help is needed, please.

while going slowly (20 mph) on a bumpy road paved with cubic stones, I can hear a metallic rattle noise.

first time I thought it is those 2 big E clamps that secure the rubber mountings for exhaust.

they can rattle sometimes quite loud and it happened to me before.

but no, they don't budge.

I went on the same road I told you about.

it is a narrow street with cars parked on both sides.

when you drive at slow speed with windows open, the metallic rattle is louder because of those parked cars.

it is like a tunnel effect, you understand me, right?

but I still couldn't identify what rattles.

I moved up/down all 4 corners of my car, because the rattle/vibration seams to be suspension related.

nothing rattles.

I have a garage with a pit underneath, and I pulled and pushed everything under the chassis with all my force.

but nothing is moving.

I can't replicate the noise when the car is sitting.

I am stuck :(

 

so I need a clever idea to find the source of the noise that's driving me mad...

I think you might have braking pads that rattle. Jack up each front wheel and knock the tire with your foot or a big hammer (gently though).

 

If you can hear the rattle noise... there you have it. You need to adjust those brake pads. Since I know how to do that just in theory, I'll let other members to tell you step by step what to do. I will only post some photos that could come handy for eventual annotations.

 

 

 

Edited 26 July, 201312 yr by adurer

It could also be in insides of the exhaust pipe/silencer/catalytic converter breaking up, I had this on a Toyota; bits from inside the cat were blown back into the back box and rattled around; at certain lowish speeds it was very loud, but at higher speeds the sounds almost stopped.

It could also be in insides of the exhaust pipe/silencer/catalytic converter breaking up, I had this on a Toyota; bits from inside the cat were blown back into the back box and rattled around; at certain lowish speeds it was very loud, but at higher speeds the sounds almost stopped.

my car has not a catalytic converter and exhaust is like new.

Felicia is not like Toyota, it is 10x better

at least I would never trade it.

 

Jack up each front wheel and knock the tire with your foot or a big hammer (gently though).

 

If you can hear the rattle noise... there you have it.

well... I did like you said, but I can't really tell :(

on the left side/wheel there is some rattle, but more muffled, not so metallic like I hear while driving.

but brake pads don't have any backlash, I can't move them pulling/pushing hard with my fingers.

on the right side everything is tight and quiet.

 

I am thinking to mount my mobile phone somehow underneath to record audio/video, but I am afraid I could destroy it.

Edited 26 July, 201312 yr by dohnjoe

If you want to tell if pads are rattling, try dragging the brakes with your left foor while holding down the accelerator with the right foot - i.e. left foot braking - while you're driving along.  It takes a bit of practice so try it somewhere with nothing to hit, but it's really useful for checking things like this.  Had pad rattle on my Mum's Passat the other day as the rears were fitted wrong.  Left foot braking showed that it was definitely brake related in seconds.

 

Other than that, check there's not a stone or similar stuck in a hub or disc shield - I've had that before and it made a similar sound.

Edited 26 July, 201312 yr by djaychela

djaychela,

I did as you described.

the noise can still be heard.

how can I 'hear' other parts of suspension?

I've heard of some microphones that you can mount with magnets and listen the sound amplified at earphones inside the car while driving (see photos).

anyone used that?

Could it be the linkage to the gear change rattling? Mine used to.

 

Felicia is not like Toyota, it is 10x better

 

Depends how you look at it, my old Toy was a tough old piece of kit (and seated eight), the felly is nowhere near as well built; BUT the felly has more charm and is certainly easier to repair.

Depends how you look at it, my old Toy was a tough old piece of kit (and seated eight), the felly is nowhere near as well built;

Yeah... really clever comparison, an 8-seater with a compact car. But you wouldn't agree with anyone, except Jasmin, of course 

 

Could it be the linkage to the gear change rattling? Mine used to.

The guy needs a method to replicate the noise, like djaychela offered, not a guess. dohnjoe said he yanked all parts under the chassis.

