Strange rattling fluttering kinda sound

[KingKong8247]

Hey, Well the other day my car started rattling. It has done it before but not continuously. All day every day for like 5 days its been doing this except for maybe like 10 or so minutes after driving for 25 minutes two days ago.
It sounds like when im outside of the car like a locust sounds in the summer but a lot louder. Or a woodpecker too also very loud.
Inside the car it sounds like a fluttering sound I guess. Its wierd Sounds like its coming from the heat shield of the header when im in the car.
Could it be the timing chain cuz I dont know when that was changed but it sounds really loud though. I dont know what a failing timing chain sounds like also.
Anybody have an idea of what it could be. It is really really annoying. Well thanks for the help.

[Chew Slice]

Best bet is that it is the heat shield. It might also be your exhaust resonator

[Powerzen2002]

If it was a bad chain, or a bad tensioner / guide. You could just
pop the hood after you start the car and would be able to hear the noise coming directly from the front of the engine.

Just listen under the car, if its coming more from the front by the driver/passenger side then its your heat shield, if its coming more by the back tire most likely its your resonator or muffler.

[wren240sx]

i got that same problem can anyone tell me how to get the heat shield off? i can get all the bolts but i think theres some part of the brake system thats in the way of taking it off. i dont know much about it so any info would help

[THX1138]

I got rid of my heat shield a few weeks ago. Some of the bolts I loosened, some just broke when I turned them. The bottom half just dropped away, but I had to twist the top half around the piping and bend it a bit to get it out.

It's wonderful not having that buzzsaw noise at 2800-3000 rpm. :)

[wren240sx]

Originally posted by THX1138
I got rid of my heat shield a few weeks ago. Some of the bolts I loosened, some just broke when I turned them. The bottom half just dropped away, but I had to twist the top half around the piping and bend it a bit to get it out.

It's wonderful not having that buzzsaw noise at 2800-3000 rpm. :)

is there any problem with engine bay heating? or wires?

[THX1138]

No problem with heat that I can tell. I first read about this last summer, and from everything I've read, the heat shield serves two purposes.

1) Preventing fires if you park over very tall, very dry grass.
2) Loosening and rattling, almost unavoidable once the car hits 100K miles.

So don't worry, just rip the sucker off. Even if that isn't the source of your noise (it sounds like it is), your car will be a pound or two lighter.

[wren240sx]

hahahhaah. spoken from a true car junky

[SpeedSk8X]

You might want to check out our rattle thread
we just finished up on here (http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18989&highlight=rattle+in+the+dash) .
There is a few things that can rattle against your
firewall that would make it echo inside the car.
Check it out if your heatshield is not the problem.

The good stuff is near the end of the thread...
It applys for s13/s14 accept the trunk latch part.

[KingKong8247]

Hey Im gonna try putting duct tape in between the firewall and egi harness but I doubt that is the problem but it couldnt hurt.

Also my car was in the shop getting the brakes change and I asked the mechanic to check out the rattling. He said it sounds like it is coming inside the pipe, probably the cat. I think it is more coming from the header itself I dont know. Well hopefully it will go away. Im gonna take off the heatshield eventually too just maybe it could be that.

Well thanks for that link to the other post and everyone else.

[mrmephistopheles]

i bet it's a.) a heat shield rattle or b.) a cracked exhaust manifold