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Does anyone else's car sound like a can of marbles? Video inside!

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23K views 88 replies 32 participants last post by  JmckKB16  
#1 ·
When I lightly Rev my car and the rpms are returning to idle my engine makes a rattling noise that you can't ignore... Now this may be like every focus st and I sound like a tard but I've never had a car make this noise and I am genuinely curious.


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#8 ·
It's there now... Must've taken a few minutes for tapatalk to process it.


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#10 ·
It slows as idle comes down but you can still lightly hear it with the hood up at idle too. Ac is off.


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#4 ·
Mine does not make that noise at all. You can here the ticker-tackery of the direct injection but what you have there is not it.
 
#6 ·
It doesn't necessarily sound bad.... But I've never owned a direct injection engine and have already had to get used to the differences like the soot...lol. I can do another video out of the garage, I hear it all the time but after I pulled in the garage it seemed like a good time to try and capture it on video.


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#7 ·
It's too loud outside to get it.. And it's not as loud now that the car has cooled down a bit. I can hear the click with the hood open, it sounds different than the ticking of the direct injection.. Its definitely a clicking sound and it's a "loose" sound compared to the injection ticking. Like if the injection ticking is a tighter in sync sound, this seems to be more loose and not in sync with the rest of the engine. Its only noticeable in low rpm bumps of the throttle. From idle to 1000rpm and it knocks while returning to idle.


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#11 · (Edited)
This sounds more like clutch chatter to me.
Try the same scenario again and engage/release the clutch a few times. See if that effects the noise.
If not the clutch I'd look at your accessory/idler pulley(s).
 
#12 ·
Thought about this on the drive home.. Clutch in or out it does it the same. Idler pulley actually is a very good start. It has that hollow click like an Idler pulley will get. For sure... I've got to take it to Ford for the dang BCM flash, I think I'll have them inspect this as well.


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#14 ·
Another quick video with the hood up... Its very noticeable.


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#16 · (Edited)
This is 100% normal.

My car makes the same noise as did ALL other ST's (3 others) on the lot when I purchased mine. Most people don't hear it because you have to be next to a wall or something. You can hear the noise as the RPM's fall just before settling to idle. Just lightly (stress on the lightly) blip the throttle and as the rpm's come from say 1500 to 800, you can hear it just as you do.

There have been some in the local ST club that claim there's doesn't make this sound, but I can show it to them in about 30 seconds - they're just not re-producing it correctly. Of about 25 ST's in the club, we've yet to have a single one that doesn't make this noise.

Can't say I know what's causing it though. It stressed me out like crazy initially, but after doing some investigation and fining this to be normal, I was less worried.

If anyone DOES figure it out, I'd love to hear about it. One less odd noise this engine makes, the better.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the post literally! I don't have any friends locally with ST's so I don't have the ability to listen to one run other than mine.


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#20 ·
I've had a few DI engines and they have all made the "marbles" noise. I agree, it is a concerning noise because it's not so easy to discern normal versus abnormal engine sounds. I had my engine cover off for a while but put it back on as it seemed to dampen the noise a bit more.
 
#22 ·
Back when the speed 3 came out there was a lot of concern over a similar noise. It actually turned out to be an idler pulley issue. Mazda did a recall for this issue. I wouldn't be shocked to see something like this come about.

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#23 · (Edited)
Thinking out loud here - I'd imagine that if it was the idler pulley it would make the noise when it's just sitting there idling. The particular noise we're referencing only shows up when throttle is blipped and rpm's fall. It's a quick 'rattle rattle rattle' then stops (as you hear, particularly in the first video he posted.) No clue in the world what it could be. Does sound mechanical though.
 
#24 ·
Thinking out loud here - I'd imagine that if it was the idler pulley it would make the noise when it's just sitting there idling. The particular noise we're referencing only shows up when throttle is blipped and rpm's fall. It's a quick 'pop pop pop' then stops (as you hear, particularly in the first video he posted.) No clue in the world what it could be. Does sound mechanical though.
I have no reason to believe it is actually an idler pulley, but when one goes bad it's typically the bearings at the center/connection point to the block. So with that in mind it wouldn't just rattle constantly at idle, it would rattle when you gave it stress from throttle blips. Here's a great vid demonstrating what I'm talking about. This guy uses a stethoscope to hear the difference between a good and bad pulley. Notice you can't hear it rattling at all sitting at idle.

