chain dragging noise
Originally Posted by digital1986
I have the same problem, it sucks!!!! I will get a video of the sound tomorrow to make sure we are on the same page
(Now I am having a problem of my car almost like down shifting when I am accel. fast)
(Now I am having a problem of my car almost like down shifting when I am accel. fast)
When you go low on oil, the car begins to starve - why? Because it is. If it starves too long - it dies.
DON'T GO MAKE A VIDEO OF THE NOISE - CHECK YOUR OIL FIRST!!!
Otherwise the video may be of an engine seizure...which won't make much noise at all...well no..we'd get to hear the whimpering of its owner
OH YEA - if the oil IS low...use someone else's car to get more oil....
Originally Posted by ISMSOLUTIONS
It sounds like the factory y-pipe heat shields rattling. This will happen at the RPM levels you are all stating.
This is a very common item that has been brought up from 2004-2006 models. You can hear it in many ways and times. Sometimes while driving, sometimes when revving the engine and the RPM's drop.
What happens is the heat shields warp over time and tend to 'loosen' and rattle. With the RPM and load, there is a bit of vibration from the turbulence and low tones of the exhaust, thus the rattling sounds or chain dragging sound.
The reason it is not a simple quick rattle, and is longer lasting, is the frequency band in the exhaust will last about 800-1200 RPM's at 3-4 different areas in the power band. This also varies with the amount of load, engine breaking, etc.
The sound is even more prevalent on AT cars, as most MT's have some similar noises from the MT itself.
Hope this answers the question of what it is...now to stop it, can be difficult.
Typically, simply bending or 'tightening' the heat shields will resolve it. By tightening, I refer to the bending that stiffens the 'play' in the heat shields. This has also been seen in the shields on the CATS themselves. So bending and checking with someone in the car revving the engine can really help.
Give it a try and see what you get. The only 2 other items associated with this noise are the flex-joints on the y-pipe and possibly CATS that have broken down or are in the process of breaking down. The CATS are likely not the issue though, as that would be pretty rare, unless you have 50,000+ miles on the car or have modded and tuned as well. The flex joints however, after about 3k-4k miles, have heated and expanded and cooled and shrunk so many times that they begin to have 'slack' in them as well. It only gets worse over time as well. This loosening can also cause the noise during high load or RPM travel, as mentioned above for the heat shields.
I guess the worst case would be heat shields and the flex joints. I have noticed when exhausts are changed, the issue goes away, and MOST aftermarket systems do not have flex joints...HOWEVER, I have also seen the issue 'come back' after a new system is installed as well. Most systems will alter the tone of the exhaust to be deeper, thus adding more resonance and vibration issues, that are then attributed to the heat shields. Keep in mind as well, all exuast systems, stock or aftermarket, will get deeper over time and as they season. Also, brand new cars, that are test driven a bunch of times, also can have the flex joint issue from day one of YOUR ownership.
OK - so I'm done ranting now. I'm not going to re-read my post - so sorry for typo's, repeats, and the length in general.
Rick
This is a very common item that has been brought up from 2004-2006 models. You can hear it in many ways and times. Sometimes while driving, sometimes when revving the engine and the RPM's drop.
What happens is the heat shields warp over time and tend to 'loosen' and rattle. With the RPM and load, there is a bit of vibration from the turbulence and low tones of the exhaust, thus the rattling sounds or chain dragging sound.
The reason it is not a simple quick rattle, and is longer lasting, is the frequency band in the exhaust will last about 800-1200 RPM's at 3-4 different areas in the power band. This also varies with the amount of load, engine breaking, etc.
The sound is even more prevalent on AT cars, as most MT's have some similar noises from the MT itself.
Hope this answers the question of what it is...now to stop it, can be difficult.
Typically, simply bending or 'tightening' the heat shields will resolve it. By tightening, I refer to the bending that stiffens the 'play' in the heat shields. This has also been seen in the shields on the CATS themselves. So bending and checking with someone in the car revving the engine can really help.
