kasher_khan

So guys, I can't seem to get rid of all the rattles and squeaks in this car. I understand some of it comes with owning a 12yr old soft top but still. My latest issue started recently while driving, the car makes a buzzing\rattling sound. It seems like a piece of plastic or scew is resonating at ~ 4500 RPM (in the attached video you can hear it all the way till the end of the video, when I change gears and the RPMs drop and so the noise goes away). I have read a few threads from 2005 where the culprit was one of the following:

the dash board bolts mounted behind round plastic caps on each side (adjacent to door hinge). I tightened those up already.
I also made sure the soft top latch covers are not vibrating either.
Others suggested that it was the rear view mirror but in my case that or the sun visors don't seem to be the cause either.
Something about an oil cap being lost? didn't get that
If it was a heat shield lose, wouldn't the noise happen even when car is not moving (At the correct RPM i.e). It only seems to happen when car is in gear.
Finally something about a bolt that is lose behind the firewall but I can't tell what bolt they are talking about


Please help. This is driving me insane.

video:

kasher_khan

so this morning I found a new culprit. On cold start the dash seems to be vibrating similar to the noise int he above video. It dies down when the RPMs settle and the car wars up. Before that, I can stop it by placing light pressure anywhere on the dash. I already tightened the scews on each end. Is this normal?

Chris_Lum

do you have OEM engine mounts or stiffer replacements?

RE: the lost oil cap thing: sometimes people's oil cap comes off and gets lost on top of the transmission bell housing area and sits there and rattles.

kasher_khan

The car is 100% stock (to my knowledge - bought at dealer). The only thing not OEM is a K&N air filter. Car currently has 43000 miles and overall the interior is in great shape.



How can someone lose an oil cap and then move on in life without checking where it was dropped! - I will try to look for that

What about this dash rattle? Any clues on this... anyone? I will take off the only cover I can see below the air bag to see if something is loose under there.

Does this sound like the TCT issue to anyone. I am not very good at DIY stuff so I don't want to start taking the engine apart just yet.

Car Analogy

Sometimes it comes loose while driving, so owner figures it fell out onto road somplace. Later they get this rattling noise and don't make the connection. It finds its way into this niche and won't come unless you take it out. Can't see it, gotta just reach up there from underneath and feel around for it.

The TCT would also rattle in neutral while parked. Even more noticeable then since no road noise to block it out. So not TCT.

If it only happens when in gear and moving, it sounds like something drivetrain related. But I wouldn't rule out the exhaust heat shields. Yes, you would expect that to rattle even parked, but they can do some weird stuff, and its so easy to check these its worth doing. Also consider the cats internals, they can become loose and rattle.

s2000Junky

I learned to ignore half the noises this car makes. There is a lot from the trans/clutch on this car, a lot of which is from sitting right on top of it. I removed the battery heat shield years ago which is just a hand slicer that gets in the way and potentially vibrates/make noise. Running with the top down cures 75% of the remaining noises. Every little thing is trapped and echoed in the cabin when the top is up. and if I bought the car as a refined coupe, it would probably drive me nuts, but I didn't so

Nerd-Vol

Perhaps the catalytic converter? I did have a rattle at particular engine speeds. Turned out the be the catalytic element had broken loose.

kasher_khan

The cat and heat shield were going to be my next go to. I don't have a lift, so I was going to jack it up and do some basic tests (bang on cat with fist hopefull won't destroy the O2 sensor) to see if something is obviously lose. Otherwise I will have to take it to a shop. The sound sounds similar to the clutch buzz on the Ap1 but less frequency.

I have been experimenting with different situations to narrow down the problem. It is definitely less noise with the top down (but that could simply be because there is more wind noise and it is hard to hear).
Also window down makes the noise less - I am going to lithium grease everything this weekend per and hope for the best.

For the oil cap, what exactly is a transmission bell housing? Can it only be accessed from below the car or should I go Jamez Bond on the engine bay with a flash light. In the past I have dropped a wrench under the battery pan and I can see how something would be difficult to see if it were down in the engine bay.

Saki GT

If you can touch the dash and stop the rattle, there's obviously something loose under the dash, or you have excessive shake. You might want to replace the engine mounts, which are probably well worn, or further investigate the dash. Does it have an aftermarket stereo?

Car Analogy

The bell housing is the flared out bell shaped part of the transmission that connects it to the back of engine. Inside the bell housing is the clutch and flywheel.