New Vibrator owner.

[jeffypieguy]

Hi from Maple Ridge BC.

I just got a new to me black '04 base Vibe 5 speed with 140,000km on it and I'm quite pleased. It's a very comfy car and I'm getting just over 30mpg or 7.75 l/100km in 70/30 city/highway driving, which is pretty nice.

I've been searching here and elsewhere for answers regarding the funny clattery sound it makes and I'm having trouble finding posts that match exactly. Mine doesnt make any noise when cold, aside from the rediculous high idle while warming up. But within 10 minutes of driving something starts clattering starting around 2000rmp and getting progressively louder till 3000rmp and above that it stops.. and it only happens on part throttle.. as in just the amount of throttle you would use to hold speed or slightly accelerate. When using enough throttle to pass or give'r a bit there's no clatter at all.. actually sounds really nice..worthy of an aftermarket exhaust and intake I think

Anyhow, I have read about the plastic intake manifolds having a glued flap that comes loose and makes the engine sound like a diesel.. thats pretty much what it sounds like but all those posts seemed to be with the engine idling and didnt seem to have anything to do with engine temperature. Early on I was thinking something to do with oil pressure and its effect upon the lifters so I changed the oil to high quality 10-30 synthetic with about 25% lucas oil stabilizer.. also put some seafoam in the oil for about 200km before I changed it. No change to the noise.

I also have seen all the posts about the oil control valve and its filter.. whos got an opinion on which it is? The intake manifold, oil control valve/filter or ,god I hope not, valve clearances already on an ebgine with only 140,000km ?

Aside from that noise and an absolutely just hard core torqued on clutch adjuster rod nut that I cannot pry loose to save my life, I rather enjoy this car's handing and utility. Especially with the new Continental true contact tires.. really really great tires.

If you read all that, thanks

Jeff

[tpollauf]

Welcome to GenVibe Jeff Is the 5-speed manual tranny original ??? If so keep an eye on it as that may be some of the noises you're hearing also. Bearing failure in these are quite common. Either way I'm glad you got one and are enjoying it so far.

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Post some pictures of your "new" Vibe when you get a chance !

[jeffypieguy]

Hey thanks fellers.

No its not the tranny. It has a brand new clutch as well. The noise is Definately coming from the engine. I took out the oil control valve the other day just to see if it was munged up and it was clean. I couldnt get the OCV filter without removing the alternator so I gave up on that. I can't even hear the noise without turning off the heater and radio so lately I've just been trying to ignore it. I might just be overly paranoid of a noisy valve train thats actually normal? New car, you know, worried about every little creak or noise I hear. My Yamaha FZ1's top end is crazy noisy and its known just to be that way.

[vibrologist]

things to consider:
The timing chain and tensioner may need attention.
A piece of metal (heat shield) may be rattling.
Even though you may not have a CEL on the engine may be running lean because of a vacuum leak. The intake manifold gasket is the main culprit.
Are the motor and tranny mounts in top shape? This too could lead to some unusual sounds.

Good luck!

[jeffypieguy]

If the intake manifold were leaking would the idle remain high when finally warm? It does go to normal idle after its "hot" but it does take a good while. Maybe get a new gasket anyways because my next project will be to take off the manifold and do the screw trick in case its a simple thing like that. I have considered the timing chain/tensioner but I am hoping its something less costly and time consuming.

[jeffypieguy]

Suppose I should take out that mass sensor by the airbox and clean it too. The plug are looking a bit old as well. How long are the coils lasting in these cars?

[vibrologist]

Coils last verrry long. You did not mention the spark plugs. Replace them.

If you take off the manifold, definitely replace the gasket, clean the throttle body and replace its gasket as well.
Generally speaking: anything that may cause a rough idle will be compensated by the computer raising the idle. Therefore, before you spend any money on parts other than gaskets clean everything with the appropriate cleaners. I like CRC products for

I am not sure if these things will fix the noise but you will come closer by way of eliminating potential causes.

[thebarber]

I'm guessing heat shield

[trb]

Welcome! Great to hear you are enjoying your Vibe, but no idea on the noise. My first thought was a heat shield, but if it is coming from the engine compartment area, that is not as likely.

