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::::Car question::::

B

BrettFarve04

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
158
0
Milwaukee, WI
Hey all,

I have a 04 Civic Ex Coupe...and whenever my car is idling i hear a constant rattle. Whenever i tap on the gas the sound goes away. Anybody have any ideas??
 
Exhaust. Some piece of metal is probably rattling. Happened on my 99 Subaru, at 2500 RPM every single time. But you also didn't provide a lot of info, cuz it could be almost anything. Have someone, or yourself, stand outside and try to pin point where along the car it is. Mine was right under the driver/passenger space.
 
I also think it's something to do with your exhaust.

I have had a rattle now for a year on my 92 Accord. It's the heat shield, which rattles when cold, when the car warms up the rattle goes away. It's not a big deal I can live with it or remove the heat shield.
 
Almost certainly your exhaust (although, there are some very rare problems that it could also be). It could be something as simple as a loose bracket or joint, to something slightly more serious like needing a new catalytic converter or a crack in the manifold or downpipe. You'll have to take it into a place. If it's something minor then it'll be pretty cheep. Even if it's one of the more major things then it will still be relatively affordable.

Need to check it out, though.
 
Frisco said:
I also think it's something to do with your exhaust.

I have had a rattle now for a year on my 92 Accord. It's the heat shield, which rattles when cold, when the car warms up the rattle goes away. It's not a big deal I can live with it or remove the heat shield.
Click to expand...

Exactly right. I had the same thing on my 99 Civic - took literally 30 seconds to tighten down the heat shield, hasn't bothered me since.
 
Like others have said, it's probably in your exhaust somewhere. It could be your catalytic converter. I had a small piece of metal break off and rattle around in there. I let it go for awhile, but eventually the cat failed completely and I had it replaced.
 
I've had the same thing happen before; if it is a metallic rattle that goes away when the engine is revved, it's probably an exhaust hangar or heat shield that has broken / rusted loose.

As others have suggested, start the car in your driveway, let it idle and crawl around to see where the noise is coming from. Having an exhaust hanger replaced is cheap. Heat shields less so, but still relatively inexpensive.
 
I say exhaust related most likely a heat shield probably on the catalytic converter. Usually their just barely welded on and can come undone.

You may also want to check to see if there is a large plastic or metal plate on the bottom of the car to keep dirt out of the engine. The hardware can come undone and make the plate rattle.
 
Also check your exhaust hangers.

I know some hondas do not use a flex pipe where the exhaust meets the header, instead use a spring like system (where it bolts onto the header) you may want to check there as well.
 
heat shield or exhaust is the likely culprit. find where the noise is coming from and if you don't want to fix it yourself, next time you go to get an oil change slip the guy a 5 to tight that up while he is under there.
 
The heat shield used to rattle on my old Toyota truck, then it just came off one day while driving and the rattling went away. The mechanic said not to worry about it though.
 
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