About a couple months ago, a couple days after I put on my 2.9" pulley on, I started hearing a ticking/tinking noise coming from behind the dashboard/behind the engine.

The noise is most pronounced during medium accelerations mostly because under hard acceleration, you can really only hear exhaust. The noise sounds like a vibration among metals, or as if a small metal piece is bouncing around inside my downpipe.

I have checked myself, and brought the car to an exhaust shop to see if the piping is rubbing a heat shield, or if there is an exhaust leak, and from what i've seen, there isn't either. Now, I can't tell too well cause I only put it up on jack stands, and when I took it to a shop, they checked it for free, and probably didn't examine too hard for leaks.

Another characteristic of the noise is that it is much more pronounced when the car is cold, and I first start up the engine. It is noticable during idle when warming up, and once warmed up, the noise is much harder to differentiate from the normal exhaust noise.

Because it gets less pronounced once warmed up, I am leaning towards an exhaust leak, or something along those lines. Atleast something to do with the exhaust since heat changes things in the exhaust system.

So I am looking for some help with possible diagnosis. I know it is hard to tell through a description, but still, any guesses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for any help guys!

 

its not a leak if it was a leak in would be loud no matter what the temp is`

 

Bump cause I need some helpppp

 

It will most likely be the flex pipe...

Its small when its cold, it gets hotter as the air gets though, it expands... So if its coming from there, it really woudlnt be there when it gets hot.. makes sense right?

At ~50,000 miles or so, my flex pipe COMPLETELY broke off from teh flange holding it to the exhaust mani... It started off kinda hearing like air rushing out from behind my dash...

then it turned to a rattle... then... it sounded like i didnt have a downpipe.. cause i didnt... it removed itself from its position and hung down attached to the exhaust while i was driving...

 

I'd assume it would be the flexpipe. Get it looked at by a dealer, if it IS the flexpipe, it is covered under an 8 year emissions warranty

 

Wow! You guys are describing exactly what I think it may be..

Thank you for you help guys! Any more suggestions are welcome! I will be at a dealership soon..

 

or you have a broken cat... when the car is cold take a hammer and tap (just enough to see if the broken piece moves; don't bend it.) the downpipe, if you hear something jump in there then the inner part of your cat is broken.