Good luck with it!

[jeffypieguy]

Coils last verrry long. You did not mention the spark plugs. Replace them.

If you take off the manifold, definitely replace the gasket, clean the throttle body and replace its gasket as well.
Generally speaking: anything that may cause a rough idle will be compensated by the computer raising the idle. Therefore, before you spend any money on parts other than gaskets clean everything with the appropriate cleaners. I like CRC products for

I am not sure if these things will fix the noise but you will come closer by way of eliminating potential causes.

Hi, its not running rough.. just cold idles silly high.. like over 1500rmp and even goes higher than that after a few seconds.. after 10 minutes of driving it settles down to under 700 or so. I suppose I ought to check the heat shield but it really does sound like the rattle coming from the top end. Its hard to get to make the rattle while I'm standing there revving it at the front of the engine so its a bit hard to diagnose the location. The whole exhaust system is a bit rattly for sure- I can hear it buzzing when I stand outside at the back while its warming up and can make it stop by holding my foot against the exhaust tip.. but its mild and not at all like the consistent-with-engine-speed-and load-rattle while driving. This weekend i hope I will have a couple hours to take the intake manifold off and clean everything and drive a screw in through the housing like I've seen in numerous utube vids regarding weird noises from these engines. I am hoping that does it because if the top end has to come off thats beyond my mechanical skills and tool set and paying a mechanic to do it will realllllllly hurt right now.
On top of that I'm afriad I might have the dreaded input shaft problem in the tranny. The whine just started last week 6 speed, here I come..maybe.

[vibrologist]

actually 1500 cold idle does not seem to be excessive, depending on ambient temperature it actually may run at 2000. My former Ford Windstar did 2500 in extreme cold situations.
Use a rubber mallet and knock things under the car in the hope of reproducing the sounds that offend you.

Could you post a link to one of the "screw in the housing" videos. I never ran across that one.

[jeffypieguy]

Ok then good.. Cold idle speed, check

https://youtu.be/yDbV-09I0Pc is the video and if you look at the notes from the poster he's got a link to a page with loads of poeple that have done the screw fix and supposedly it works. Hopefully thats it.

Now I just hope the whirring whine noise which becomes much louder when engaging 4th gear, clutch engaged or not, is not what I think it is. The clutch definately needs adjusting but the lock nut on the adjuster rod is cranked on idiotically tight and was stripped by whoever's last attempt at loosening it. A new master and slave cylinder is cheap enough. Think I'll get under there tomorrow and check the tranny fluid level and change it out to something synthetic while I'm at it. It is very notchy, but get much better when warmed up which tells me its crappy gear oil in there. Also the bushings on the engine side are really sloppy so thats in the plan too. I was hoping I could adjust the shifter control cables but they dont seem to be adjustable.

Aside from the shifting and the whirring whine and that clattery intake noise, I rather like driving this car. The steering is so tight and responsive. I drive a 2014 kia at work every day and my girlfriend has a 2013 rio5 with electric assist steering and I can't stand it. Road feel, zero. All my vibey needs handling wise is new struts and possibly springs and the chassis will feel brand new. Soon for that I hope. I'm still researching which brand is the best bet for that, price/performance bang for the buck-wise.

[jeffypieguy]

In that video, his engine makes a very very similar noise to mine, but mine only does it between 2 and 3k rpm. And only under small load conditions. Doesnt do it on trailing throttle or medium to high throttle. I would say its only between 10% to 30% load and only between 2000 and 3000 rpm. A loose flap inside the intake makes sense to me.. harmonics and all that. Also, it doesnt sound metallic. I have heard what tapping valves sound like before and this does have a more "fluttery" quality to it. Crossing my fingers.

[vibrologist]

Thank you jeffypieguy.

After watching the video and reading the post on how to fix the vibrating baffle I think you are correct that yours is doing the same. It will probably get worse until it matches the sound in the video perfectly.

May I suggest you starting a thread in the "Garage" forum to chronicle your work on the car. I guarantee you will have at least 1 reader.

(I wonder what's your favorite pie, too.)