Give it a try and see what you get. The only 2 other items associated with this noise are the flex-joints on the y-pipe and possibly CATS that have broken down or are in the process of breaking down. The CATS are likely not the issue though, as that would be pretty rare, unless you have 50,000+ miles on the car or have modded and tuned as well. The flex joints however, after about 3k-4k miles, have heated and expanded and cooled and shrunk so many times that they begin to have 'slack' in them as well. It only gets worse over time as well. This loosening can also cause the noise during high load or RPM travel, as mentioned above for the heat shields.
I guess the worst case would be heat shields and the flex joints. I have noticed when exhausts are changed, the issue goes away, and MOST aftermarket systems do not have flex joints...HOWEVER, I have also seen the issue 'come back' after a new system is installed as well. Most systems will alter the tone of the exhaust to be deeper, thus adding more resonance and vibration issues, that are then attributed to the heat shields. Keep in mind as well, all exuast systems, stock or aftermarket, will get deeper over time and as they season. Also, brand new cars, that are test driven a bunch of times, also can have the flex joint issue from day one of YOUR ownership.
OK - so I'm done ranting now. I'm not going to re-read my post - so sorry for typo's, repeats, and the length in general.
Rick
Now just to be sure that everyone is talking about the same noise here, it sounds like if you were to lightly grinding a screw or a small piece of solid metal on circular grinding machine or as if you were running around with a chain and dragging across the ground.
Now my reason for questioning the heat shields or any exhaust related solution is that with past experiences with other cars, noises from heat shields/exhaust were more of a rattling metal pipes against other metal, more of a clang clang noise instead of the chain noise described which is more of a higher pitch.
It's been a year since i've notice this noise, and now it's there even on idle or when my car is parked and warmed up already. It's really annoying and it just makes the car sound unclean. So anyone?
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I've had no such problems and I have a manual 04 coupe with 53,000 on it. But, I'd say check both the heat shield and the timing chain. Check the heat shield first as its easier. ( I used to have the same noise on my z32 but it uses a belt not a chain so it might be the chain. It ended out being a heat shield for one part and oil starvation on the other I had a dent in my oil pan. Also in most these model engines and their forebears thats a serious issue since the feed in point from the oil pan tends to only be about a 1/4 inch from the bottom of the pan.) If you dont want to do the work I recomend having it checked by a trusted mechanic as checking its always cheaper than fixing it later when it may cause other things to break as well. If your going to do it yourself be prepared for an all day event. I usually doa timing belt chain job over a weekend since theyre usually a pain in the ***. Sorry about the length but I hope this helps some people.
Update...
Been reading around, google-ing this noise still. I still doubt that it's the heat shields, axles, or tranny issues.
Anyway, after google for hours...several people mentioned the timing chain tensioners gets worn out and loose on all the VQ's including altimas, maximas, 350z, etc.
Don't know why I've never thought about it but this would make more sense. Question is...anyone with experience with the timing belt tensioners? Is it difficult to get to? I'll give this a try when the weather gets nice and I'll keep this thread updated.
Been reading around, google-ing this noise still. I still doubt that it's the heat shields, axles, or tranny issues.
Anyway, after google for hours...several people mentioned the timing chain tensioners gets worn out and loose on all the VQ's including altimas, maximas, 350z, etc.
Don't know why I've never thought about it but this would make more sense. Question is...anyone with experience with the timing belt tensioners? Is it difficult to get to? I'll give this a try when the weather gets nice and I'll keep this thread updated.
Update again...
I replaced the alternator, power steering and a/c belts today and made sure it had just the right amount of tension and that untraceable chain dragging noise went away.
I checked the tension on each belts prior to removable just to see how much tension roughly I will need on the new belts. By doing that...
I noticed the a/c belt had less tension than the other belt. It wasn't loose at all and it works just fine but i thought it could've used more tension.
Belts do expand after some time causing it to have a little more slack than recommended.... this is just my guess and my reason behind the noise but after the new belts and the correct tensions, my engine never sounded cleaner 
I replaced the alternator, power steering and a/c belts today and made sure it had just the right amount of tension and that untraceable chain dragging noise went away.
I checked the tension on each belts prior to removable just to see how much tension roughly I will need on the new belts. By doing that...
I noticed the a/c belt had less tension than the other belt. It wasn't loose at all and it works just fine but i thought it could've used more tension.
