Hello. First let me say how constantly amazed I am by the standard of knowledge on this forum. You guys really know these vehicles inside out and I've already saved myself £££s just by following some of the procedures outlined on here. Keep it up !

Right, now to the problem. My engine has the annoying rattle under load at about 1500-2000 rpm. Not a sound when I rev the engine in park or neutral, only under load. The car seems to be better when the engine is cold and the noise is not as noticeable but the noise seems to get worse as the engine warms and I'm sure the car loses some power.

Anyway, I'd been tearing my hair out as I couldn't find what was causing it, and it had got to the stage where I was going to get rid of the car because of it. Yes, it really was p*ssing me off that much !

Then, after searching the forum this morning I came across a mention of the TSB (03-06-01-024C) which talks about an engine rattle caused by "torsional vibration of the balance shaft". This sounds like it could be the problem as the symptoms it describes seem to match perfectly.

I live in England and there is little or no dealer support for these cars and most mechanics run a mile when they see one as they simply don't have the experience of working on them. I've already taken it to three garages and let them listen to the noise and none of them had a clue.

So either I have to do the job myself or take it to one of the very few American vehicle specialists that we have over here.

Before I commit and buy the parts to do this job (I'm reckoning it won't be cheap) does anyone know of anyone who has done this job and did it fix the problem? And did they do it themselves, or is it a job that a proper workshop needs to do. It doesn't look that hard from the TSB, but these bulletins are probably aimed at people who know these engines anyway.

Any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks.
Lee

 

I too have this issue.
I have heard that the tensioner only works for a while. Apparently it comes back. Or so I have read.
I am not sure what the permanent fix is. I have read that some have disabled the shaft and the rattle goes away. unfortunately you gain a rough idle.

It seems the shaft bearings are the cause of the rattle.

 

Hi, and thanks for your reply. Looks like I'm stuck with the noise, then. Maybe i should do what someone else on the forum suggested and just fit a loud exhaust :-) Or turn the stereo up :-). Cheers. Lee

 

You can try the tensioner. There has been some success. Some have said it came back though. I just turn up the stereo.