[jeffypieguy]

Ha, my handle in here is only because someone else has Jeffypie. Just a silly pet name I began using when an old girlfriend used to call me that back in the early days of "internet'in". Of all pies though, I suppose I prefer strawberry-rhubarb :p

Maybe I'll bust out my laptop and USB studio mic and go for a drive and record all the weird noises and do a before and after on the intake manifold and tranny noise. I am hoping some high quality MT fluid will , if not quiet the whining, hold off its eventual demise a little while longer. I have a feeling the original owner didn't do proper maintainance. And he was from Ontario and moved to BC with a Uhaul trailer hitch attatched so maybe he thrashed the tranny hauling a trailer all that way. I can just imagine 1500 pounds in tow and another 500 pounds inside being pretty hard on such a little underpowered car.

Off to the local ripoff parts place for some decent MT fluid and intake gasket. And throttle body cleaner of some sort.

[vibrologist]

Don't forget: you can locate the source of noises with a length of garden hose for a stethoscope. I think the '04 has a cable to the throttle, so you can reproduce the IM baffle flapping without a buddy's help.

If you coast in neutral and the grinding/whining goes away you can be sure it is in the MT.

All the best!

French Silk and Apple for me....

[jeffypieguy]

Thanks I'll try that.

The noise is there coasting in neutral too and peaks in volume around 35-40mph. Luckily, so far its not grinding.. its a general whine with a whirring quality depending on load.. The reason I figure its something in the tranny is because theres only a hint of it in the first 3 gears..as soon as I pull it out of 3rd toward 4th it becomes louder. And then once into fourth and fifth and with the clutch engaged it is fairly noticable. Especially so while decelerating. If I downshift to third it almost goes away..almost. Looking at the parts diagram of the c59, the input shaft carries 4th and 5th I think, and I thought I have read that the big issue with the c59 is the input shaft bearings? If the noise was constant in all gears I would be thinking one of the hubs or cv joints or something but it does seem to have a relationship with the top two gears.

Hmm but thinking while I type, if it were the input shaft, wouldnt it change pitch with engine speed as opposed to wheel speed? Damn, now I wish I had a degree from tranny school :p

[vibrologist]

I don't have a MT and i have not looked at the diagram. That said: if the noise changes with your gear selection than it happens inside the tranny. I think that is in lecture 1 of tranny 101 .
I think you are on the lookout for a 6 speed transmission.

[jeffypieguy]

Yesterday I changed the plugs and tranny oil and cleaned the throttle body. There may be a small change in the engines responsiveness but thats kind of hard to quantify. Whats much better thougb is the shifting. Lucas synthetic 75-90 seems to have helped a lot. Its cold shifting is what it felt like warm before and warm shifting is now very good considering how worn the bushings are. I didnt take off the intake manifold because the parts place had to order the gasket so Im waiting on that.

Once I fix the manifold clatter and replace those bushings I'm done monkeying. Well.. until I save a bit of bling for struts and better speakers and head unit :p

[jake75]

"New viberator owner" - thought for a second that I accidentally got on the Adam and Eve store site.

[vibenvy]

"New viberator owner" - thought for a second that I accidentally got on the Adam and Eve store site.

[jeffypieguy]

Ha yes I just call it that cause I think "Vibe" is a pretty stupid name. Calling it vibrator tickles my silly sense of humour.

After a week with the Lucas 75-90 synthetic gear oil in there I can report that its really good stuff. Much easier to engage gears now. Especially considering that I believe I might need either a master or slave clutch cylinder, or both. Its disengaging verrry close to the stops and theres really only maybe half an inch of play on that end. About normal play engaged and a very long slip zone. I thought adjusting the pushrod would help but I cant. Some dork stripped the nut. Its seriously stuck. But the 3 or 4 inch long slip zone travel wise makes for a difficult time smoothly shifting. Must be hard on the tranny too, possibly not being 100% disengaged from the crank. It seems to be, but its possible that theres still a bit of tug. I can get reverse without grinding so I figure it must be just barely disengaged. New shift bushings and master and slave cylinder, even if its only just to be able to adjust the damn thing, will be sweet.