Gear lash/Rattle/Can of gravel... You know the noise!

Discussion about MX5s, Roadsters & Miatas, not directly fitting into one of the categories below. Please keep it on topic.

Moderators: LilRay.Sun, Furai, Growler, zorruno, jif

Post Reply
Redfish
Hey. They are NOT Training wheels.
Hey.  They are NOT Training wheels.
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:36 pm

Gear lash/Rattle/Can of gravel... You know the noise!

Post by Redfish » Sat Mar 12, 2016 12:33 pm

Hey guys,

Just got myself an NA a month ago and already loving it. Coming from an Alfa 156 V6 it's nice to have a car I can work on in the driveway again!

This particular MX5 has what I understand to be a fairly common and harmless noise.. You know the one.

Sounds like someone shaking a can of gravel on overrun (usually between 2k and 4k rpm) - lets call it about 180bpm for the musically minded out there..

Same sound constantly if you put the foot down in too high a gear.

I've realigned the PPF according to many guides and how-to's (65mm above the 2 rails) and its maybe a little quieter? Maybe I should have measured the volume somehow...

From the sounds of things most have had this sound at some point and most people consider it harmless but it does ruin the mood.
I have the 2 shifter boots arriving next week and I believe that will reduce the noise into the cabin.

What have other people here tried? What has worked to eliminate/reduce the noise?

marcellarius
I count 5-s in my sleep
I count 5-s in my sleep
Posts: 367
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:52 pm
Location: Hamiltron

Post by marcellarius » Tue Mar 15, 2016 11:16 am

Perhaps the rattle is in the exhaust or heatshield? My car had collected numerous stones in the heatshield around the catalytic converter, and later I discovered more sitting on top of the heat shield above the cat which I could get to after removing the remains of the gear shift boot.

Redfish
Hey. They are NOT Training wheels.
Hey.  They are NOT Training wheels.
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:36 pm

Post by Redfish » Tue Mar 15, 2016 5:25 pm

Replaced the boots last night. What a difference. Seriously. Reduced the offending noise a lot and made the entire ride much quieter

I'll lift it this weekend and check all the nooks and crannies I can find and hopefully get rid of it once and for all.

JaredH
Tentative sideways sliding....
Tentative sideways sliding....
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 11:08 am

Post by JaredH » Tue Mar 15, 2016 5:45 pm

My bonnet rattles at times, perhaps check the latch for yours?
Other than that, getting under the car and checking all suspension components for play often reveals something loose (exhaust is common)

SLYDIT
Keep calm, Forum Moderator here.
Keep calm, Forum Moderator here.
Posts: 1610
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 6:18 pm
Location: In the Garage.

Post by SLYDIT » Fri Mar 25, 2016 3:55 pm

you wont get rid of the noise...don't bother.`

]Its an harmonic in the drivetrain thats pretty much impossible to get rid of.

pretty sure a guy in the club had a total gearbox rebuild and diff rebuild to get rid of the noise and all he got for his troubles was a $3000 hole in his bank account. and the noise was still there.
RED '90 TURBO.
SCARING PRIUS DRIVERS SINCE 2002

Post Reply

Return to “MX5 Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 25 guests