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Engine noise at 1800 rpm

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Parsec

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have a 2006 with 137k miles and started hearing this noise in the past week. It sounds like an oscillating metallic noise, almost like a marble swirling around the sides of a metal mixing bowl. It happens between 1800-2000 rpm's in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear (I can't hear it in 5th). When I keep my tach at 1900 rpm, the noise is constant.

When I try to replicate the noise on my driveway in neutral, I hear the noise for a split second as the tach passes through the 1800 - 2000 rpm range. I don't hear it when I try to keep it constant at 1900 rpm.

I used the search and found other members with this problem found a loose heat shield, but none of the other members were able to replicate the noise while idling like I was. Why is this only happening at a specific RPM in every gear? Please help!
 
#2 ·
It can be your catalytic or heat shield from muffler.. Tap on the cats with a hammer (soft) to see if their is any loose particles.


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Discussion starter · #4 · (Edited)
I got under the truck after work today and tapped the heat shields and cat but did not find any rattles. The only loose part I could find was some kind if metal sheathing covering the pipe between the car and the exhaust manifold. Does anyone know what this is and whether its supposed to look like this? It looks like the sheathing covering the bottom of the pipe rusted/wore off but the part covering the top of the pipe is intact.

For reference the top of the picture leads towards the front of the truck and the catalytic converter is at the end of the pipe on the bottom of the picture.


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Discussion starter · #5 · (Edited)
I just got a OBD2 scan and no codes came up. I also opened the hood and could hear the noise coming from the engine area, either inside the engine or slightly behind/beneath it on the passenger side (belt-side). I'm so embarrassed to drive it around town because the noise is very audible from the outside. Any more ideas? I got the timing belt changed 1000 miles ago so maybe they didn't tighten something all the way?
 
Discussion starter · #7 · (Edited)
Chuck: You are a genius! The rain finally went away and I got under the truck and had my wife rev the engine. I pushed in the heat shield with a screwdriver where your red arrow is in the post that you linked above (you can get your bearings straight by looking at the orange wire sheathing in both pictures), but the noise was still there. I moved the screwdriver over to the other side of the heat shield (you can see it on the right side of my picture, where the rusted is) and pushed while the engine was revved a few times. The noise was gone!

Now I need to figure a way to keep the heat shield from rattling. Does the hose clamp trick work on this particular heat shield? It's the one in front of the engine block that's hard to reach. What size clamp do I need?

Thanks!
 

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Discussion starter · #8 ·
PROBLEM FIXED! I bought a 3-5" adjustable hose clamp from Home Depot (in the plumbing aisle). Drove the truck onto ramps and removed a few of the plastic clips which hold the plastic undercover in place. Squeezed my arm in there just enough to wrap the hose clamp around the heat shield right below the O2 sensor. Took me about 20 min just to tighten the clamp because I was screwing it blindly and had no leverage. This fix will work on either of the 2 upright cat converters. If your rattle is on the horizontal cat closer to the muffler, then you may need to go 1 size up with the hose clamp. Make sure you wear tight goggles or else you will get flecks of rust into your eyes!

Special thanks to Chuck who alerted me to the vertical catalytic converter heat shields which I didn't even know existed until I looked closer (I am used to 4-bangers with only 1 cat).
 
Discussion starter · #9 · (Edited)
Here's the photo of where I placed the hose clamp, right between the O2 sensor and the culprit, a rusted bolt. I am looking up at the converter from below. You can even see the serrated portion of the rusted heat shield which is causing the rattle noise.
 

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#10 ·
Parsec said:
Here's the photo of where I placed the hose clamp, right between the O2 sensor and the culprit, a rusted bolt. I am looking up at the converter from below. You can even see the serrated portion of the rusted heat shield which is causing the rattle noise.
Click to expand...
I need to get a clamp installed on mine. Thanks for taking the guess work out of selecting the proper size!
 
#11 ·
Good job Parsec and Chuck. That would be a tricky one to track down.
 
