Stop the rattle! Or can I?

dreamersrevenge · Post by **dreamersrevenge** » Wed May 05, 2010 5:25 pm

This might be a bit hard to explain, but when the car is cold it rattles like the old K cars did but when it warms up it's much quieter. At first I thought it was because of the cold weather until it finally stayed warm outside.. now it still does it. Is this normal after awhile? I don't remember it doing it so much when I first bought it but I know it does it now.

Swordfish2Cowboy · Post by **Swordfish2Cowboy** » Wed May 05, 2010 5:31 pm

Mine does it as well. There are a lot of cars that do it, and it's FAR worse in the colder months. Something about worn journals or something like that. Engine knock. Worn journals. I don't remember. Some things are replaceable that make it a bit better, others aren't.

dreamersrevenge · Post by **dreamersrevenge** » Wed May 05, 2010 5:34 pm

So it's pretty common... Just wanted to make sure. Looks like I'm keeping it for awhile and I don't want it to up and die on me.

Swordfish2Cowboy · Post by **Swordfish2Cowboy** » Wed May 05, 2010 5:35 pm

There are some things that you can do that help it, quiet the noise down, but I have no idea what those are. I'm putting a new motor in eventually, so I'll worry about it later, if ever.

Mr Josh Zombie · Post by **Mr Josh Zombie** » Wed May 05, 2010 5:37 pm

We call that the "neon knock"

nothing to be alarmed about

hybrid-Srt2001 · Post by **hybrid-Srt2001** » Wed May 05, 2010 5:44 pm

it's either piston slap or lifters. both make noise in cold weather. it's nothing to be alarmed about as long as your oil comes out clean without metal shavings.

dreamersrevenge · Post by **dreamersrevenge** » Thu May 06, 2010 11:16 am

hybrid-Srt2001 wrote:it's either piston slap or lifters. both make noise in cold weather. it's nothing to be alarmed about as long as your oil comes out clean without metal shavings.

Yeah, so far it's been good. I try to keep it changed every 3000-4000 or as often as I can if past that, especially since I put 50+ miles on it daily. I'd always referred to that noise as the Chrysler Clatter, since I used to have a couple of K cars that did the same thing.

Post by **occasional demons** » Thu May 06, 2010 12:03 pm

If it didn't go away once at operating temp, would say valve guides. New exhaust guides quieted mine up.

Mat · Post by **Mat** » Fri May 07, 2010 2:10 pm

Both my '02 SXT and '02 ACR do it. Lifters in both cases.
Later cars use the 9.3:1 pistons which were originally spec'd for use in California LEVs...which I suspect weren't originally cold-weather tested and not especially fit for cold climates.

OB · Post by OB » Fri May 07, 2010 2:18 pm

Also keep in mind that on cold start the engine revs are 2-300 RPM higher to assist warm up and maintain idle. Engine vibration in the 2.0L just so happens to be worst around 1000-1300 RPM, so this surely adds to the issue. Obviously, cold weather makes for a longer warm up time, but once things reach operating temp the only part of the engine that is largely affected by the outside temp is the intake system. A cold day isn't going to create noticeable internal engine noise once warmed up, contrary to popular belief. Coolant temp doesn't lie.

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri May 07, 2010 2:23 pm

Hmmm, mine vibrates the worst at 600 to 700 rpm. 800, and above, it is very tolerable.

heydockyle · Post by **heydockyle** » Fri May 07, 2010 4:06 pm

Yea the lower rpm mine goes the more it vibrates because it wants to stall.

1gn with all solid mounts idles at like 1k thankfully. Around 700 it shakes like a dam blender.

Mat · Post by **Mat** » Fri May 07, 2010 8:08 pm

You can always clean your IAC and TB to see if the stalling goes away. I need to do that with my new car.

OB · Post by OB » Sat May 08, 2010 1:14 am

occasional demons wrote:Hmmm, mine vibrates the worst at 600 to 700 rpm. 800, and above, it is very tolerable.

You have solid motor mounts? No one knows what these cars really act/feel like until they are fully in touch with them heh. I'd say mine is worst from about 900-1200 on the tach, give or take a few. What are you doing in the 600 range? Should idle around 750-850 with no loads on, are you talking about poor clutch use coming out of 1st?

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat May 08, 2010 6:54 am

Just MM inserts, and it idles around 600 to 700 on a regular basis when fully warmed up. With "poor clutch use" there are times I can get it to hover at 300 rpm until it recovers. (clutch in) It is very smooth there. If not for the tach, you would think it stalled. But usually if you do stall it from too much clutch, it is not a pretty thing. I could prolly adjust the throttle plate up, but with the 60mm it gets much more sensitive to input with more idle air.

OB · Post by OB » Sat May 08, 2010 2:06 pm

Yeah I've heard that the 60mm tb can make coming out of first tough.