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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - rattle in front

I've been slowly working to get my 79 Midget on the road again. Finally got it to idle with the new Weber dgv32/36, but now I noticed there's a rattle coming from the engine compartment when I give it some gas, I can't tell if it's in the engine or something loose in the front end. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Bill S.
ws Semko

Is this rattle while you are driving, or standing beside the car and revving the engine?

If while driving, under load the 1500 can "rattle" its bearings but you would know about that already, probably.

If not under load, things like timing chains, alternator bearings and tappets can all rattle if needing attention, but the noise could be also a part of the bodywork rattling at a resonant frequency of the engine.

More info would help pinpoint the source, but still very hard to do.
JB Anderson

The rattle is when I stand next to the car, it doesn't sound like a bearing knock, more like metal against metal rattle. It's coming from the very front of the engine compartment.
ws Semko

If it's a loose component like the exhaust or a body panel vibrating, it will probably stop if you touch it. But beware of hot headers and of moving parts.

If it's internal to the engine it would likely change as your alter the revs. Often the source of the noise can be narrowed down by use of a mechanic's stethoscope. lf you don't have one, then use a long screwdriver, cup the handle end against your ear and touch the blade end against various parts of the engine - but again, be careful of moving parts.

Often, removing the fan belt helps a lot in locating noises. Either the noise will stop if it's belt driven, like a noisy alternator. Or simply getting rid of the wind noise of fan etc makes it much easier to pinpoint the source of the rattle.
Guyw

Argree with guy... if its at the very front remove the belts and have a listen....just dont run the engine a long time because of no water pump

another common area is the exhaust pipe rubbimg or even not fully secure

and have a look inside the (fender) wing wells for lost tools and missing parts

prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Btw... harbor freight has those stethoscopes for around $3.00

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Agree with Guy and Prop. So easy to slip the belt and eliminate the easy stuff. And that's the lesson here - look for the obvious stuff first before worrying about showstoppers. It's amazing how often it's something trivial.

I did this last year and located a rattling on a 70s Ford which turned out to be slack rivets on the metal fan blades.

Also the mechanic's deaf-o-scope is a godsend. I have a cheap one which works fine but I also have an electronic one that I paid about £20 for. When I plug in my Bose noise cancelling headphones I can hear my wife on the phone through a 3 foot stone wall. It's a real education to listen to what your engine is doing, but you can waste a lot of time because it's so interesting.
Greybeard

It can be as silly as a spanner that has droped between the wing and the footwell.
It took me 2 years to cure that rattle
Onno K

I had a bad rattle in the dash last week that lasted 3 days...looked and looked...it was my sun glasses i put between the winshild rod and the windshild and was vibrating on top of the dash
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Of strange rattles. A few years back my car developed a really annoying rattle at certain speeds that I was certain came from the centre of the steering wheel. It was a fairly light rattle - it sounded like plastic so I spent ages repositioning the plastic cowl that goes around the indicator stalk switch, and then packing between it and the column with foam. No joy. So must be the horn centre push. Nope. Tried various other bits around the dashboard and then gave up.

Eventually, and quite by chance I got rid of the noise a while later when I replaced a very slightly worn TRE! The noise must have been transmitted through the steering rack and up the steering column but you would never expect a worn TRE to sound so light anyway.
Guyw

Guy,
you are describing the rattle that I have in my car.
My rattle is usually on overrun though. It seems to be coming from the steering cowing or behind the dash towards the speedo side.
I cannot find it. The fact that it is intermittent does not help.
I have changed the steering rack and steering column bushes (they were worn, not because of the rattle).
Do I change the tre (which one?) just because it might be causing a vibration up the steering column somewhere?
I think I will remove the speedo and drive without that first as that is where it sounds like the vibration is.

Dave
Dave Brown

Dave, Yes my light but very annoying rattle was intermittent as well. In retrospect I think because it varied with road surface conditions but I didn't give that sufficient significance at the time. It was cured quite accidentally when I did what I thought was an unrelated job and replaced the off-side TRE. Before that I was convinced it was originating directly from the steering column / indicator cowling area.

TRE's are cheap and simple enough to replace. The bind is you then have to re-set the tracking. If your TRE's are the sort with a grease nipple I wonder if pumping them full of grease might temporarily stop the rattle. It would at least be a method of diagnosing the source of the noise if you did one at a time.
Guyw

On mine ...non triumph pre 72...oil rack it didnt as the wear was on the inside of the ball and cup joint ..

but greasing that nipple sure made the rack and pinnion smoother and less juddy and i think gives longer life over just oil in the rack by its self...just my personal 3 cents on the matter

prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Worth a try, Prop. But on mine it definitely wasn't the rack that caused the rattle, it was the right hand TRE.
Guyw

I get odd noises from the passenger side of my car. Only seems to happen when the wife is with me.
Graeme Williams

Graeme,

That seems to be a common problem. Wonder what could be the cause ;-)
Martin Washington

This thread was discussed between 31/07/2016 and 03/08/2016

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