 

@dohnjoe

When you can't locate the noise while the car is moving over a bumpy road, you need to shake the ground while the car is sitting Yeah it sounds crazy, but it's feasible.

 

You said you have a garage pit. Position your car like in the illustration below. Safety is very important! So take all measures to support the car properly!

 

Now, sitting in the pit, hit the left tire upwards with a sledgehammer (gradually harder), simulating a pothole shock. You, or a helper, listen carefully what rattles.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Edited 27 July, 201312 yr by adurer

 

The guy needs a method to replicate the noise, like djaychela offered, not a guess. dohnjoe said he yanked all parts under the chassis.

 

OK - while you're in the pit try putting the car in different gears and rattling the gear change. It may only do it when certain gears are engaged and the rods are in certain positions. Try the gear you're usually in when you go over these cobbles first.

 

We're all guessing when we don't have the car in front of us but this is a rattle I get on mine as there's slack in the universal joint on the end of the rod. It's also close to the exhaust which was where dohnjoe initially started looking.

thank you guys for helping me.
I will try adurer and Red Studio's methods and report.
 
I have also created a new topic (Electronic stethoscope) for those interested in building their own electronic stethoscope.

I have something similar on mine, that I've not been able to trace. Again sounds like a light metallic rattle somewhere under the car. Sounds a bit like there is a tin can on a pice of string under there. But it only does it when coasting in gear. It never does it when accelerating or coasting in neutral. It seems to happen a few seconds after backing off the throttle. it will do it two or three times in quick succession and then stop and won't do it again until you change gear again, but doesn't do it every time. Reading Red Studios comments above made me wonder if it is the gear selector so I went out today and when it did it I tried leaning on the gear stick at the same time to see if it made a difference but it didn't seem to.

 

It's not a very loud noise, you can barely hear it with the windows shut and not at all with the radio on even quietly. It may have been doing it since I bought the car as I bought it in February and obviously didn't need to open the windows until sometime in May!

 

But as dohnjoe says it is impossible to replicate the noise when the car is stationary. I took all the wheels off, looking for anything loose and went underneath and shook everything, though I don't have the benefit of a pit so I just had to lie on my back. Nothing seems to be loose though I'm still leaning towards the gear linkage, but it all looked fine.

 

Anyway it doesn't seem to have got any worse and I've added 7,000 miles since February, including a 600 mile round trip to Yorkshire last weekend, so I've stopped worrying about it now but it is still a bit annoying.

Again sounds like a light metallic rattle somewhere under the car. Sounds a bit like there is a tin can on a pice of string under there.

 

I had something similar on a Honda Shuttle. Turned out to be a loose heat-shield above the exhaust.

I tried to do a small analysis of that rattle sound.

my English is quite poor at describing sounds, but bear with me.

it doesn't sound like a bad suspension joint because they knock.

it's more like a solid part vibrates and hits a steel plate.

in my mind I see the coil spring supports or something strut related doing the noise.

or perhaps the gear shifter itself in a very specific position like Red Studio says.

eventually hitting on floor or exhaust?

what we know for sure is that gear shifter mechanism is the most common complaint of Felicia owners.

it has backlashes on all sides due to bad design and rapid wear.

for now I can only guess because I don't work on Saturdays and Sundays.

Edited 27 July, 201312 yr by dohnjoe

good news!

I discovered the source of the noise

I positioned the car as adurer showed in 3d.

then a buddy started hitting the tire upwards.

the rattle could be heard loud and clear immediatly.

it was coming from... left lower ball joint.

I've learned from youtube videos that a rattle from the wheel area AND a groan from the steering points always to a worn lower ball joint.

the rattle comes from the resonance of wishbone being hit by the steel sphere inside lower ball joint.

The gear shift mechanism didn't rattle, but that may be possible if parts are worn.

thank you all for support.

Edited 31 July, 201312 yr by dohnjoe

An almost identical rattle started to develop in my car. There is also present the groan when steering. But in my case the culprit was the rubber bush donut-like on top of the strut. I changed them on both sides and now everything is silent. Hope this helps.