Sudden engine rattle?

[Mitch951]

02 LX with 85k miles. 2.0


So I took my car to my dads to see if he could help determine the idle problem I've been having on an intermittent basis.. Discussed cleaning the EGR to help, which I believe is possible. However that is not the point of the post.

Checked spark plugs, they were NOT screwed in very tight at all. Fixed that. Would spark plugs be capable of making noises if they were damaged while taking them out?

And also found a nice little bolt that had not been tightened on the intake manifold.. it was hiding and was essentially just sitting there completely loose. Left overs from sloppy mechanic work when I had the valve seals done is what I think? I never noticed it prior to that.

Afterwards, my car is now make a rattling noise and it seems to be coming from the general area of the manifold towards the head. Was NOT present on the way to his house. So I'm curious as to what could have changed since it sat there. (eyeballs)

I've seen some rather disheartening accounts of rod issues and the progression of a rattle to a knock. Which yet again, the sound seems to be coming from the drivers side of the manifold.

Rattle is present on ignition. But it does not become noticeable afterwards until around 1.6-1.8k rpms. I have no performance loss though, car made it home on the freeway just fine. It also just got done with a decently long journey the couple days prior with no issues outside of 1 episode of rough idling towards the end of it all at a stop light.

Any input? I'm gonna take it to a mechanic in the morning. Meanwhile it's sitting in my driveway. I'm not 100% mechanically savvy, so broken down explanations would be more than appreciated if possible. Thanks ahead of time.

 

[tweety2300]

Check the rear motor mount make sure it's tight

 

[Mitch951]

Alright I will check that out.

It's almost a fluttering type of noise. hard to describe.

Took it by the mechanic this morning. Only the owner's worker was there so I have to take it tomorrow. He did have some input and didn't seem too worried about it and considered how it may need a valve adjustment.

So the wait continues..

 

[JERO]

Hope you figure that out soon. I'm having the same type of problem with my '98 Protege. When she is in Drive or Reverse, often times the whole front end (including my seats and steering wheel) would begin to vibrate due to the rattling coming from the engine. But when she's in park or neutral, the vibration/rattling stops. I'm stopping by my mechanics place to see what can we do to resolve this issue.

Keep us updated!

 

[Mitch951]

Was a sad day today. Worn wrist pin was the culprit. Pulling cylinder 3's spark causes the noise to disappear.

Getting a new motor. Same 2.0. Suppose to have around 40-45k miles or so.. Hope to have my car back by Monday at the latest. Better than waiting 2-3 weeks for a more-than-likely less effective rebuild.

Honestly, it's a good thing. Dumped over a grand for a valve job that helped nothing. So I'll get my morning oil smoke problem out of the way too. Just wish I swapped the engine out sooner, but I never saw this coming. No regrets.

We'll see how things go afterwards.

MY PROTEGE WILL LIVE ON!!
Zoom zoom!