Clatter noise from right front end

[joe]

I have a '98 SL-2 with 5-speed. Recently it has started making a deep clatter when I shut the engine down. I can also provoke this noise by slightly loading the driveline by partially letting out the clutch.

My first thought was a failed motor mount was bottoming out when the engine shifted under load, but the recent appearance of the noise at engine stop shoots this theory down.

Anybody have any similar experience, or suggestions??

thanks in advance,

joe

[newt]

Could very well still be a motor mount issue. When you cut the motor, it runs through a couple of resonent frequencies that aren't there during operation, so you can find all kinds of new shakes and rattles on start-up and shut down. It could be an exhaust component shaking against something due to a worn motor mount.

Check to see that the rubber hangers on the exhaust system haven't shifted around too much. Sometimes they can walk a bit and allow for some interesting heatshield noises.

Good luck!

-Wayne

[ssicarman]

Check the heat shields at the cat converter to see if they have been bent and are hitting the converter. If so just bend back into position.

[wolfman]

The engine has two mounts on that side an upper (it real obvious right at the end of the valve cover) and a lower. The lower is a "dog bone" shaped affair located at the bootom of the block and visable just below and behind the crankshaft pulley. Sounds like one or both of these mounts are worn or broken. FYI failure rate on the BOTTOM mount is more common. Both can be changed without removing the engine although (obviously) the bottom one is somewhat more difficult.