Grinding noise while accelerating between 2000-2500 rpm

[jhuman]

My 03 sentra SE-R auto will make this grinding noise while i'm accelerating in 2nd and 3rd gear between 2000 and 2500 rpm, but once i go past that it will stop. The grinding noise will start happening once the car is warm so it starts happening after about 10 min of driving. Any ideas as to what it could be??

[nametakennow]

Probably a loose heatshield or something similar. Check the bolts on the exhaust manifold heatshield, that's the most commonly loose one.

[jhuman]

where exactly is that?

[nametakennow]

Front of the engine, just behind the radiator. Has a big sensor sticking out of it.

[jhuman]

could i access the heat shield from under the hood or do i have to jack the car up and tighten them from under my car? and what does the big sensor sticking out of it look it? sorry i am not familiar with the terms, it will probably be more obvious to me once i take a look at it

[nametakennow]

Just pop the hood, it's right in front of you. The bolts are pretty easily accessible from above.

[jhuman]

i checked the bolts on what i think to be the exhaust manifold heatshield, everything looks pretty securely fastened any other ideas as to what it could be?

[nametakennow]

Could you rev it in neutral and see if the noise is still there? It'd be easier to locate if you have someone rev it and you listen/look from up front.

[sajori]

check for chunks of pre-cat in the exhaust system....

.....

[nametakennow]

There'd probably be other symptoms, but it's worth a look.

Auto SE-R's have a much lower incidence of precat failure.

[jhuman]

i'll give it a try tonight, will get back to you guys once i do

[jhuman]

sorry i'm so late in getting back to this, I tried accelerating while in neutral and I heard the noise slightly as I was decelerating but I couldnt reproduce the noise it makes while I'm driving

[nametakennow]

Try to figure out what RPM it's happening at. Do the same thing and watch the tach on decel to see what RPM it is. If it's a specific area (or a couple of specifics ranges), it's definitely just a rattle from a heatshield or something.

[Passt]

^ What he said. If it's happening at a certain RPM range only, then something is just loose, or simply resonates at this level. I personally think there's a difference between grinding noises and vibrating noises, but I hope you mean vibrating. It could be a bolt, a loose clamp, anything of that nature. Have someone stick their head under the hood while you rev it. That's how I found out what was making a vibration under my car was simply a T-clamp loose.

Any news on this?

[jhuman]

Yeh there is a shield under the right side of the car that is pretty damn loose, its covering some belts, I will try to take the shield off and see if the noise persists

[erictam2150]

good, I had one loose on my x terra. today im having it tightened. ty for the heads up. its been getting on my last nerv since june. ty, this had me worried it was a grinding but you are correct its a resenation.....ty again