Strange noise under throttle from 3k-4k

[shawnhimself]

I have a s13 sr20det with 3'' turbo back exhaust, tubular manifold, external bov, and open element intake.

Now for the problem...under throttle from around 3k to 4500k I hear a clicking noise coming from the drivers side of the engine bay. When I parked the car, got under the hood and throttled it, I couldn't re-produce the noise. The fast click disappears when I go WOT and full boost is reached...I'm stumped.

Any suggestions?

Thanks and nice forum you guys have here

[shawnhimself]

Is there anyway this could be a leaking gasket somewhere?

[IanS]

my car does this when its not fully warmed up, my noise is an exhaust leak after the turbo, easyest way to check is to shove an old towel into the tailpipe the listen around the turbo and manifold for hissing or ticking, just dont rev it, it will just shoot the towel out.

PS, welcome to Nico, befor you post anymore new threads you should read through the FAQs and glance at the stickies, and if in doubt, use the search button, it will keep you from getting flamed for doing somthing dumb (everyone does) and it will help you obtain info much more quickly, there is tons of info on Nico, you just need to search the archived content for it. I hope that you find what you need and enjoy your time spent here.

PPS, post some pics of your car. And once again, welcome

[shawnhimself]

I've been searching for about 4 hours but I wasn't quite sure what the problem was so it's hard to search for things related to a 'sound' on a forum...haha. I appreciate the help.

I'm a converted Toyota man, my last project was a MR2 turbo, but it was time to move on to something with more seats and more potential

[gabo]

maybe something is hitting the hood? i had a vibration noise that was caused by not having those rubber "twistie" bushings under the hood on.

just a thought....btw, clean car.

[IanS]

beautiful car, at Idle, SR HLAs can make noise if not bled properly, the injectors also tick at idle. I have heard timing chain rattle in SRs and KAs, but its always at idle. Noises at higher RPMs are usualy exhaust leaks or rattles of some sort, if your having trouble nailing down the source, you could try pulling your hood and driving around to reproduce the noise, with the hood off it should be more audible. Hope this helps.

[shawnhimself]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

I drove around today trying to nail it down and I noticed that the noise would start once the car left vacuum and started to boost, but after about 5 psi the noise was either gone or drowned out by the exhaust, intake, etc.

[IanS]

how many miles on you turbo, is it possible that the bearings are starting to go?

[shawnhimself]

About 60k on the turbo and engine. Seems like if it was a bearing issue the noise would be heard all the time not just at certain speeds.

[spikNspan]

my car does this when its not fully warmed up, my noise is an exhaust leak after the turbo, easyest way to check is to shove an old towel into the tailpipe the listen around the turbo and manifold for hissing or ticking, just dont rev it, it will just shoot the towel out.

Alright, definitely don't do that to check for an exhaust leak. Go ahead and get yourself one of the leak test stethoscopes. it's a stethoscope with a metal rod on the end so you can stick it around all the flanges on your exhaust to hear for leaks. Also maybe the intake manifold as it shifts to boost instead of vacuum. I dunno man, just check for the leaks with that stethoscope thing, it's the easiest way to find them.

[IanS]

Alright, definitely don't do that to check for an exhaust leak. Go ahead and get yourself one of the leak test stethoscopes. it's a stethoscope with a metal rod on the end so you can stick it around all the flanges on your exhaust to hear for leaks. Also maybe the intake manifold as it shifts to boost instead of vacuum. I dunno man, just check for the leaks with that stethoscope thing, it's the easiest way to find them.

why not, it works and it doesnt require finding a special tool, Im a mechanic and I know that using the right tool for the job is always a good idea, but most people dont have all the right tools and its not worth it to buy them just to use them once, so I often think of my days as a tinkering teenager with no money.

[doridori23]

why not, it works and it doesnt require finding a special tool, Im a mechanic and I know that using the right tool for the job is always a good idea, but most people dont have all the right tools and its not worth it to buy them just to use them once, so I often think of my days as a tinkering teenager with no money.

Agreed and the test method will work fine. The stethoscope you referred to is mostly used to pinpoint bearing or tapping noises and would be almost pointless for an exhaust leak when the back pressure method is faster , easier and cheaper.

[IanS]

Agreed and the test method will work fine. The stethoscope you referred to is mostly used to pinpoint bearing or tapping noises and would be almost pointless for an exhaust leak when the back pressure method is faster , easier and cheaper.

exactly, I used my scope today to decide if one of the injectors had failed on a guys sentra, it was running super rough, but all the injectors ohmed out within spec, so I busted out the scope and pressed it to each, # 3 was silent, problem solved. I use it all the time, but I have never used it to test for exhaust leaks.

// end threadjack