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#12 ·
Great thread, my 2008 with 78K miles just started making this noise at 2000 rpm in each gear. I had no idea what it was so thought I would check ROC for direction, and as usual you guys have been a great help. Thanks everyone.
 
#13 ·
After reading all this good stuff, plus a bunch more in other posts, I just fixed my buzz/rattle by installing the prescribed Home Depot 5" hose clamp on my front Cat heat shield. I'll post pics here and add some hopefully helpful comments:
1) I removed the lower plastic "front splash shield" that goes across the width of the truck right behind the bumper at the bottom (see pic of it removed). This REALLY made doing this job a snap. It just requires removing 4 bolts & a few plastic push-in fasteners (some of mine were already missing, so I'll be getting some more soon to replace those & a couple that broke off during removal - their cheap). With this out of the way, I was able to easily perform this repair lying on my back under the front of the truck (no lift or jacks required).
2) I used the 5" hose clamp as has been recommended here, but I'm not sure that if I were to do it again I might use a 7" hose clamp & fasten it up higher around the full diameter of the heat shield (it's about 6" across) . . . it just seems it would be more secure fastened squarely there, rather than diagonally at the bottom which is the only way the 5" clamp will fit. The "squeeze is what's getting the noise to stop (by removing any freedom of movement) & I think that would do just as well up above with the larger clamp fastened around the full circumference. You also want to be careful with the diagonal install that you don't put any pressure on your O2 sensor when positioning & tightening the clamp. Easy to stay clear if you are making a point of it.
3) For those of you in "corrosion zones", I think you might consider getting "marine quality" stainless steel hose clamps from a Boat Hardware store like West Marine. The Home Depot variety might do just fine, but my experience with them on boats in salt water is that they definitely will rust over a few years. BUT, they are only $1.85 vs. probably a few bucks more for marine grade. Food for thought. (I'm in SoCal so don't need it)
4) Someone mentioned difficulty tightening (screwing in) the hose clamp. I determined the best orientation for installation considering tool access; that's what's shown in pics here. I was even able to use my drill driver for initial turns to remove slack, since it's diagonally mounted (tightened by hand).

Hopefully these tips & pics help those who have yet to address this problem. BTW, I had already purchased the intermediate shaft heat cover & was going to do that much-more-difficult install (TSB 07-028) when I realized via more research that my problem might be the Cat shield (which it was). Honda took back that $40 part, so I saved my self both time & money. Thanks to previous posters for setting me straight with this oh-so-helpful info. The pics below are all of the front cat heat shield repair using hose clamp. First shown is splash shield removed, then view of left side of cat shield taken from front under the bumper, then same zoomed - you can see the cracks pretty clearly. Add'l pics show right side fastener as well with similar cracks. Then I show clamp being installed: Note this orientation of the clamp for easiest tool access for tightening.
Have Fun! ! !
 

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#15 ·
Honda must make the worst heat shield on the market, My 2007 RL was making the same metallic rattling noise that most people have described here, it happens at around 2000 rpm. After dealing with the rattle for the past 7 months, I finally crawled under the truck to locate this rattle. The front cat cover was rotted but not the source of the rattle, the converter cover over the 3rd cat is rotted and the bottom of it is awol, there is another cover that can only be accessed by removing the RF wheel, but the source of my rattle is a small metal cover that goes over the the area were the two pipes come together at the rear of the engine. Attached are pictures of the culprit, I hope this helps out.
 

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#17 ·
The heat shields come in 2 halves and are not that expensive. Anyone try to replace the ones for the front cat near the radiator? My concerns is whether or not the half next to the engine can be slipped out without removing the whole cat.
 
#18 ·
#20 ·
Silver 3.5 said:
The heat shields come in 2 halves and are not that expensive. Anyone try to replace the ones for the front cat near the radiator? My concerns is whether or not the half next to the engine can be slipped out without removing the whole cat.
Click to expand...
FWIW, the FSM calls it a cover, not a heat shield. I wonder why they do so?

Here are the heat shields as listed in the 2006-08 FSM:
Image


Front cat and cover (WU-TWC = warm-up, three way cat):
Image


Here is the cover for the rear cat:
Image
 
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