ok there are a few things my car has been doiong in the last 3 weeks that are annoying me. the problems are minor and im sure i can fix them buy i dont know what could be causeing them.

1. when ever i hit 3500 rpms i start to hear a rattle. it sounds like a piece of metal that is loose and its vibrating. im not sure what it could be. its not causeing my car any problems but im getting tired of hearing it. could it be my heat shielding? or could it be from when i removed the ac and its just added noise.

2. when i put the car into reverse the reverse lights dont work. ground wire? i checked the fuses and there fine.

any ideas?


-Matt

The rattle could be from the heat shielding on the stock down pipe. if the welds brake or rust off it will rattle.
The reverse switch is on the side of the tranny. You may want to check and make sure its still plugged in.

The 3500rpm rattle is common and exhaust based, there is a heat shield above the cat that is often bent up. I just removed mine with no ill effects. The bracket from the exhaust to the trans can cause problems too.

The reverse light wires run up through the shifter hole and can be chafed and cut so check there too.

ken

ill take a look under the car when i get home from school today and ill see if that is whats creating the problem. so i can just remove it if its whats causing the rattle with no harmful effects?

I have run without the manifold shield and the aluminum cat shield for a year without any problems. Now it's a header/custom exhaust. Don't forget to check that bracket when you get under there.

ken

screw the heatshield back into place, they r there for a reason. Shift b4 3500rpm to solve ur first problem :D. Or just buy a new car ;)

. Shift b4 3500rpm to solve ur first problem :D. Or just buy a new car ;)

im working on that ;) . i usually dont shift past 35, i try not to thrash on my car just cause its got high miles. but when im getting on the freeway or when im trying to pass someone it bugs me. ill climb under my car tonight when i get home or ill just put it up on the lift at my friends house this week.

you could always get a new exhaust system, I may be bothered to install it...

im working on that ;) . i usually dont shift past 35, i try not to thrash on my car just cause its got high miles. but when im getting on the freeway or when im trying to pass someone it bugs me. ill climb under my car tonight when i get home or ill just put it up on the lift at my friends house this week.


haha i always shift hard...my car moves out so i have fun..but i used to get the same rattle...check the header. there is a heat shield on there. i took it off..and no more rattle. that might be the problem. also...find the ground from your reverse lights. that might be the proble..

I have got some contact cleaner too and I will help you Matt, if you would only look at the forums once in a while...

Same rattle here too. I think if it IS the heat shield under the car, removing the AC has made it louder, since there is an open hole leading to the underside of the car on the tranny tunnel. I'll be removing mine shortly when I get to work on the car.

....it is also possible that it is the cat. I think mine is starting to go (eat itself out), and there may be crap rattling around inside of it. I'm hoping not and that it is JUST the headshield, but we'll see.

BTW, the heatshield is to make sure that the pass compartment doesn't get TOO hot. If you don't care about this, it's no biggie. Also shouldn't be that big of a deal unless you are running the car hard at low speeds for a long time (low speeds mean not enough cool air flowing around exhaust to cool it). It's a comfort thing, not a safety thing.

I thought that rattle was my exhuast which seems to be hung up by coat hanger wire....I'll have to check that once my fuel leak is fixed and I'm able to drive the car again...
I only shift as hard as the auto tranny will shift lol....

I used to live in Alaska -- I can't believe that you can keep an older Bimmer alive there -- kudos!

I found this one under a pile of snow in the back of a parking lot where it was slowly rotting...I paid $25.00 for it and towed it home, it's far from pretty and needs lots of work but it's a fun project and my wife just rolls hers eyes when I talk about what new broken/rotted part I found....

That is so cool! Does it have a heater? Or do you only drive it in the summer? I remember seeing an old VW Bug in Alaska and thinking that the owner was crazy for driving it year-round. Do you garage your cars? They look nice for all the weather. Where exactly do you live? Maybe you live where the winters are not so harsh and the roads are in better condition . . . Anyway, that's brave! ;)

The 3500rpm rattle is common and exhaust based, there is a heat shield above the cat that is often bent up. I just removed mine with no ill effects. The bracket from the exhaust to the trans can cause problems too.



Sorry to bring this thread back up. but my rattle is loud too, and I am no car person, so where is the cat at? do I have to jack the car up to find it?

The cat is under the floor on the passenger side, it looks like a muffler.
You might be able to see it laying on the ground but you won't get a good look without jacking the car up. Be sure to use jack stands before you crawl under the car, we don't want to hear you got squished....
ken

lol, I got all that. is the sheild just a flat metal thing? how easy is it to remove it?

well it looks as though it wasnt the heat shielding... when i came off the 170 freeway on saturady night it was aparent that the crappy exhaust is done. its completly rotten and i now have to replace it. im ordering an ansa replacement for it today. i knew it was getting ready to go but i wanted to wait to replace it. o well.

That is so cool! Does it have a heater? Or do you only drive it in the summer? I remember seeing an old VW Bug in Alaska and thinking that the owner was crazy for driving it year-round. Do you garage your cars? They look nice for all the weather. Where exactly do you live? Maybe you live where the winters are not so harsh and the roads are in better condition . . . Anyway, that's brave! ;)

yes the beater has a heater :), but at this point I can only drive it in the summer since I have an exhuast leak, and the engine is not tuned right and I won't pass emmissions. since our air pollution happens in the winter they restrict cars that can drive in the winter to the ones that pass the test...if I never want to drive in the winter with the beater I can remove the EGR and gain some hp....I do garage the cars for the most part, the e-21 has been banished to outside untill I fix the broken fuel line....

my e-21 is far from nice lol...it's really a pile of crap. it's a decent 1/2 mile car but any closer than that and you can see how bad it really is....

yes the beater has a heater :), but at this point I can only drive it in the summer since I have an exhuast leak, and the engine is not tuned right and I won't pass emmissions. since our air pollution happens in the winter they restrict cars that can drive in the winter to the ones that pass the test...if I never want to drive in the winter with the beater I can remove the EGR and gain some hp....I do garage the cars for the most part, the e-21 has been banished to outside untill I fix the broken fuel line....

my e-21 is far from nice lol...it's really a pile of crap. it's a decent 1/2 mile car but any closer than that and you can see how bad it really is....


But the best part of it, is in the future when your all done with it and it looks great. you can look back at your old car and look how bad it looked. ANd be proud of your work!

very true.......but on my wife alloted car bujet and 2 cars and an auto-x habit it may 2020 before I can do the body work on the beast......