Any ideas on engine rattle / ticking noise?

H

HazardLevel5

:
'02 Mazda Protege5
I've got an '02 with 141,000 miles.

Recently over the past 2 months I've noticed an odd noise seeming to come from the engine...
It occurrs:
-after the engine is warmed up.
-in every gear
-noise increases in frequency with RPM
-under any heavy acceleration in RPM over 3000ish
-occurring with throttle needed to maintain speed and slight acceleration over 3000 rpm

notable facts:
-car will smoke on startup with light weight oil (possible valve stem seal issues?)
-car will burn oil under heavy acceleration (piston rings?)
-used to make a turbo sounding whistle under heavy acceleration (not so much anymore as the rattling / ticking is more prominent)

Any ideas as to what this might be?
 
Does it make the noise when you first start up? The FSDE has a notoriously loud valvetrain, and ticking on startup from the top of the engine is not unusual. However, yours sounds more like something more serious (sorry to say). Can you clearly hear it in the cabin while driving? Is it more of a knock than a tick? I would get it warmed up and then have someone rev the engine while you listen for the source. My guess is you will find the noise coming from the bottom end, which means you spun a rod bearing. If this is the case, your only options are a teardown and rebuilt (expensive) or a new-used engine (expensive, but cheaper than a rebuild). Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn't sound good. Posting a video recording of the noise would help us diagnose it further.
 
ya, i can clearly hear it in the cabin while driving...
however, since i can only usually hear it after it warms up, i get the idea that it is more of a top of engine thing...
wouldn't something like a spun bearing make noise always, not just on start up?

and its more of a tick than knock..
 
Spun bearings are mentioned frequently on this forum. I don't understand why.

A spun bearing is usually a big end rod bearing that has rotated in the rod end.
If it's really a spun bearing the engine will soon self destruct.

Each bearing half has a locating tang at one end that fits in mating cut-outs in the
rod end. For a bearing to spin there has to be some seroious wear or lack of oil.

Yes, a spun bearing would make a noise any time the engine is running, not just
after warmup.

Have the engine checked by a mechanic.

Clifton
 
My car's doing the same thing as OP's I believe. It's the same sound as the clatter at cold start-up, except it also happens at the top of each shift when the load starts to lighten. If I hold the throttle in neutral at around 2500/3000 I can hear it. I can also hear it if I hold it in gear and keep the engine at that same RPM.
 
Same problem here. Mines does it through the entire rpm band but it gets louder at around 3000. It also depends on how much gas I'm given it I.e. to the floor in 1st it won't even start ticking till about 5500 and the way I drive it if it was a spun rod bearing it'd already be toast :)
 
CheeseHelmet said:
Could you be experiencing this: http://www.protegefaq.net/tsb/01-004-03.html ?
Click to expand...

I went through the TSBs and that one caught my eye too, but the 3000rpm rattle doesn't seem to happen when cold. The start-up rattle goes away when warm and that's when the 3000rpm rattle starts. I'll have to try and get an audio clip. I've only had the car for a week so I hope it's not a bottom-end issue. Don't most rod-end problems cause noise at idle, too?
 
008 said:
I'll have to try and get an audio clip. I've only had the car for a week so I hope it's not a bottom-end issue. Don't most rod-end problems cause noise at idle, too?
Click to expand...

An audio clip would help a lot. If it is a "bottom-end" issue I suspect you'd hear it through the whole RPM range, what you're describing might simply be valvetrain noise which is normal with the FS-DE (especially when it's cold).

You should try the Car Talk method of finding noises: put one end of a rubber hose in your ear and point the other end at whatever you suspect is making the noise. Or get one of those fancy mechanic's stethoscopes :)
 
Mine started out as being noticeable at 3000 but has gotten to hearing it all through the rpm band. But from what I've read on here a spun rod bearing will be cheaper and easier to fix than to replace the shims as in all u gota do is buy the rod bearing set $20 pull the oil pan off and go through there to replace them. How true this is idk
 
tweety2300 said:
But from what I've read on here a spun rod bearing will be cheaper and easier to fix than to replace the shims as in all u gota do is buy the rod bearing set $20 pull the oil pan off and go through there to replace them. How true this is idk
Click to expand...

There was someone that did that a few months ago, I can't remember who...

The problem he ran into was removing the plate between the oil pan and the block. There are a couple bolts hidden by the transaxle's bellhousing, so in order to remove that plate you first have to remove the transaxle (or separate it from the block enough to fit a wrench).

It's killing me that I forgot who it was, he did good work :)
 
? Worn VICS butterfly (shaft play)?

Mine makes a metalic rattle ('clatter') which it does at low vacuum/low flow (i.e. idle or coming off throttle). NO real worries yet...
 
CheeseHelmet said:
There was someone that did that a few months ago, I can't remember who...

The problem he ran into was removing the plate between the oil pan and the block. There are a couple bolts hidden by the transaxle's bellhousing, so in order to remove that plate you first have to remove the transaxle (or separate it from the block enough to fit a wrench).

It's killing me that I forgot who it was, he did good work :)
Click to expand...

This thread? http://mazdas247.com/vbb222/showthread.php?123646378-Connecting-Rod-Bearings

It's the only reference I've seen about that problem. Getting my car high enough to pull the pan isn't the problem, I guess I can at least take a look.
 
P-Funk! said:
? Worn VICS butterfly (shaft play)?

Mine makes a metalic rattle ('clatter') which it does at low vacuum/low flow (i.e. idle or coming off throttle). NO real worries yet...
Click to expand...

I re-read the OP. This isn't it. It goes away as RPMs increase.
NeverMind.
 
Why would u drill holes into the bell housing?? Wouldn't that let more dirt into it which is very bad? I still don't see why everybody is stuck on the spun rod bearing if he's still driving the car and it hasn't gotten any worse its not a rod bearing lifters can also tick above certain rpms just like a rod bearing but not nearly as loud.bsince he already has the blue smoke on start up it makes it even more likely that its a lifter I'm just saying if he's doing it himself itl still be cheap to get shims and valve seals which would fix atleast one problem and probly both... of course I'm not an expert on these cars by any means so if I'm wrong well.. ill be grabing a fire extingusher because I know ill be flamed. Of course signs do lead somewhat to a spun bearing but I'm not convinced
 
tweety2300 said:
Why would u drill holes into the bell housing?? Wouldn't that let more dirt into it which is very bad? I still don't see why everybody is stuck on the spun rod bearing if he's still driving the car and it hasn't gotten any worse its not a rod bearing lifters can also tick above certain rpms just like a rod bearing but not nearly as loud.bsince he already has the blue smoke on start up it makes it even more likely that its a lifter I'm just saying if he's doing it himself itl still be cheap to get shims and valve seals which would fix atleast one problem and probly both... of course I'm not an expert on these cars by any means so if I'm wrong well.. ill be grabing a fire extingusher because I know ill be flamed. Of course signs do lead somewhat to a spun bearing but I'm not convinced
Click to expand...

That was hard to read, but I agree.

I never liked the idea of drilling into the bell housing, if you're doing such a big job why not take the time to remove the transaxle?

I also agree that the OP is jumping to conclusions, he needs to poke around with a stethoscope to determine where the noise is really coming from.
 
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