Engine Noise

[NFSracer]

Theres a weird noise coming from the engine in my sisters sunfire. It sounds sorta like something is lose and rattling under the the hood. But i'm not sure where?? And what the problem would be??:confused:

[FDA]

That's just the sort of vague "could be anything" complaint that mechanics hate to hear. It could be something simple, or whatever. Just turn off the engine and start looking and grabbing things to see if they're loose. I assume you haven't been able to pinpoint it with the engine running. You could use a homemade ear trumpet -- some rolled up paper or cardboard -- to try to listen to isolated sections of the engine compartment. That's if it's something that rattles when the car is stopped, of course.

[Commander]

Things prone to rattling often include exhaust pipes, and oddly, the radiator. Don't go and grab a hot exhaust, but when it is cool, jiggle it a bit and see if it clunks. Do the same with the rad, sometimes bolts fall out and the rad kinda flops around in it's holder. It is a Pontiac, so it likely has a set of rods that form a "X" on the frontside of the rad, not sure. If so, there is supposed to be a little rubber thing on one of the rods right where the two cross over each other, and it is supposed to stop the vibrating. It often comes unglued and slips down, allowing the two metal rods to clang together. Like FDA said though, it could be anything, but these are my guesses for now. Keep us posted.

[NFSracer]

when u start the engine it something in the engine compartment rattles. Most of the time it stops soon. But when you start moving it starts again, until you reach about 80km it stops.

[Commander]

Check the things I suggested and let us know what you find