The undiagnosed noise

May 13, 2004 7 Replies
S

Car: 2001 Fiat Punto 1.2 Sporting 6 speed manual 36,000 miles



Problem: Abnormal noise



Steps to reproduce: Drive the car. Slow the car down by breaking, taking your foot off the accelerator or even switching the engine off. When the car gets to around 30mph, a whirring/rattling/ticking noise can be heard down and forward of the gearbox. The noise is the same volume at all car speeds, but the whirring/rattling/ticking slows as the car gets slower. The noise stops when the car is nearly at a stand still. When you hear the noise, you can put the clutch in and rattle the gearstick to make it worse. (Even the gentlist of presses of the accelerator will stop the noise. Take your foot off again and you hear it again.



Other than the noise, the gearbox seems to behave as it should.



Cause: ???



Thanks in advance.


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M

Exhaust touching the gear linkage? The bit about a touch on the accelerator making the sound stop made me think of it.

Si

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S

Thanks for your reply Si.

I won't eliminate anything at this stage, but I think the noise is too 'perfect' and 'clinical' to be an exhaust contact. Based on what I hear alone, I'd say it sounds like gear teeth. As it's forward of the gearlever, I'm assuming it must be something that the gear level connects to. The clutch seems to play no part in it.

accelerator

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M

I only just noticed that it's a...

Strangely enough, I've seen two of those (well, Puntos anyway) with their boxes out recently.

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says there have been reports of gearbox and clutch problems but nothing specific.

Si

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D

It's a Fiat Punto. There will be undiagnosed noises...

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A

Steve Gibbs ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Yep, that'd slow it down.

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K

It's your exhaust resonating, look at the rev counter when it makes the noise in each gear.

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S

Update to orginal post: A mechanic has partially diagnosed it. It's the diff. I say partially as it is yet to be taken apart.

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