Weird Noise

Hello Everybody,

My car is making a werid.... well two weird noises the first has been a problem for a little while and the other just started. About a month ago my car started making a weird Dust shield like ratteling noise on the back right (when sitting in the car).But when I took the tire off everything checked out it might be a problem with the axle not sure... I was eondering if anyone else had this problem. The second noise happened yesterday when I was washing my car I was drying it and turned the car on and it made a weird noise in the same spot (passinger side rear tire). My Dad said it sounded like an exhaust leak it was a mix between a "puffing" and ratteling. When my dad heard it you couldn't really hear it over the engine but when it first started you could hear it out the driver side window. I eventually went away then I drove it that night and got on it a little and when I got out of my car that night I heard it angain but loud like before. I don't know what it is it sounds low on the motor like down by the crank or tranny. I'm afarid it's a spun bearing but my dad says that I'd know while driving it but I still have a fear. I'll try to post a clip of it tomorrow any info for now would be great.

Thanks

Try checking that all the cables are secure. I don't know what type of mr2 you have, but if it is anything like mine then it is made to be inspected. If you can get the car on a ramp and get someone to spot where the noise is coming from, you should be able to isolate the problem. Then figure out or take a picture of the part that is making a noise, then try to match it to a part on the net.
Atleast I would offer the same advice to a sys admin having problems with his server/workstation, cars and computers seem to be similar, they both need someone to to tell the user not to panic and what to do.

is this first rattling sound happenning all the time or sometimes when you're driving or what?

i get a rattle in my back right cause toyota took the side engine bay cover off and forgot to put all the screws back in... so it rattles sometimes.

no idea on the second one sorry, you'll just have to isolate it some more and keep an eye out for anything weird when driving.

when i move the car from a dry start ( enough time for the oil and everything to settle and cool i.e. first start of the day) it moves about 5 to 10 feet and makes a semi loud click noise like its sliping in to gear but not sounds similar to the makings of a bad CV joint it may be my ball joint. I dont know im too tired this week to find the problem out. ill keep you posted ill probably need help from everyone when i find out the real problem.

you may have hit the nail on the head.... i've had CV's go on FF cars but not on th MR yet... probably all it is.

a friend of mine has a lift but his drag barracuda is on it and he cant take it off till he finishes the axles. how hard is it to do the axle / CV joint should i just but the ATS upgrades ?

umm, i don't know, i haven't done one before... if you have the right tools i don't think it would be TOO hard...

I was thinking bout the ATS upgrade too... i guess it depends what your aims are for your car and what it costs Vs a toyota part...

lol... i'd probably go for it ;)

I'm not sayin it's def that though, like i said i havent had one go yet, but it sounds like a good place to start looking...

hmm good point

If the cv is shot you need to do the whole driveshaft, I wrecked the splined end of the shaft pulling it out to do the clutch, and you can't just order a cv joint you need to buy the whole shaft. I paid about $250cdn for the shaft so make sure that's your problem before you replace a good part...

To remove it take off the wheel on the side you're removing, pull out the hub cotter pin and the big nut that holds the hub on, then get under the car and undo the front part of the exhaust where it bolts to the manifold, so it drops down still hanging from the back hangers...

Undo the 6 nuts on the inboard cv joint (at the tranny) and gently pry it away from the trans. When the inner side is hanging down then spray lots of wd40 around the outer splined shaft and *gently* tap it out of the hub with a plastic hammer or a metal hammer and a wooden block. I used a metal hammer right on the shaft and mushroomed the end, that's why I had to replace it :( If wd40 doesn't work get out your trusty acetylene and torch the rust out of it...

Putting the new one in is the reverse, only much easier than removing the old rusted seized parts :) Remember to torque everything slightly over spec because I've had parts properly torqued that still came loose over time... A shop manual is very good to have if you plan to do more than oil changes in the future go buy one asap (books4cars.com is where I got mine).

As for other rattles I've had, while you're under the car check that all engine mounts (front, rear, and both sides) and exhaust mounts/connections are tight. Remove the flywheel inspection cover- the crescent moon shaped plate on the engine side of the engine/trans connection. Grab the flywheel and try to turn it back and forth and make sure it's solid. After my clutch job I had that come loose and it made an awful rattle that took me a while to find...

Also ball joints and tie rod ends on any old car will rattle, I'm going to do them all when I get the money for parts... unfortunately MR2 parts from the dealer are painfully expensive for a 1st gen :(

I just realized you have a 93 turbo which is probably a bit different from my 88 na, but should be close

the part i was reffering to is made by ATS .... the make a cromoly cv joint that has to be installed by a shop into the new drive shaft then you can replace the whole axle