Clacking sound 2004 MM?

[RowdyRauder]

Hope you guys can help. I own 2004 MM. No mods.107,461 miles. I hear a clacking type sound from the passenger side only at idle. Under throttle the sound is gone but when I stop. The sound comes back. Oil Pressure is fine. No smoke, Oil is fresh. It was a quart low when I changed it. I also recently changed the thermostat. It got hot but not I there red. Any ideas? Is this normal for these cars? It sounds somewhat like a knock/click

[RubberCtyRauder]

Bad catalytic converter? they tend to rattle like marbles in a can at that right resonance..not necessarliy all the time or if a aheat shield is loose or is it definitely inthe engine bay.. Did you "burp" the cooling system when changing t-stat?

[RubberCtyRauder]

How do you know the oil pressure is fine..The guage onthe maraduer is not a true gauge,,there is no sending unit..oil pressure actually fluctuates with rpm. The factry gauage returns to the same spot everytime.

If you did not "burp" the cooling system when changin t-stat..yuo could have an air lock and causing your head to run hot..the radiator cap is not the highest spot onthe system and there is a procedure to get all the air out of it.

[Mr. Man]

See if your manifolds may have cracked.

[whitey]

Are you completely stopped when this is happening? Reason being is the rear parking brake pads will come unglued and clack around at very low speeds. Obviously if your stopped at idle, this isn't it.

[rayjay]

Clacking or clicking? My 04 has clicked for years.

[Bluerauder]

Clacking or clicking? My 04 has clicked for years.

Could just be the A/C compressor clutch. Mine "clicks" when it engages and "clacks" when disengaging. Generally several seconds (i.e. 15-20 seconds between clicks and clacks). Much more noticeable under idle. Less so at speed. Been running the A/C in the past two days with the warmer than usual weather??

[Zack]

See if your manifolds may have cracked.

Seriously? :bs:

[rayjay]

Could just be the A/C compressor clutch. Mine "clicks" when it engages and "clacks" when disengaging. Much more noticeable under idle. Less so at speed. Been running the A/C in the past two days with the warmer than usual weather??

Mine sounds like a noisey valve train on the left bank. :rolleyes:

[RowdyRauder]

Thanks guys. @ Rubbercity. Thanks for the heads up on the factory gauge.
I didn't know that. I was worried it being something really serious. But I think since the noise disappears when I accelerate. No noise, heat etc. Oil is still clean.
wonder if it's a rocker arm tapping? Or valve noise. Can it be a noisy pulley?

[Bluerauder]

Can it be a noisy pulley?

The frequently cited idler arm pulley problem kinda gives a supercharger whine when it is on the way out. It gets progressively worse and louder over time until it eventually fails.

[RubberCtyRauder]

generally, pullies make noise that gets louder with acceleration or changes pitch, not disappear. Any way you can get a sound clip of it and post it? thru a vid camera or smart phone?

[whitey]

Rule out the ac clutch by turning off the eatc. Correct me if im wrong but when the eatc is in automatic mode, even set on a hotter setting, the ac stilll kicks on to get the desired temp, however if automatic isnt on, it adjust the blend door to reach the set temp.

[RowdyRauder]

I'm having a hard time loading the vid.

[RowdyRauder]

I've gone through the process in the FAQ page regarding uploading the file but it say
"Invalid file name". ?

[GreekGod]

No rocker arms in our 4V's ... "cam followers"

[vegasmarauder]

3 foot piece of heater hose. One end at your ear, other at various places on the engine. Try to isolate the noise to a specific area. Front timing cover under cam cover seam is usually tensioners, chains and guide. Oil pan area, rod bearing. side of head cracked/broken piston, flywheel area, flywheel/torque converter. and cats are when on the cats.

Also, you can selectively unplug a COP or injecter and see if the noise changes/disappears on a specif cylinder. The CEL with light, but a scan tool will reset it.

This will make it a lot easier for someone on here to figure it out.