There's really 2 way to figure out if you have a bad pulley. The safe way (in the vid). Or the not so safe way - Jack the car up, get under it and have a friend to some throttle blips for you.
 
#33 · (Edited)
I totally understand that the engine is noisy. There's a district difference in the DI chatter and this rattle. What made me worry was that I didn't hear it in the '15 i listened to or other year ST's that were around. One guy said it sounded like a lifter and I agree. Ford is checking it out this Friday so we'll see. Going into this with the assumption that they will say nothing is out of the ordinary but I'm betting the other '15 on the lot won't sound like this.
 
#35 ·
Im glad I made this thread now!


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#36 ·
I'm going to go ahead and say that can't be normal because no ST that I've ever been around makes that sound. I've got 22K miles on my odo. I just took a video of mine. You can hear the audible click of the injectors. But not a rattle. I've heard a lot of people saying something about this rattle.

I know one guy on here has 2 ST's and one of his rattles like yours and one doesn't.

Here's what mine sounds like. All you can hear is induction noise and injector clicks.



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#41 ·
double post
 
#42 ·
Okay. Just double checking. But it does sound like my old worn out explorer did when it wasn't building oil pressure like it used to. The chain would rattle like crazy. I put thicker oil in it and it went away.

Because you said it's only there when the car is hot right?


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#43 · (Edited)
mine sounds the same dont think there is anything to worry about. Just to clarify a 15 ST was at a local meet with us last night, and it had this exact noise like every other ST. 15's have it as well, as it should because its the exact same engine. Wonder if the RS will have this chatter noise... Also have never heard any other ST that didn't have this noise. The reason you don't hear it much in @burke753 video is because hes not in a enclosed place like a garage. its very noticeable in a garage or enclosed space. I had a similar noise on my GSXR600 a few years back. auto cam chain tensioner was not working right and was getting cam chain slap which sounded identical to this. switch the auto one for a manual cam chain tensioner and problem went away. I am not sure if that's whats happening here, but it happens to all ST's so FORD must know whats up and doesnt seem to think its anything to worry about.
 
#48 · (Edited)
mine sounds the same dont think there is anything to worry about. Just to clarify a 15 ST was at a local meet with us last night, and it had this exact noise like every other ST. 15's have it as well, as it should because its the exact same engine. Wonder if the RS will have this chatter noise... Also have never heard any other ST that didn't have this noise. The reason you don't hear it much in @burke753 video is because hes not in a enclosed place like a garage. its very noticeable in a garage or enclosed space. I had a similar noise on my GSXR600 a few years back. auto cam chain tensioner was not working right and was getting cam chain slap which sounded identical to this. switch the auto one for a manual cam chain tensioner and problem went away. I am not sure if that's whats happening here, but it happens to all ST's so FORD must know whats up and doesnt seem to think its anything to worry about.
Beat me to it - you're dead on. burke753 isn't replicating it quite correctly - similar to others at the local club here who initially thought they didn't have the sound. I can also tell his engine is cold by how slow the RPM is falling when he releases the throttle. Sounds like it's still in open-loop mode.

Also worth noting, it's not easily noticeable when the car is first started up and RPM's are a bit higher. Let it warm up a bit (get the oil gauge up from its rest position) then put it in an enclosed space or next to a wall (such as a brick-wall in a drive-thru) and try it there. You'll here it without a doubt. Don't rev it up quite as high either - just bring up to 1500-1800rpm, and let off. Rinse and repeat. Work it rrreeaal easy.

I'll throw some 40wt oil in my engine the next time I do an oil change just to see if it affects it at all. It'll be awhile though, I just did an oil change with 30wt pennzoil plat synth 2 weeks ago.
 
#47 ·
been there.. done that..LOL