Strange rattling.

[chris222333]

I'm hoping someone could shed some light on this. I have a 1.6 hdi xsara picasso that makes a horrible rattling coming from the engine bay but only heard inside the cabin. You can hear it when switching on and off the car and when the car is at idle when cold. If you engage the clutch or raise rpm a little it goes away. I have put on a new DMF clutch kit and just done the timing belt, this noise was there before I did this work to the car. I started to think it was the induction piping as this was loose so fitted a new airbox bracket and grommets to the air pipes but the rattle is still there it has dumbfounded me. I've also checked the exhaust heat shields they all look tight. New engine mounts also.

Any help would be appreciated.

[vborovic]

Is the rattling sound metal or plastic? They should be pretty easy to differentiate. The fact that it can be heard only from the cabin would suggest it is cabin related (or at least not from the engine bay, something came loose and rattles, when you add the throttle, the engine stabilizes itself and the rattling stops).

[furriegurrie]

Exhaust rattling against something or a heatshield under the car maybe?

[RichardW]

Does it rattle more at first start, then quieten down after 2-3 seconds? If so, then likely the sump strainer is blocking up; drop the sump, remove the oil pick up and rip the strainer out of it.

[chris222333]

It sounds strange it comes and goes with different positions of the car, goes if pointing uphill or gets worse when parked up on the kerb.

[Bick]

I would not drive it anymore and do as Richard advises ASAP

[white exec]

Any chance of posting sound/video?

[chris222333]

I think iv'e isolated the vibration. It goes if I move the airbox around in the engine bay. I bought a new bracket off ebay for the airbox to sit on but the ball and socket joints on the top of the intake manifold have broken off that would normally fully secure the airbox. I think its something to do with the bracket.

[chris222333]

Ok its not the airbox assembly. The only way the rattling stops if trying to engage gear and holding it with the clutch released. I am hoping this is pointing to an engine mount problem as the rattling stops when the engine moves slightly on its mounts. Any Ideas? other than that its either failing gearbox or DMF/clutch. Thinking back it got worse when i replaced the drivers side engine mount after doing the timing belt.