Help with diagnosing odd noise

[rhapsodyqueen]

Let me start off first that I have searched on several camaro forums to try and figure out what is wrong with my car and I haven't been able to pin point anything.
I'm a new camaro owner. I just bought a 2001 v6 camaro about a few weeks ago. So far the car runs great and shifts fine, no issues what so ever. It has 115,000 miles. After I got the car I noticed it had really dirty/rusty water in the radiator so I took it into sears for a flush and coolant exchange. I left the car with them for 4 to 5 hours and after I pick it up it's now making a really loud tinging noise coming from around the transmission/starter area. The noise almost sounds like the rattle when you shake a paint can. It only does it in drive and reverse when accelerating. It does not do it in idle or park or when you rev it, only when moving forwards or backwards. I took it back to sears right away and they can not figure out what it is. I've taken the car back to them twice since then after speaking with the manager and they now think its possibly the starter hitting the flex plate? They put the car up in the air and lifted the rear, put the car in drive and ran it through the gears and the car did not make the sound. After putting the car back down they drove it around the parking lot and it makes the noise. I know its not the exhaust or the engine.
I'm stumped! What could the noise be?

[Pewter02Camaro]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

Foreward u joint.

[cam98aro]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

sounds like the exhaust is hitting the driveshaft tunnel brace

[landj]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

How do you know it's not from the exhaust? Have you checked all the mounts, both engine, transmission and exhaust? I'd try pulling on them to see if any are loose or broken.

I had a rattle in a car once, more pronounced when driving then reving in idle and ended up being a cracked AC compressor bracket. I only found it because I started taking crap off to find the rattle and it happened to be one of the first things to go.

[3.4grapeofwrath]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

How about the catalytic converter heat shield? Or something loose inside it banging around.

[darkflare999]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

Let me start off first that I have searched on several camaro forums to try and figure out what is wrong with my car and I haven't been able to pin point anything.
I'm a new camaro owner. I just bought a 2001 v6 camaro about a few weeks ago. So far the car runs great and shifts fine, no issues what so ever. It has 115,000 miles. After I got the car I noticed it had really dirty/rusty water in the radiator so I took it into sears for a flush and coolant exchange. I left the car with them for 4 to 5 hours and after I pick it up it's now making a really loud tinging noise coming from around the transmission/starter area. The noise almost sounds like the rattle when you shake a paint can. It only does it in drive and reverse when accelerating. It does not do it in idle or park or when you rev it, only when moving forwards or backwards. I took it back to sears right away and they can not figure out what it is. I've taken the car back to them twice since then after speaking with the manager and they now think its possibly the starter hitting the flex plate? They put the car up in the air and lifted the rear, put the car in drive and ran it through the gears and the car did not make the sound. After putting the car back down they drove it around the parking lot and it makes the noise. I know its not the exhaust or the engine.
I'm stumped! What could the noise be?

I have that same problem your talking about...it sounds like a marble bouncing around really quick..it only happens to me wen i start it for the first time of the day on idle only but then it goes away wen its warmed up...its weird..it doesnt happen while im driving or on even on warm starts...up to now i dont know what it is and i just left it like that..when i had the car on a lift i didnt see anything hitting anywhere...

[kristen]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

How about the catalytic converter heat shield? Or something loose inside it banging around.

that is what i'm thinking.....just get under there and start hitting things until you find the sound.

is your performance changed? if you a slugish, your cat might have given out

[rhapsodyqueen]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

Here's a video of the noise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r99arL_sCX8
The catalytic was just replaced no more then 3 weeks ago. The car runs great, not sluggish at all but then again i'm use to driving a slow behind celica, lol.. The only thing i've noticed is bad gas mileage, around 14mpg city. Do you think the o2 sensors could be loose/bad but not throwing a code?
I don't think its the u-joint because its not making the noise when I shift from reverse to drive. I did notice that it only makes the noise in reverse after I have applied the brakes. In drive it makes the noise when I accelerate around 2,000 rpms and above. Once I let off the gas it stops.
I took it to an exhaust shop earlier this week and nothing was loose. The guy told me it sounds like it's coming from the transmission not the exhaust.
The sound does not go away even after warming up. its continuous.
The guys at sears checked all the engine mounts and tranny mount. They are all good.

Do you think it has anything to do with the radiator? Maybe the fan is hitting something?

[Cool81z28]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

A friend of mine had an issue like that and it was the guts of his cat converter that had broken loose and was rattling around inside of it.

[kristen]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

A friend of mine had an issue like that and it was the guts of his cat converter that had broken loose and was rattling around inside of it.

he would feel a loss of power

[bigbrian442]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

I think they may have missed a broken trans mount or the torque arm bushing is sloppy. Could even be the bushing in the carrier bearing if you have the 2 piece drive shaft.
Nice boots.

[Bandit127]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

My guess, is that the problem lies in the catalytic converter. I've worked on a buick that idled fine, drove fine, but under any throttle above 50% the engine bucked and audibly pinged from inside a 200x regal. It was an eerie ping noise too, much like a marble in metal but much much sharper. I would have the cat inspected.

[rhapsodyqueen]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

How would I know if I have a two piece drive shaft?
I just picked the camaro back up from sears. They say the noise is coming from the bellhousing and that the noise is something in the starter hitting the flexplate/flywheel. They wanted to charge me an arm and a leg to replace the starter and I said no and brought it back home.

How can the cat be going bad when it's brand new? I guess it can happen but the car isn't bucking when accelerating...

Nice boots.

haha... Thanks!

[bigbrian442]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

Remember people here were only guessing at what is wrong as they can not look at your car over the internet. The starter could be going bad and the gear that engages the flywheel could be not retracting all the way and hitting the flywheel as you drive. I would think the sound would be a sharper metallic ping if that were the case.

[flamingchicken]

Re: Help with diagnosing odd noise

The starter could be going bad and the gear that engages the flywheel could be not retracting all the way and hitting the flywheel as you drive. I would think the sound would be a sharper metallic ping if that were the case.

that would seem to be a grinding noise.

is there any different vibrations?? maybe the weight on the flywheel fell off...but then how do you explain the fact it doesnt make the noise at idle while in park.

given that we know it doesnt make the noise at idle or while revving in park we can eliminate the starter, flywheel and torque converter.

try to look under the car on the passenger side and hit the catalytic converter, see if the heat shielding makes any noise.