rattle is driving me nuts

[evillecutter]

so ive had the vehicross for about 2 weeks now and after fixing almost everything that was wrong with it i have it running well and riding smooth except for one really annoying rattle somewhere - it sounds metallic - almost tinny - and happens the most when the engine is cold or coming off of a stoplight - almost always when i start the engine - my first thought was a heat shield vibrating somewhere and i thought i would take them off and wrap some heat tape inbetween to soften any metal on metal vibrations but i could not find a single one that is the least bit loose - my next guess is maybe a bearing in one of the pulleys or maybe something to do with the clutch on the air compressor - however turning on or off the a/c seems to have no affect on the noise whatsoever - any ideas?

[Ldub]

OK...thought of another possibility.

I had the same problem, it was driving me nuts until I crawled under & banged on the exhaust system with my fist from front to rear.
There was a baffle inside my old Borla muffler that had come loose & was rattling at specific rpm's.

[nfpgasmask]

Sounds like an exhaust heat sheild. Crawl under the VX and look along the entire length of the exhaust until you see the heat sheilds. DO THIS WHEN EVERYTHING IS COLD. Feel the heat shields for movement, etc.

Bart

[Triathlete]

X2 on heat shield...several owners have had that problem.

[etlsport]

My heat shields rattled too. Have a new exhaust rattle too. Coming from the flex pipe and another mechanic at my shop said he thinks there is a piece of metal gasket inside the flanged connection after the cats that is inside the pipe and rattling around. Haven't gotten it fixed yet, still trying to decide on a new muffler.

[zadam123]

I had this years ago and it turned out to by a loose nut on my egr valve , and i never had any work done to it but it was loose/

[crager34]

Grab a buddy and find the source. Probe, listen, feel.... I had a rattle once and swore up and down it wasn't a heat shield on the exhaust, cause I checked it out.

Yeah... heat shield.

[evillecutter]

thanks everyone it was the heat shield - but also wondering if anyone has ever had a rough sound coming from your a/c compressor? sounds gets different and lessens when a/c is turned on

[Cobrajet]

thanks everyone it was the heat shield - but also wondering if anyone has ever had a rough sound coming from your a/c compressor? sounds gets different and lessens when a/c is turned on

It could be the clutch on the A/C compressor. Have you tried to isolate the sound to the compressor? I used a long (24") socket extension jammed in my ear and set it on different (non-moving) components until I decided that the serpentine belt tensioner bearings were shot. Replaced the tensioner and idler and all is well.

[evillecutter]

first off thanks everyone so much - the first rattle was the heat shield on the cat and the second noise coming from the motor was the a/c compressor clutch - i welded the heat shield back on and used a smaller belt to bypass the ac pulley altogether - the vx is now quiet as a churchmouse - i will now replace the compressor and clutch - i can't believe how much better the vx runs when the ac is not connected - if it wasnt about to be summer in the midwest i would just leave it off for good - and thanks again rellow vx brethren

[SilverBullet75]

I had a really bad rattle that I couldn't figure out until I happened to push on the a/c compressor while the engine was running. One of the compressor mount bolts had loosened enough for the mount bracket to barely vibrate against the block. CRAZY.
To verify, I put a medium pry bar between the compressor and the engine and lightly applied pressure. Noise gone. Tightened the bolt. Been great for almost a year now.

Just a thought...

[Lizardmen3477]

My rear tailgate rattles and it drives me insane I cant figure out how to fix it seems there is not way its like the latch is loose or something odd from the inside mechanism

[tom4bren]

There is a dove-tail support on the passenger side. Try adjusting that outward.

[evillecutter]

I had a really bad rattle that I couldn't figure out until I happened to push on the a/c compressor while the engine was running. One of the compressor mount bolts had loosened enough for the mount bracket to barely vibrate against the block. CRAZY.
To verify, I put a medium pry bar between the compressor and the engine and lightly applied pressure. Noise gone. Tightened the bolt. Been great for almost a year now.

Just a thought...

a great idea for anyone hearing a rattle there - with the new compressor came a letter that talked specifically how important it was to have that bracket tight enough so it wouldn't vibrate and even suggested using shims if necessary to prevent it from rattling - - unfortunately, mine was the wore out clutch bearing roaring