Noise disappears after car warms up

NOSPAMMER

MEMBER
2003 FORD FOCUS
2.0L
4 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
25,000 MILES

I have the LX sedan. It has been making a rattling noise since February when accelerating upon startup for first five miles-ten minutes.

It goes away after the car is warmed up. The sound is coming from the front of car (under hood or under driver/passenger side)

The sound seems like an exhaust issue but there are no codes showing nor is anything coming up with the obd2.
I recorded video of the exhaust system with my phone and watched it on my TV monitor and did not see any signs of damage.

I am stumped as to what is going on.
Thanks
(not sure how to describe the noise. Rattle?

6 Replies

HMAC300

MECHANIC
48,601 POSTS

Bang your hand against the catalytic converter if you hear noise then that may be the problem or the shield that protects the heat from the floor of car may have broken loose.

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Monday, June 26th, 2017 AT 12:19 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
48,363 POSTS

Can you upload the video so we can see it?

That would really help us find the problem for you.

Cheers, Ken

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Monday, June 26th, 2017 AT 6:22 PM

NOSPAMMER

MEMBER
4 POSTS

I banged my hand against the catalytic converter but did not hear anything.

The video is 600 mb.

Is this definitely an exhaust matter since it's only happening when I am first driving the car until I get into third gear?

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Monday, June 26th, 2017 AT 7:12 PM

HMAC300

MECHANIC
48,601 POSTS

One other thing to try is to disconnect the belt before starting then start car see if noise is still there the tension-er may be the noise so if it is you will have to change belt and tension-er to get rid of it.

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Tuesday, June 27th, 2017 AT 5:09 AM

NOSPAMMER