Oddball noise...

I've started to notice a sound like a piece of sheet metal making a rattling noise coming from the right rear of my 06 OR. It only seems to happen in 1st gear under moderate to heavy acceleration, or when towing a trailer. I'm wondering if it could be a heat shield on the exhaust system tapping something when there's enough of a load on the drive-line. The sound seems to be consistent with wheel/drive-line speed. Is there anywhere that a loose piece of the heat shield might be barely touching the drive shaft or even a U-Joint?
I even thought I might be a random piece of tin touching the tread on a tire, but nothing seems to be close enough to any of the tires to make that happen. Any ideas??

 

Your gonna have to get more descriptive on that noise buddy

 

Are you sure it’s not the engine pinging? Mine pings when climbing hills, and it sounds like what you are describing. It goes away if I run premium fuel, so I just use premium all the time now.

 

Not unless the engine has been moved to the right rear. I thought about pinging, but I know the sound and this is different. Imagine the sound of old fashioned playing cards in the spokes on a bicycle wheel, but with a piece of sheet metal.

 

There are a number of heat shields under the truck. Get under there and wiggle a few of them. Cat converter heat shields are notorious for this problem after rusting a bit.

 

That's kinda what I was thinking it was... It just sounds like a thin piece of metal rattling...

 

Check the gas tank heat shield.

 

THAT looks promising...

 

Yeah, that’s what pinging sounds like, and I also thought mine was coming from the back. Why would a heat shield only rattle under acceleration or when towing? If a heat shield is contacting the driveshaft, wouldn’t it rattle all the time?


I could be wrong, but what you are describing sounds exactly like mine.

 

Check your u joints or carrier bearing. I have a 07 Mines started off sounding as described ended up being the u joints- got worse over the next couple months and I’m literally replacing my u joints like right now. Went from a small noise to a big noise over night. Get someone to drive the truck, located the u joints and zone in on the noise- if it’s the u joints you’ll know.

 

I'm thinking under a hard load or while towing a trailer the suspension squats and it might shift just enough to make the heat shield just touch a moving part.

 

I'm due for a service soon, and since I actually trust the small town dealer I use, I'll have it checked by someone who might actually know the system better then I do...

 

Sounds good bro, yes man dealer is always the best.

You have an 06, correct? The following may not apply to you but I’m going to post it anyway in case it helps anyone else out....

I have an 07 purchased may 2007, when I first replied I was literally about to slide under the truck and replace my u joints but after posting on your thread I browsed around the forums and ran into a post regarding the extension of the “propeller shaft u joints primary coverage extension” (TSB 0302-17 extended to APRIL 30, 2019) I did the math in my head figured I might just make this deadline (12yrs from purchase date) called my dealer and after a bunch of back and forth they scheduled me for an inspection and if applicable I may just (barely) qualify! It’s worth a shot for me.

The crazy part is I called them earlier this week suspecting I was eligible for the u joint coverage but I didn’t have the exact TSB notice/info (figuring the dealer could pull it up with my VIN) anyway they said I wasn’t eligible for anything else aside from leaf springs. I scheduled leaf spring inspection. After reading more on the u joint coverage today I called them AGAIN politely argued with them armed with the TSB # they finally “discovered” that yes I was possibly eligible for the propeller u joints coverage. They scheduled my u joints inspection at the same time of my leaf spring inspection.

Moral of the story you have to be proactive/knowledgeable even when dealing w the dealer.

 

My wife's minivan had a rattle sound that was mostly on start-up. Eventually I found it was a rock that was lodged in front of the radiator. This was a difficult diagnosis. Be thorough with your inspection. Good luck.

 

My truck runs like a 1 legged giraffe when I fill up on anything other than premium

 

When I first started hearing a noise I went under and my friggin skid plate was lose and was vibrating. I thought I got lucky but surely the noise continued intermittently until finally constantly getting louder. But yes, sometimes it’s an easy fix. Good luck all

 

Premium + regular oil changes w mobile 1 and I’ve gotten 185k without major hiccups or any true maintenance.

I just changed 1 cv axle, have to do u joints+carrier bearing, and wheel bearings/hubs but still very impressed given that I’ve beat this truck heavily and not cared for her. I don’t mind doing these things given the 12yrs I got outta the truck.

 

I only ever filled up on regular fuel one time... and she did not like it one bit...

 

Odd, but I've never run anything BUT Regular in my 06, and she has NO PROBLEM with it. Even towing a trailer full of firewood over the little mountain between my home and town, she's never pinged or knocked once in the 5-6 years I've owned her. I've had plenty of cars before that HAVE had knock issues, so I'm pretty familiar with the sound, and what I'm hearing ain't the same! I'll have all the tin checked on my next service and then go from there if they don't find anything...