A Bit of a Rattle

Had this for a few months and thought it was the silicone hoses that needed twisting round a bit. Did that this morning and made no difference.

So, here are the symptoms. It usually happens when engine gets warm. I accellerate and get to 2000 to 2500 rpm and this rattling/grinding noise starts. It seems to stop at around 3000rpm.

Waaaaaaarrrrrrrrr, it goes.

It only happens when the engine is pulling. Sit stationary and rev it and there is no noise.

I can be going up a hill, hit 2000rpm and it starts. Lay off the gas so it drops below 2000 and it goes away.

Seems to be coming from the front left(ish) of the engine bay. Not particularly loud, but loud enough to cause concern and be bloody annoying. Had it for a few thousand miles and nothing has fallen off, siezed solid, or gone pop yet.

But, wot cud it beeeeeeee!

Check your exhaust manifold, a stud or two may have sheared, also check the heat sheald around the turbo, the back bracket often snaps on them.

Have fun

Thanks Rigsby. I will check them both tomorrow.

It seems like the shield might be the most likely candidate as it is that sort of a noise.

From what I've read on here, problems with the exhaust manifold are generally accompanied by some kind of whine, hoot, or whistle. This sound is nothing like that, but I will check anyway.

How long has your water pump been in there? Could be the problem.

Like said could be manifold gasket rattle due to broken exhaust studs. but I'd also check your front prop uj's

Had a check this morning of manifod studs - all present and correct, and turbo heat shield, where I found a problem.

There is a V shaped bracket at the back that is rivetted to the shield, with a single bolt at the bottom of the V that fixes to the turbo body, close to the flange for the down pipe. This bracket has snapped right next to the screw, so could be the problem.

Car is due in for some ball joints next friday at a garage just down the road, so on thursday evening I will remove the shield and take it to work where one of my pet welders will weld it back together.

Hopefully, this will cure the problem. I will let you all know (or otherwise).

Just about to get back into my playing out clothes, so will have a check of the front prop shaft.

Water pump is probably original and is on the list for replacement before the summer is out. Maybe sooner now. Been reading LRM about a TD5 Defender that sufferred a failed water pump drive, so I have been warned.

That sounds like the problem, they all snap at that point, good old Land Rover design!!, to test it just prop it up with a little bit of wood and take it for a spin then you will know for sure.

Have fun

same happened to mine a couple of years ago. i did weld the bracket eventually. but still have not put it back on. also have left the acoustic cover off.
makes it easier when lifting the bonnet and having a quick look for any oil/water leaks. something i seem to do quite often, eases my paranoia

Checked prop shaft UJ's just to be sure. All OK and the front one even has a nease gripple, so I will give that a squirt at the weekend.

I sort of bent the heat shield a bit and the problem went away for a while, so guess that I have found my rattle.

Hooray!

Cheers Rigsby. Just like I am fond of saying to others - check the simple things first before thinking of the more involved/expensive possibilities. So there I was thinking injector rattle or viscous fan.....

Sadly I was just deluding myself back there.

Been running it around locally without the turbo shield for a few days just to double check.

(I also found a not very captive nut for the engine shroud on the right side, so binned it just to be sure it wasn't that).

I still have the rattle and when I decide to press the issue (ie, press the throttle harder) I get an intermittent loss of power.

This morning I might have had a bit of a "Eureka" moment in pin-pointing what the rattle sounds like. It sounds like the sound you get when the traction control kicks in, just not as loud and without the warning light showing.

I know that the warning light is not duff, as it comes on when I accelerate away from a standstill with the wheels on one side parked on the kerb. As the car drops off the kerb the TC kicks in for a second and the light goes on.

I originally said the sound seems to be coming from the left of the engine, so perhaps my mystery rattle is to do with the TC, and manifests itself in the ABS kicking in, thus causing the "power loss".

There also appears to be some dampness around the front left CV boot.

What do others think?

It will need a new hub but jack up and check for play

OUCH!

Sounds expensive. Where would the play be that I should check for?

Have to admit, the traction control has always seemed a bit on the sensitive side since I bought the car last august.

Well, it looks like I had 2 problems instead of one and was giving myself a bum steer with the traction control thing.

I replaced the turbo boost control module the other night as it was looking in a bit of a sorry state and was cheap to replace. Two screws, one electrical connector and three small vacuum pipes.

One pipe was split and another had rubbed on something and a hole in it.

Did a temporary repair with insulation tape and the rattle disappeared. As I am clocking up the miles, it comes back a little at 3500rpm-ish as my temporary repairs start to leak a bit.

I will be replacing the pipes as soon as I source a metre or so of the correct size.

The rattle must have been the boost module and (more likely) the waste gate actuator going crazy due to the conditions caused by the leaky pipes. The rattle sounded like traction control, but wasn't.

As for the dampness around the CV joint, just a drive shaft oil seal fortunately, so no need to get a mortgage for a new hub just yet.