Belts do expand after some time causing it to have a little more slack than recommended....
this is just my guess and my reason behind the noise but after the new belts and the correct tensions, my engine never sounded cleaner
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I have an 03' 5at and after letting the car warm up for a couple of minutes, i'll drive it as slow as i can until the tranny switches gears, that's when i hear that slight grind whine noise. It does it in 1st/2nd/3rd gear. After that, i won't hear it anymore. Oh, and also after the car is completely warmed up. I drive with the radio off a lot because of my cd error crap & it doesnt sound like it's coming from the rear. I don't have the rev-up engine, but that doesnt mean i don't think an oil consumption problem could exist. Hmmmm, havent even had the car for a month yet. 
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From: Edwardsville, IL
Same noise - chain dragging - belts squealing - under load
I have an 03 5AT with 70k miles. About 2 months ago my car started making a similar noise under certain conditions. The car had to be accelerating and between about 1800 and 2500 rpm. It had to warm up for a minute or two but the noise seemed to stop after 5-10 minutes.
I took it to the dealer and they said the heat shields around the CAT are rusted through. I have an extended warranty. They said the CAT is covered but the heat shields are not and the catalytic converter itself is working fine. The heat shields are an integral part of the CAT and can't be replaced separately. The CAT is $800+.
So now I'm in a quandary. I really like my black on black G and take good care of it, wash every week, wax when needed, clay-polish-glaze-seal twice per year, no eating in the car, etc. It is 6 years old and people I take in my car think it is 1-2 years old. I pull up to stop lights and people check it out, just like they do your G's. Then when I accelerate, people have that "is that a GM look" on their face. I also have a couple friends thinking about buying a G after riding in mine. I hate to start bad mouthing my car, but don’t think I should shell out cash to fix it. In my opinion, Infinity, or their subcontractor, bought cheap stainless for the heat shields or specified the wrong material on the drawings. I would bet the material, or supplier, was changed long ago.
Anyone know the best way to escalate this within Infinity?
I took it to the dealer and they said the heat shields around the CAT are rusted through. I have an extended warranty. They said the CAT is covered but the heat shields are not and the catalytic converter itself is working fine. The heat shields are an integral part of the CAT and can't be replaced separately. The CAT is $800+.
So now I'm in a quandary. I really like my black on black G and take good care of it, wash every week, wax when needed, clay-polish-glaze-seal twice per year, no eating in the car, etc. It is 6 years old and people I take in my car think it is 1-2 years old. I pull up to stop lights and people check it out, just like they do your G's. Then when I accelerate, people have that "is that a GM look" on their face. I also have a couple friends thinking about buying a G after riding in mine. I hate to start bad mouthing my car, but don’t think I should shell out cash to fix it. In my opinion, Infinity, or their subcontractor, bought cheap stainless for the heat shields or specified the wrong material on the drawings. I would bet the material, or supplier, was changed long ago.
Anyone know the best way to escalate this within Infinity?
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if all it is, is a heat shield, I have either ripped/cut them off or used a pipe clamp and clamped it down.. it's a cheap fix.. you can usually grab it and wiggle it if the heat shield is loose. !!! You don't want it coming off while your driving and screwing anything else up or ruining the paint, it's like a flying license plate
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From: NNJ Dogs bark with their @$#$ here.
I do have the same problem (is almost like you would put couple of ball bearings in the inteake menafold ).. i will try to see if it is what you guys say. Also i have noticed thta the noise increased over the winter.
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Joined: Apr 2005
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From: SI, NY
My 04 MT Coupe also makes the loose heat shield noise when accelerating. I asked the dealer to take a look, but of course they wanted to charge me to diagnose the problem as I'm out of warranty. The noise is not coming from the engine, it sounds like a loose heat shield bouncing off the pipes underneath, heard mainly echoing off of a divider or other cars next to me. I will let you know once it's fixed.
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From: SI, NY
Looked underneath and touched the whole exhaust. All heat shields seem to be tight. The noise is still there, when accelerating, and sounds like a loose screw vibrating and hitting the heat shields underneath. The car operates and sounds as usual other than that.
Anybody has any idea or similar experience?
Thanks.
Anybody has any idea or similar experience?
Thanks.
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