celica, Toyota put in print that they consider intermittent pinging "normal."

all manufactuers say light pinging is ok durring accel and in hot weather. but we run our cars harder than the average taurus or crown vic driver and for us it is not a good thing. I have always run atleast 89 in my car because I would get light pinging on 87 and I don't want it to ping at all.

 

[aggiedj02]

well today was interesting so I thought I would go ahead and post it here...

I took my car in for a air filter cleaning, fuel filter change, and a oil change. Well, they did an inspection and found my serpentine belt and tensioner needing replacing. In fact, the tensioner was so loose it was about to fall off. Guess who found the rattle?!!! My fuel filter was clogged too and when drained, was pouring out brown sludge so they decarbed the motor too. It blew crap out for 20 minutes!!!

All in all, I guess I shouldn't have put off taking the car in. All of this is my fault of course so not only do I feel like an idiot, I am shy $600 for my cheapness and I still have to take it back for another $500 or so to get my rear struts replaced as they are leaking.

The good news is that I took the car out and romped on it and it responded like it hadn't in a long time. No metallic knocking... and the tune next week will help even more now

 

[Mustang5L5]

another $500 or so to get my rear struts replaced as they are leaking.

$500 for rear shocks??? That's a rip! Seriously our rear shocks are so easy to replace it can be done in 30 mins with simple hand tools. This is something i would consider doing myself. You can buy aftermarket adjustable rear shocks and still not even come close to 1/2 that bill

 

[Chili]

That belt tensioner goes for $37.50 at the auto parts store and takes a few minutes to swap, along with the belt. Add and oil change, and a fuel change for $600.. did you take it to a dealership? Ouch..

 

[aggiedj02]

well there is more to the bill than I mentioned...

new tensioner/pulley and belt, new battery, brake fluid replacement, decarb treatment, fuel filter, air filter, and they also replaced some other belts as they were freying as well. All that plus labor....

but yeah I got raped regardless... but not nearly as bad as you think

so this install in back is simple eh? What all does it entail?

 

[CanadaStang]

well there is more to the bill than I mentioned...

they also replaced some other belts as they were freying as well. All that plus labor....

but yeah I got raped regardless... but not nearly as bad as you think

Hmmmm........I wonder where they found those other belts.......did you have a couple old ones sitting around in the trunk?

Glad to hear your Stang's all happy again!!

 

[damacman]

was thinking that myself . . .